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Ofsted Inspections

Mr. Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many (a) secondary, (b) junior and (c) infant schools under local education authority control in England and Wales were contracted out for inspection on behalf of Ofsted in (i) 1995, (ii) 1996, (iii) 1997 and (iv) 1998 to date; [57489]

(2) how many contractors are nominated by Ofsted to carry out inspections in schools in England and Wales; [57490]

(3) how many (a) secondary, (b) junior and (c) infant schools under local education authority control in England and Wales were inspected by Ofsted in (i) 1995, (ii) 1996, (iii) 1997 and (iv) 1998 to date. [57491]

Ms Estelle Morris: This is a matter for HM Chief Inspector of Schools. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend and to place a copy of his reply in the Library.

School Standards (Consultation Papers)

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the consultation papers which have been circulated to (a) schools and (b) local education authorities arising from the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, indicating in each case the consultation period provided. [57706]

Ms Estelle Morris: The table sets out the information requested.

Consultations arising from the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

Consultation	Weeks given for reply	Sent to LEA	Sent to schools
1998
February
LEA Education Development Plans: Draft Guidance	10	Y	Y
March
LEA-School Relations: Draft Code of Practice	10	Y	Y (GM schools)
Early Education and Day Care: Draft Regulations	10	Y	Y
April
Parent Governor Representatives on Education Committees: A Consultation Paper	14	Y	N
Reducing Infant Class Sizes: Draft Guidance and Outline Regulations	7	Y	N
May
Fair Funding: Improving Delegation to Schools: Consultation Paper	9	Y	(14)Y
The Education (Allocation of Grant-Maintained and Grant-Maintained Special Schools to New Categories): Draft Regulations	8	Y	N
June
School Admissions: Draft Interim Guidance	5	Y	Y
Education (Grammar School Designation) Draft Order, together with the Education (Grammar School Ballots) Draft Regulations	8	Y	Y (grammar schools)
The Religious Character of Schools (Designation Procedure) Draft Regulations and the Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character Draft Order	10	Y	Y (50 schools)
July
Home School Agreements: Draft Guidance	10	Y	Y (500 schools)
Target Setting for Reducing Exclusions and Unauthorised Absence: Consultation Paper	10	Y	Y (secondary schools)
Education (National Curriculum)(Exceptions at Key Stage 4): Draft Regulations	5	Y	Y (500 secondary schools)
Locally Agreed Syllabuses for Religious Education: Draft Order	15	Y	N
August
The Education (School Government)(Transition to New Framework) Draft Regulations	7	Y	N
The Foundation Body Draft Regulations	9	Y	N
October
Ingredients for Success: a Consultation Paper on Nutritional Standards for School Lunches	12	Y	Y (200 secondary schools)
The Protection of School Playing Fields and the Education (School Premises) Draft Regulations	9	Y	N
Standards for School Premises and the protection of School Playing Fields: Draft Guidance and Draft Regulations	8	Y	N
Local Schools Budget and Individual Schools Budget: Draft Regulations under Section 46 of the School Standards and Framework Act	4	Y	N
Determination of Budget Shares: Draft Regulations under Section 47 of the School Standards and Framework Act	4	Y	N
Schemes for Financing Schools: Draft Regulations and Outline Scheme under Section 48 of the School Standards and Framework Act	4	Y	N
The Education (Amount to Follow Permanently Excluded Pupil) Regulations 1999	4	Y	N
Admissions: Draft Code of Practice	6	Y	Y (VA, GM schools)

(14) The paper "Fair Funding: Improving Delegation to Schools" was circulated to schools on 15 June.

3 Nov 1998 : Column: 519

3 Nov 1998 : Column: 519

Study or Training Leave

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the estimated cost to his Department of granting a right to time off for study or training for 16 and 17 year olds. [57678]

Mr. Mudie: Full details of the estimated costs to the Government of introducing a right to time off for study or training for certain 16 and 17-year-old employees were

3 Nov 1998 : Column: 520

included in the Regulatory Appraisal which was published alongside the Teaching and Higher Education Bill in November 1997. A copy of the Regulatory Appraisal was placed in the Library.

