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Welfare-to-work Programme
Mrs. Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what employment or training initiatives the Government plans to introduce under the welfare-to-work programme for those who have been unemployed for less than six months. [4376]
Mr. Alan Howarth: Our current priority is the introduction of the New Deal for young people out of work for six months or more. Help will continue to be available immediately to all those who become unemployed.
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the proposed locations of the Government's welfare-to-work projects; and what criteria govern these decisions. [4579]
Mr. Howarth: Our New Deal for young and long-term unemployed people will operate throughout the United Kingdom. All unemployed people who are eligible will have a chance to participate in this initiative, which is designed to help them from welfare into sustained employment as quickly as possible.
Drugs
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the total amount (a) spent and (b) allocated by his Department on tackling problems relating to drugs in respect of (i) developing prevention publicity, education and community action and (ii) improving treatment and rehabilitation, for (1) 1994, (2) 1995, (3) 1996 and (4) 1997. [4797]
Ms Estelle Morris: Information on total Government and individual Departments' expenditure on tackling drug misuse is not recorded on an annual basis. The most recently available estimates were published in the White Paper "Tackling Drugs Together" in May 1995. They show that at least £526 million of expenditure in 1993-94 could be directly attributable to drug programmes and activities across the UK.
The Government will be appointing a "drug czar" to co-ordinate action against drugs, working to the President of the Council as Chair of the Cabinet's co-ordinating committee on drug misuse. One of his/her first tasks will be to review urgently the existing drugs strategy, and to put forward proposals for tackling the problem with renewed vigour. This review will include current Government expenditure.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research has been commissioned by his Department to identify the level of drug abuse at each level of the education system. [5089]
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Ms Morris:
A good deal of research is available on levels of drug abuse which, while not necessarily commissioned by my Department, is taken into account when planning initiatives to support drug education in schools.
My Department did provide funding for an evaluation of The Advisory Council for Alcohol and Drug Education's--TACADE's--"Skills for Life" PSE programme for secondary schools, which had a particular emphasis on drug education. This included research into students' experience of drugs and the level of reported drug taking by students in a small sample of schools, as well as an in-depth study of how those schools were implementing the programme. A report will be published shortly. In addition, my Department has recently produced a booklet outlining the results of the independent evaluation reports of a number of LEA innovative drug education projects supported by our Grants for Education Support and Training--GEST--programme in 1995-96. These projects researched and trailled a range of different approaches to drug education work. A copy is in the Library.
Ms Kelly:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment where he proposes to site the 25 early excellence centres; and on what criteria his judgment as to their location will be based. [4578]
Ms Estelle Morris:
We shall invite proposals for a national pilot programme of early excellence centres. We are considering the criteria for centres, and will make an announcement soon.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received about primary aged children in receipt of an assisted place who will lose assisted status at the age of 11 years. [4744]
Mr. Byers:
I have received correspondence from bodies representing schools offering assisted places to primary age children, and from others, about the phasing out of the assisted places scheme.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils residing in the Colchester parliamentary constituency benefit from an assisted place. [5005]
Mr. Byers:
Information about the constituency area from which assisted pupils originate is not collected centrally. There are no schools participating in the assisted places scheme in the Colchester constituency.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average class size in state sector education in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the United Kingdom for the most recent year for which he has figures. [4589]
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Mr. Byers:
The available information on average class sizes is shown in the table.
| One teacher classes | All classes(15) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | |
| United Kingdom | (16)-- | (16)-- | 27.0 | (17)21.6 |
| England | 27.3 | 21.7 | 27.5 | 21.9 |
| Wales | (16)-- | (16)-- | 25.9 | 20.2 |
| Scotland | (16)-- | (16)-- | 24.8 | 19.5 |
| Northern Ireland | 24.1 | (16)-- | 24.1 | -- |
(13) Data on class sizes was collected at different times of the academic year in the different countries: January 1996 for England and Wales, September 1995 for Scotland and October 1995 for Northern Ireland.
(14) In Northern Ireland, for data collection purposes, a class is defined as a group of pupils normally in the charge of one teacher.
(15) "All classes" figures include classes where more than one teacher may be present.
(16) Not available.
(17) Great Britain only.
Passive Smoking
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to raise awareness in schools of the dangers of passive smoking. [5084]
Ms Estelle Morris: Education about the harmful effects of smoking remains a statutory requirement as part of National Curriculum science. The Department has issued guidance to schools on their contribution towards ensuring that pupils are made aware of all the health risks associated with smoking, including passive smoking; and to teachers on addressing smoking within the school curriculum and on appropriate smoking education materials.
Teacher Education
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his plans to improve initial teacher education. [5072]
Ms Estelle Morris: I hope to be announcing new requirements for courses of initial teacher training later this week.
White Paper
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will publish an Education White Paper. [4891]
Mr. Byers: A White Paper setting out the Government's agenda for raising standards in schools will be published in early July.
Specialist Schools
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the criteria will be for the next round of applications for specialist schools. [4892]
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Ms Estelle Morris:
The new criteria will retain the benefits of the existing arrangements but will include an emphasis on collaboration with other schools and the wider community. We expect that revised criteria will be available to schools during July.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what resources he plans to provide to ensure that sports specialist schools in the state education system develop into a network. [4893]
Ms Morris:
The resources for specialist sports colleges, as with all programmes, will be considered as part of the Department's review of its spending plans.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the total value of balances held by state schools in England. [5066]
Mr. Byers:
Balances carried forward at the end of the financial year 1995-96 by county, voluntary and special schools maintained by LEAs in England are provisionally estimated by the Department to have amounted in total to about £580 million. These figures are derived from the LMS outturn statements published by LEAs under section 122 of the Education Act 1996--formerly section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988--and represent surpluses net of any deficits.
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