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Montserrat Evacuees
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assistance his Department is giving to evacuees from Montserrat who wish to (a) study and (b) work in the United Kingdom. [15850]
Mr. Alan Howarth: Montserrat evacuees have full access to the education system. The Montserrat Emergency Awards Scheme has been set up to help with the fees and living expenses of higher education students. The evacuees are being helped by the Employment Service to find work and they may enter the Government's employment and training programmes, providing they meet the eligibility criteria.
Student Support Agency
Mr. Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment pursuant to paragraph 21.56 of the main report of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, when he expects to establish a student support agency; if he will make a statement about (a) the likely responsibilities of the agency and (b) the likely number of its employees; and if he will assess the advantages of housing the agency at his Department's Albion Wharf offices, York. [15763]
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Dr. Howells:
The Government are currently considering the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education's recommendation for a student support agency and expects to make an announcement shortly.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if students who currently claim supplementary allowance will continue to receive this as grants under the Government's student finance reforms. [15523]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 12 November 1997]: Subject to means-testing, higher education students currently eligible for supplementary allowances as part of their mandatory award will continue to be eligible for them until the end of their course. Students who enter full-time higher education in 1998-99 will be eligible for these allowances as part of their mandatory award on the same basis as now for 1998-99 only. The Disabled Students Allowances will no longer be subject to a means-test from 1998-99. The Government will review the position for 1999-2000 and beyond.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the Government will use the money raised from the sale of the student loan book for re-investment in higher education. [15524]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 12 November 1997]: The sale proceeds will be available to the Government to meet their expenditure commitments including those in higher education, and have already been taken into account within the Department's spending plans.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment his Department has made of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and if officials from his Department visited the United States of America to study the impact of this legislation. [16033]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
The Department has not made a comprehensive assessment of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I recently visited the USA and discussed the effectiveness of the Act with, amongst others: Ronald Drach, Vice Chairman of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities and Paul Inasaki, Vice Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.
My senior official dealing directly with policy on civil rights for disabled people has also visited for more extensive discussions. Both I and my officials met Paul Miller, a Commissioner from the American Employment Equal Opportunities Commission when he visited London recently. We also receive a range of journals and other publications on the Act.
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We are aware of evidence that there have been very significant benefits not just for disabled people but for business from this legislation, particularly in relation to retention of employees who become disabled and to improving access to customers. Research has shown a general acceptance of the principles of the legislation among American employers and it has been found that costs associated with making adjustments were often lower than many employers anticipated. This is in line with experience here.
However, the Act has not yet ended discrimination against disabled people.
Mr. McNulty:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what criteria his Department will use to determine the distribution of the 500,000 additional places in higher and further education throughout the United Kingdom announced by the Prime Minister. [16133]
Dr. Howells:
We are currently drawing up proposals for taking forward the Prime Minister's pledge. The distribution of the 500,000 will reflect our policies on lifelong learning, in particular widening participation and increasing attainment. We intend to concentrate especially on those who have not benefited from learning previously and young people at risk of dropping out, and will provide more details of our proposals in the forthcoming Lifelong Learning White Paper.
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his Department's policy on the sale of school playing fields required for educational or community purposes; and if he will estimate the number of such fields (a) currently declared surplus to educational requirements and (b) where planning consent has been given for change of use. [15946]
Mr. Byers:
We intend to make sure that those playing fields which schools and their local communities need are not sold in future. To that end, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment is discussing a wide range of options with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
The current legal framework allows local authorities to dispose of the assets they own without reference to the Secretary of State. The governors of grant-maintained schools, however, do need prior approval. But we expect local authorities to consider carefully projected pupil numbers for the foreseeable future and the needs of the wider communities that their schools serve, before they decide that any land is surplus to requirements.
Decisions on the sale of LEA-maintained playing fields are for local determination. The Department does not collate this information centrally.
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Planning consent is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he plans to publish the average point score for each school's GCSE results; and if he will make a statement. [16054]
Dr. Howells
[holding answers 14 November 1997]: The secondary school performance tables to be published shortly will continue to show the percentage of 15 year old pupils in each school who achieved five or more GCSE grades A*-C,5 or more grades A*-G, and 1 or more grades A*-G. Presentation of GCSE achievements in this way have received broad support in the past. We shall consult fully early next year onthe 1998 performance tables.
Mr. Fitzpatrick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which local education authority has achieved the greatest improvement in performance at GCSE level and equivalent since 1994. [16649]
Dr. Howells:
Newham local education authority has achieved the greatest improvement in performance at GCSE and equivalent since 1994 with an increase of 10 percentage points in the percentage of 15 year old pupils achieving five or more grades A*-C at GCSE or equivalent. This has increased from 23 per cent. in 1994 to 33.4 per cent. in 1997.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will introduce measures to ban smoking by pupils in all schools and educational establishments. [16448]
Ms Estelle Morris:
We have no plans to do so. We encourage schools and other educational establishments to decide their won policies, bearing in mind the needs of both the students and staff. An increasing number of schools already prohibit smoking entirely on their premises, or limit it to a designated area for all teachers, non-teaching staff and visitors. Research conducted this year by Ofsted, via a questionnaire sent to 1,500 schools, found that 88 per cent. of primary schools and 79 per cent. of secondary schools already have no-smoking policies in place.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if his Department plans to fund all four years of study by students from England at Scottish Universities; how many students from England are currently in the fourth year of a degree course at a Scottish University; and what assessment he has made of the cost of funding this fourth year. [16091]
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Dr. Howells
[holding answer 14 November 1997]: There were some 3,400 students from England in the fourth year of first degree courses at Scottish institutions in 1996-97 (the latest year for which figures are available). Under our plans, students from lower-income families will have the whole of their tuition fees paid for them in the fourth as in the previous three years, whilst others may have part of their fees paid, depending on an assessment of their parents', spouses' or own income.
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