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Departmental Publications

Sir Richard Body: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 17 July, Official Report, column 310, how much public money was spent by the Stationery Office in printing the White Paper "Excellence in schools". [12774]

Mr. Byers: None. The Stationery Office Limited is a private company, which printed "Excellence in Schools" at its own expense.

Assisted Places (South Gloucestershire)

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils resident in South Gloucestershire unitary authority are in receipt of assisted places in the current financial year; and what estimate he has made of the cost of those places. [12829]

Mr. Byers: Information about the local education authority area from which assisted pupils originate is not collected centrally. One school, Tockington Manor school, situated in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area participates in the assisted places scheme with four assisted pupils at an estimated total cost of £16,812 in academic year 1997-98.

Jean Monnet Projects

Sir Richard Body: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the (a) cost and (b) criteria are for selection of Jean Monnet projects in the United Kingdom; which chairs and professorships are

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funded in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [12505]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The EC programme, "Jean Monnet: European Integration in University Studies", was established in 1989 on the initiative of the European Parliament. It is implemented by the European Commission without direct involvement on the part of EU member states.

The Commission does not publish details of funding allocations to member states under this programme. The 1997 programme vademecum published by the European Commission lists the following criteria for selection:
"The proposed project must deal specifically and entirely with the issue of European integration.
All teaching activities carried out within the framework of a Jean Monnet Chair must fulfil this requirement.
It must be an entirely new initiative, set up for the first time at the beginning of the 1997-98 academic year.
Priority will be given to compulsory courses of study (this applies to the "Jean Monnet Chairs" and permanent courses) and to those reaching a wide audience.
The proposed project should be clearly inserted into the university's teaching programme and correspond to the academic criteria of quality and feasibility.
Priority will be given this year to the creation of new Jean Monnet Chairs and to the development of complementary initiatives which, in the framework of the 1990-92 Jean Monnet Chairs, will lead to the setting up of European centres of excellence.
Selection will be made according to the applications submitted (all applications submitted will be taken into consideration) on the basis of the recommendations of the European University Council for the Jean Monnet Project."

A list of Jean Monnet projects from 1990-97 published by the European Commission includes the following Jean Monnet Chairs in UK universities:
University of Aberdeen
European integration studies
Robert Gordon University
European public policy
University of Wales Aberystwyth
European integration
University of Bath
Politics of the EC
European political union
European integration and international business
Queen's University Belfast
European social policy
History of European integration
University of Birmingham
European economics
Constitution and administrative law of the EC
Political economy of European integration
University of Bradford
European integration studies
University of Sussex
European studies
The economics of European integration
Contemporary European studies
University of Bristol
European Community studies

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University of Cambridge
European studies
European Community law
University of Kent at Canterbury
Politics of European integration
University of Wales--College of Cardiff
Political economics with special reference to the European Community
The politics of European economic integration
University of Essex



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Student Grants

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the annual saving to his Department from the abolition of mandatory student grants; and if these sums will be applied to higher education. [12688]

Dr. Howells: Under the proposals announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 23 July, mandatory student grants will be replaced with increased loans. In the short term, therefore, public expenditure on student support will not be reduced and there will be no savings on the basis of current accounting rules. Savings will be realised in the longer term as graduates begin to

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make repayments and will be used to improve quality, standards and opportunities for all in further and higher education.

Special Needs

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what training for persons working with special needs children in the classroom is recognised by his Department. [12483]

Ms Estelle Morris: The Department's new standards for trainee teachers mean that all newly-qualified teachers will understand their responsibilities under the special educational needs code of practice, be capable of identifying children with SEN and be able to differentiate teaching practice appropriately.

An additional qualification, approved by the Secretary of State, is mandatory for teachers of classes of visually-impaired and hearing-impaired children. The Green Paper on SEN, published last week, will address further issues about the professional development of teaching and non-teaching staff.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research his Department has evaluated into potential regional variations in provision for special needs children. [12482]

Ms Morris: The Department is aware, from its contact with parents, teachers, schools, voluntary organisations, local education authorities, and other service providers, that there are wide variations in the access to and the quality of provision available to pupils with special educational needs. That is why the Green Paper on SEN, "Excellence for All Children: meeting Special Educational Needs", which was published on 22 October, announced the Department's intention to:
"work to secure a continuum of provision across the country, so that no matter where pupils live and what their needs, an appropriate level of support is available".

We recognise that not all LEAs will be able to provide the full range of support needed to achieve this aim. The Green Paper proposes, therefore, the development of regional planning arrangements for some aspects of SEN provision. We shall be consulting widely on this and other proposals contained in the Green Paper throughout the autumn. In the meantime we are supporting a project, co-ordinated by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, which is examining ways of securing effective regional co-ordination for certain aspects of SEN provision.

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in what circumstances parents with severely disabled children have the right to choose a non-mainstream education establishment outside the relevant local education authority area. [12484]

Ms Morris: Children with severe disabilities would normally be given a statement of special educational needs by their local education authority. The LEA must invite the parents of such children to name their preferred

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school when they are served a copy of the child's draft statement. The LEA is required to name the parents' preferred school--whether it is a mainstream or a special school--in the statement, provided it is appropriate to the child's age, ability, aptitude, and special educational needs, and is compatible with the interests of other children already in the school and with the efficient use of resources. If the parents' preferred school is maintained by another LEA, the home LEA must consult both the school governing body and the maintaining LEA of the school before naming the school in the statement. The school named in a child's statement is required to admit the child.

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