Student Guidance

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to improve guidance to students for transition at 18 plus. [56208]

3 Nov 1998 : Column: 521

Mr. Mudie: Careers services are required, in partnership with schools and colleges, to provide students at 18 with access to the information, advice and guidance to enable them to make informed decisions to progress into further learning or employment. We are asking careers services to focus particular attention on those young people who are most in need of help.

School Funding

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the difference is between the local authority with (a) the highest and (b) the lowest standard spending assessment for (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools. [57670]

Ms Estelle Morris: The table sets out the education standard spending assessment per primary pupil and per secondary pupil for all local education authorities in England for 1998-99. The difference between the local authority with the highest and the lowest standard spending assessment is £1,880 per primary pupil and £2,432 per secondary pupil.

Education SSA per pupil 1998-99£

LEA	Primary per pupil	Secondary per pupil
Isles of Scilly	3,884	5,051
Tower Hamlets	3,377	4,434
Hackney	3,327	4,558
Lambeth	3,307	4,661
Southwark	3,197	4,191
Islington	3,168	4,218
Camden	3,131	3,947
Hammersmith and Fulham	3,128	4,081
Lewisham	3,111	4,088
City of London	3,094	9,236
Kensington and Chelsea	3,047	3,946
Westminster	2,987	3,741
Greenwich	2,967	3,854
Newham	2,917	3,809
Wandsworth	2,900	3,797
Haringey	2,892	3,849
Brent	2,804	3,710
Waltham Forest	2,703	3,530
Ealing	2,622	3,503
Slough	2,613	3,485
Hounslow	2,570	3,301
Barking and Dagenham	2,561	3,377
Enfield	2,528	3,260
Manchester	2,510	3,321
Croydon	2,496	3,288
Knowsley	2,489	3,336
Redbridge	2,456	3,181
Merton	2,451	3,186
Liverpool	2,436	3,165
Barnet	2,429	3,112
Hillingdon	2,399	3,115
Harrow	2,388	3,148
Nottingham City	2,382	3,135
Luton	2,380	3,111
Thurrock	2,373	3,096
Birmingham	2,370	3,113
Sutton	2,345	2,995
Leicester	2,332	3,035
Bexley	2,331	3,031
Middlesbrough	2,318	3,066
Southampton	2,310	3,036
Blackburn	2,304	2,995
Brighton and Hove	2,303	3,001
Bromley	2,298	2,965
Newcastle upon Tyne	2,296	2,998
Portsmouth	2,295	2,988
Kingston upon Thames	2,293	2,954
Havering	2,293	2,993
Isle of Wight Council	2,288	2,981
City of Kingston-upon-Hull	2,279	2,968
Reading	2,279	3,037
Bradford	2,272	2,985
Wolverhampton	2,270	2,987
Southend	2,264	2,955
Sandwell	2,261	2,954
Salford	2,259	2,970
Hertfordshire	2,257	2,927
Richmond upon Thames	2,253	2,878
Milton Keynes	2,252	2,956
Coventry	2,243	2,922
Rochdale	2,235	2,934
Halton	2,235	2,946
South Tyneside	2,232	2,900
Doncaster	2,232	2,918
Bracknell Forest	2,231	2,909
Windsor and Maidenhead	2,228	2,859
Essex	2,228	2,907
Surrey	2,228	2,897
Kent	2,227	2,902
East Sussex	2,226	2,910
Peterborough	2,222	2,886
Oldham	2,218	2,868
Wirral	2,218	2,905
Redcar and Cleveland	2,218	2,866
Hartlepool	2,208	2,875
City of Bristol	2,207	2,911
Medway Towns	2,205	2,876
Sunderland	2,203	2,871
Derby	2,197	2,865
Gateshead	2,188	2,854
North East Lincolnshire	2,187	2,849
Kirklees	2,185	2,848
Sheffield	2,184	2,854
Buckinghamshire	2,180	2,851
Bedfordshire	2,179	2,835
Oxfordshire	2,178	2,815
Walsall	2,176	2,819
Stockton-on-Tees	2,174	2,837
Blackpool	2,168	2,872
The Wrekin	2,166	2,820
Torbay	2,163	2,811
Cornwall	2,162	2,820
Calderdale	2,161	2,820
Durham	2,159	2,824
West Sussex	2,159	2,810
Bolton	2,159	2,802
St. Helens	2,158	2,824
Leeds	2,156	2,806
Stoke on Trent	2,155	2,818
North Lincolnshire	2,155	2,806
Barnsley	2,154	2,823
Norfolk	2,153	2,802
Sefton	2,153	2,789
Rotherham	2,152	2,779
Lincolnshire	2,149	2,802
Herefordshire	2,149	2,818
Plymouth	2,149	2,773
Bournemouth	2,148	2,774
Darlington	2,145	2,810
Lancashire	2,138	2,783
Devon	2,137	2,794
Tameside	2,135	2,768
Cumbria	2,133	2,774
North Tyneside	2,125	2,793
Hampshire	2,124	2,776
Northumberland	2,120	2,765
Newbury	2,118	2,733
North Yorkshire	2,117	2,732
Somerset	2,105	2,747
Cambridgeshire	2,104	2,734
Northamptonshire	2,104	2,739
Trafford	2,103	2,726
Suffolk	2,100	2,724
Shropshire	2,100	2,727
Wakefield	2,097	2,728
Wiltshire	2,092	2,731
Swindon	2,082	2,720
Bury	2,081	2,686
Gloucestershire	2,081	2,703
Nottinghamshire	2,077	2,709
Wigan	2,076	2,689
Dorset	2,073	2,691
East Riding of Yorkshire	2,071	2,688
Rutland	2,065	2,594
Warwickshire	2,063	2,685
Dudley	2,059	2,673
Cheshire	2,058	2,663
Derbyshire	2,057	2,682
York	2,056	2,700
North Somerset	2,054	2,681
Solihull	2,053	2,648
Worcestershire	2,051	2,664
Poole	2,044	2,655
Stockport	2,042	2,665
Bath and North East Somerset	2,041	2,606
Staffordshire	2,037	2,653
Warrington	2,036	2,659
Wokingham	2,028	2,657
Leicestershire	2,006	2,620
South Gloucestershire	2,004	2,619
England	2,248	2,918

