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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
State Education Expenditure
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the average level at current prices of state education expenditure per pupil in each of the regions of Great Britain in (a) 1979 and (b) 1997.[11197]
Mr. Byers:
The average net institutional expenditure per pupil in 1997-98 prices in LEA-maintained schools, excluding special schools, in England was £1,388 in 1979-80 and £1,909 in 1995-96, the latest year for which data are available.
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Information on expenditure per pupil in Scotland and Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales respectively.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Eeducation and Employment if it is his policy that all of the additional money raised by the proposed changes in higher education (a) tuition fees and (b) maintenance arrangements will be made available for the financing of higher education, in addition to planned budgets; and if he will make a statement. [11187]
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the additional resources raised by the proposed changes to the higher education funding system will be specifically directed to this sector.[11051]
Dr. Howells:
It will take time for the Government's proposals to begin to generate additional money because the increase in the cost of loans will initially offset the yield from the introduction of fees but, as my right hon. Friend said in his statement to the House on 23 July, Official Report, columns 949-62, the Government will ensure that savings are used to improve quality, standards and opportunity for all in further and higher education.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of total departmental expenditure on computer-related current and capital work for (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98, (d) 1998-99 and (e) 1999-00; and if he will make a statement. [11385]
Dr. Howells:
Not all computer-related expenditure is separately identified. Identified expenditure and plans for expenditure include:
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| £ million | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | ||
| DfEE departmental expenditure | ||||||
| Current | 22.9 | 24.9 | 21.1 | 21.0 | 21.0 | |
| Capital | 7.4 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | |
| Employment Service expenditure | ||||||
| Current | 134.9 | 88.3 | 69.4 | 70.2 | 71.0 | |
| Capital | 52.9 | 29.5 | 11.3 | 8.6 | 8.3 | |
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The current expenditure of both DfEE and the Employment Service include staff costs. The significant change in expenditure in the Employment Service from 1995-96 to 1996-97 reflects the introduction of JSA and the resultant changes in expenditure patterns.
Computer-related expenditure in schools is not reported separately. Since 1995-96 support for expenditure on information technology has been available through the school effectiveness component of the GEST programme. However, it is mainly for schools to determine how much to spend on information technology in the light of their own needs and priorities. In further education none of the funding provided by the Department is hypothecated to
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IT, but the Further Education Funding Council has announced two initiatives this year: through the QUILT programme of staff development the FEFC will contribute £1.9 million over the five-year period from February 1997. For networking and other technical developments broadly recommended by the Higginson committee, the FEFC will contribute £575,000 over three years from October 1997. The Higher Education Funding Council for England gives higher education institutions a block grant for both recurrent and capital purposes; it is for it to decide how much to spend on computer-related current and capital work. However, the HEFCE has also provided specific grants on computer-related current and capital
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work of over £100 million in the three years ending 1997-98. There is also computer-related expenditure in training and enterprise council programmes and careers libraries, but this is not separately identified.
The Department is currently undergoing a comprehensive review of all its spending, and plans for future years may therefore change as a result of its findings.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will require the assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder of children suspended from school more than three times; and if he will make a statement. [10551]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Decisions on whether to assess children for statements of special educational need are for schools and local education authorities. In the autumn we shall consult on guidance to LEAs on their duty under the Education Act 1997 to draw up, consult upon and publish a plan setting out the arrangements they make for pupils with behavioural difficulties. We will also consult on revised guidance to LEAs and schools on exclusions. This will confirm that, when deciding whether to exclude, head teachers should consider whether a child's disciplinary problems might be a sign of an emerging emotional and behavioural difficulty giving rise to special educational need. There are no plans to advise head teachers to look for particular disorders.
Mr. McNulty:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of responses to the further consultation exercise on proposals for changes to the early retirement provisions of the teachers' pension scheme; and if he will make a statement. [11695]
Mr. Byers:
After considering the responses to the consultation exercise, my right hon. Friend has decided to introduce with effect from 1 September 1997 two improvements to the existing provisions of the teachers' scheme. The first will improve the arrangements for teachers who step down to posts of lower responsibility to preserve the level of their retirement benefits. A particularly useful feature of the new provisions is that they will apply where an individual changes employer.
The second improvement is to the calculation of pension benefits for regular part-time teachers. These arrangements will mean that the average salary on which the pension is based is the same as it would have been if the teacher had been employed in a full-time capacity.
In the autumn, we shall invite representatives of teachers and their employers to join us in an examination of the teachers' pension scheme for the longer term, looking at a range of issues suggested by teachers' unions, teachers' employers and others.
We have decided not to introduce at this time the option of actuarially reduced pensions for teachers as a new form of retirement. This proposal will be looked at again in the longer-term examination.
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Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what measures his Department is taking to ensure compliance with copyright law; and if he proposes to take out a photocopying licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency. [10991]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 28 July 1997]: The Department has a number of procedures within its library service and reprographic centres to ensure compliance with copyright law and librarians and photocopying staff receive formal instruction on the need to operate within the copyright law. The Department has no plans at present to take out a photocopying licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what informal meetings the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe attended on Budget matters in the Treasury before the Budget statement. [10456]
Mr. Gordon Brown
[holding answer 25 July 1997]: No informal meeting took place to make Budget decisions that involved the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will change the calculation of the windfall tax liabilities by entity in order to put these on a constant price basis; and if he will make a statement. [11370]
Mr. Geoffrey Robinson:
No. The Chancellor gave very careful consideration to the tax base in framing his proposals for the windfall tax.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list each of the functions relating to the payroll for which his Department is responsible, indicating the management systems purchased, all sub-contractors involved in the work, co-operative arrangements with other Departments and the costs of the systems and processes in the last year for which figures are available.[10736]
Mrs. Liddell:
The payroll service for the Treasury is provided by Chessington Computer Services Ltd. using the standard payroll input and retrieval system--SPIRE. The costs to the Treasury of the Chessington service for 1997-98 is £57,000 inclusive of VAT. Monthly salary changes are processed and input to SPIRE within the Treasury by two payroll clerks and one payroll administration manager at an annual salary cost for the three staff of £48,079. Under the terms of the contract, Chessington Computer Services Ltd. is responsible for making payments to staff using the bankers automated clearing service--BACS--and for making deductions such as tax and national insurance contributions.
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