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Nursery Education
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the annual cost of providing a child with five full days per week in a nursery school.[12690]
Mr. Byers: The 1995-96 estimated unit cost per full-time equivalent pupil in a maintained nursery school in England is £3,640.
Students
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his target for the expansion of student numbers during the next five years; and what proportion of this target he expects to be achieved through part-time enrolment. [12578]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has made clear that the Government intend to set a target for an extra 500,000 people to enter further and higher education by 2002. We expect that part-time enrolment will contribute significantly to this total.
Teachers' Salaries
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average salary of a teacher with five years' experience in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools. [12691]
Mr. Byers:
The average salary at 31 March 1996 for teachers in England and Wales with five years experience
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was £19,750 in maintained nursery and primary schools and £20,430 in maintained secondary schools.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received concerning the effects on part-time students of the reduction in permitted study hours from 21 to 16 per week to maintain jobseeker's allowance entitlement; and if he will make a statement. [12298]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
I have not received representations on this specific issue although my colleagues and I receive correspondence on a range of issues relating to the jobseeker's allowance rules.
The Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996 introduced a definition of part-time students. Part-time study had not previously been defined in social security legislation. What is regarded as part-time depends on the type of course and where it is provided. In England and Wales, courses which are funded or part-funded by the further education funding councils of no more than 16 guided learning hours per week are regarded as part-time. This reflects the way in which the sector operates its part-time courses.
We will be reviewing the job-seeker's allowance rules on education and training in the light of the jobseeker's allowance workskills pilots, which we expanded in September this year, and early experience of new deal measures for the long-term unemployed.
Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many claimants had their jobseeker's allowance reduced during 1996-97 for (a) two weeks and (b) four weeks for not attending or failing to complete (i) jobplan workshops, (ii) restart courses, (iii) workwise and worklink, (iv) 1-2-1, (v) project work and (vi) non-prescribed Government programmes where referral was under a jobseeker's direction. [7733]
Mr. Alan Howarth
[pursuant to his reply, 10 July 1997, c.558]: Unfortunately not all relevant data was included in the reply provided by Leigh Lewis, chief executive of the Employment Service.
The third, fourth and fifth paragraphs of the reply should have read as follows:
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Mr. Hammond:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to her answer of 24 July, Official Report column 731, if she will list for each overseas visit the name of the Minister involved, the country visited and the dates of the visit. [11239]
Mrs. Beckett
[holding answer 29 July 1997]: The information requested is as follows. This includes updated information relating to visits since 2 May and details of a few visits inadvertently omitted from the earlier list.
"Unfortunately, information is not available in the form you request. However, it may be helpful if I explain that a total of 17,477 sanction decisions and opinions were given in 1996-97 for:
refusal of a place on a training scheme or employment programme;
failure to attend a place on a training scheme or employment programme;
giving up a place on a training scheme or employment programme;
losing a place on a training scheme or employment programme through misconduct; and,
neglect to avail of a place on a training scheme or employment programme.
Schemes and programmes included in this definition are jobplan Workshops, Restart Courses, Workwise, Worklink, 1-2-1, and Project Work. Employment Service statistics do not identify the number of sanctions relating to each programme, nor do they differentiate between two and four week sanctions.
The total number of sanction decisions and opinions given in 1996-97 for refusal or failure to carry out a Jobseeker's Direction was 225. It is not possible to say whether any of these related to employment programmes."
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Political and Special Advisers
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list (a) the names, (b) the salary, (c) the previous occupation and salary and (d) the terms and conditions of each political and special adviser in her Department; and what was the selection process used to appoint these persons. [2421]
Mrs. Beckett [holding answer 6 June 1997]: Sheila Watson, formerly deputy director and consultant economist at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, and Dan Corry, formerly senior Economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research, are paid special advisers in accordance with schedule 1--part 1--of the "Model Contract for Special Advisers", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. They are both paid within a range of £24,349 to £73,484. Their salaries are negotiated individually and are confidential within this range. Details of this and of previous salaries are not provided in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned.
Lord Hollick, chief executive of United News and Media plc--UNM--is an unpaid special adviser, also in accordance with schedule 1--part 1--of the model contract, but excluding all those issues having implications for companies in the UNM group, notably in the broadcasting, publishing and exhibition industry given his continuing role as chief executive of UNM, and also excluding until 1 September issues affecting the aerospace sector given his previous position as a non-executive director of British Aerospace plc.
All three appointments are personal appointments following consultation with the permanent secretary of my Department and the Prime Minister.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what restrictions are placed on the issues her Department's special advisers are permitted to handle and the papers they can see. [10982]
Mrs. Beckett
[holding answer 28 July 1997]: Sheila Watson and Dan Corry are special advisers on the whole range of DTI business in accordance with schedule 1--part 1--of the "Model Contract for Special Advisers", a
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copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Lord Hollick is an unpaid special adviser, who advises on a range of issues also in accordance with schedule 1--part 1--of the model contract, but excluding all those issues having implications for companies in the UNM Group, notably in the broadcasting, publishing and exhibition industry given his continuing role as chief executive of UNM, and also excluding until 1 September issues affecting the aerospace sector given his previous position as a non-executive director of British Aerospace plc.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the special advisers in her Department, the Minister to whom each is responsible, the subjects on which they advise and the number of advisers in her Department in the year up to 1 May. [5367]
Mrs. Beckett:
Sheila Watson and Dan Corry are special advisers to me on the whole range of DTI business in accordance with schedule 1--part 1--of the "Model Contract for Special Advisers", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Lord Hollick is an unpaid special adviser who advises on a range of issues also in accordance with schedule 1--part 1--of the model contract, but excluding all those issues having implications for companies in the UNM Group notably in the broadcasting, publishing or exhibition industries given his continuing role as chief executive of the United News and Media plc, and also excluding until 1 September issues affecting the aerospace sector given his previous position as a non-executive director of British Aerospace plc. There was one special adviser in the DTI in the year up to 1 May.
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