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Welfare to Work
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment under what legislative authority the Government will be implementing its welfare-to-work programme. [11638]
Mr. Alan Howarth: Opportunities for work, education and training under our new deal for young people and long term unemployed adults will be provided pursuant to arrangements made by the Secretary of State under the Employment and Training Act 1973, as amended by the Employment Act 1988. The new deal will deliver high quality options for 18 to 24-year-olds who claim the jobseeker's allowance for six months or more. We intend to amend the Jobseekers Allowance Regulations 1996, subject to the approval of Parliament, to ensure that young people who are entitled to benefit from the new deal also have responsibility for participating in the programme, and that there is no additional option of continuing indefinitely on full benefit.
New Deal
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to incorporate foyers into the gateway framework of the new deal; and if he will make a statement. [11917]
Mr. Andrew Smith: Foyers, like other interested organisations, will be able to bid to deliver appropriate parts of the gateway against the national specification which will set out the detailed arrangements for the provision of these services.
We are consulting widely on the design of the new deal for young unemployed people and on the range of provision which should be available during the gateway to help young people to overcome particular disadvantages and problems. Foyers, like other interested organisations, are fully involved in those consultations.
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Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to increase the percentage of students entering Oxford and Cambridge universities from state schools. [11716]
Dr. Howells:
The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are, like all higher education institutions, responsible for their own admissions procedures and Ministers are prevented by law from intervening in such matters.
Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people in each of the last five years qualified for assistance on (a) the enterprise allowance scheme and (b) the business start-up scheme in each standard region and Great Britain as a whole; and what was the annual expenditure in each year.[12172]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The enterprise allowance scheme was replaced in 1991-92 by the business start-up scheme which, in turn, was absorbed within the single regeneration budget in 1994-95. The precise information requested is not available, but starts by Government office region are available for 1994-95 and are given in table 1 and total expenditure and number of starts in England for each year of the programme are given in table 2.
| Region | Starts |
|---|---|
| South East | 2,393 |
| London | 3,081 |
| Eastern | 1,925 |
| South West | 2,801 |
| West Midlands | 1,576 |
| East Midlands | 3,042 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3,402 |
| Merseyside | 1,356 |
| North West | 3,058 |
| North East | 1,602 |
| Year | Starts | Expenditure (£ million) |
|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 33,600 | 62.0 |
| 1993-94 | 34,700 | 82.0 |
| 1994-95 | 24,236 | 63.8 |
Class Sizes (Bolton)
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Bolton, West (Ms Kelly), of 18 June, Official Report, column 193-4, what factors underlie the maximum class size of 60 for the Bolton, South-East constituency. [12004]
Mr. Byers:
The information derives from classes as taught during a single selected period on the census date in January. This can include some unusually large classes. Classes can include nursery as well as infant classes,
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classes engaged in activities such as physical education, games, drama, music, singing, watching television or listening to a radio programme, and classes supported by one or more members of the non-teaching staff of the school. Class sizes can be affected by one or more of these factors.
The class of 60 pupils taught by one teacher in the Bolton, South-East constituency was a nursery class. The teacher was supported by four nursery assistants.
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to review the criteria for the funding of youth and community projects and other education-related projects for young people in respect of the eligibility of those in the 11 to 14 years age range. [12230]
Dr. Howells:
None. The delivery and funding of the youth service are matters for decision by individual local education authorities out of the resources made available to them through the annual local government finance settlement.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what funding is presently committed from his departmental budget for (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000 to resolve the year 2000 computer problem; and if he will make a statement. [11897]
Dr. Howells:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson), on 10 July 1997 Official Report, column 573.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he has issued to local education authorities on the provision of special educational needs for autistic children following the recent court judgment requiring an authority to pay for an autistic child to attend the Higashi school in the USA. [11791]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The High Court's decision related to an individual appeal, where particular circumstances applied. It would not be appropriate to issue general advice to local education authorities on the basis of that case.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when his Department's
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review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will be completed; and when he plans to make an announcement on its result. [11498]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 26 June, Official Report, column 635.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what representations he has received from (a) the National Disability Council and (b) organisations representing disabled people concerning the implementation of the later rights of access under part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and if he will make a statement; [11496]
Mr. Howarth:
The National Disability Council, disabled people and their organisations, individual businesses and their representatives and many others have responded to the consultation exercise carried out by the previous Government last year and have given their views on how quickly it would be sensible to implement the later rights of access under part III of the Disability Discrimination Act. A summary of responses to the consultation exercise will be published in due course. The Department is currently considering these matters in the context of our determination to deliver our manifesto commitment to establishing comprehensive and enforceable civil rights for disabled people. The Department will make an announcement as soon as possible. Whatever our eventual recommendation, the Department is committed to developing our proposals in consultation with all interested parties.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what penalties the Government will enforce against schools which educate five, six and seven-year-olds in classes of more than 30.[11640]
Mr. Byers:
It is our pledge that, by the end of this Parliament, all pupils of five, six and seven years old will be in classes of 30 or less. We are consulting on the mechanics of implementing this pledge to reduce class sizes.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on changes in the percentage of students entering university education in the last 18 years from social classes A, B, C and D. [11717]
Dr. Howells:
The following table shows how the proportions of young people from different socio-economic groups entering full-time higher education have changed since 1991-92: comparable data are not readily available from earlier years.
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(2) if he will publish a timetable for the implementation of the later rights of access within part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [11497]
The API is the number of home domiciled young (aged less than 21) initial entrants to full-time undergraduate courses in GB, expressed as a proportion of the average 18 to 19 year old GB population.
(A), (B), (C1), (C2), (D), (E)--institute of practitioners (IPA) equivalent definition of social class.
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