3 Nov 1998 : Column: 523

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what are the current levels of funding per pupil in each local education authority. [55592]

Ms Estelle Morris: The table shows the current levels of funding per primary and secondary pupil through the education standard spending assessment system for each English local education authority. The education SSAs have increased across England between 1997-98 and 1998-99 by £119 per primary pupil and by £135 per secondary pupil.

1998-99 SSA per pupil£

LEA	Primary per pupil	Secondary per pupil	Increase 5 to 10	Increase 11 to 15
Isles of Scilly	3,884	5,051	307	349
Tower Hamlets	3,377	4,434	160	172
Hackney	3,327	4,558	148	226
Lambeth	3,307	4,661	201	257
Southwark	3,197	4,191	167	161
Islington	3,168	4,218	169	192
Camden	3,131	3,947	156	206
Hammersmith and Fulham	3,128	4,081	172	254
Lewisham	3,111	4,088	175	199
City of London	3,094	9,236	76	1,989
Kensington and Chelsea	3,047	3,946	336	315
Westminster	2,987	3,741	197	162
Greenwich	2,967	3,854	157	174
Newham	2,917	3,809	165	190
Wandsworth	2,900	3,797	121	127
Haringey	2,892	3,849	130	127
Brent	2,804	3,710	156	131
Waltham Forest	2,703	3,530	140	130
Ealing	2,622	3,503	143	172
Slough	2,613	3,485	165	207
Hounslow	2,570	3,301	130	146
Barking and Dagenham	2,561	3,377	133	162
Enfield	2,528	3,260	130	128
Manchester	2,510	3,321	150	183
Croydon	2,496	3,288	135	163
Knowsley	2,489	3,336	108	158
Redbridge	2,456	3,181	133	144
Merton	2,451	3,186	137	156
Liverpool	2,436	3,165	141	142
Barnet	2,429	3,112	128	135
Hillingdon	2,399	3,115	137	146
Harrow	2,388	3,148	121	148
Nottingham City	2,382	3,135	119	138
Luton	2,380	3,111	136	152
Thurrock	2,373	3,096	133	157
Birmingham	2,370	3,113	130	152
Sutton	2,345	2,995	126	129
Leicester	2,332	3,035	124	136
Bexley	2,331	3,031	125	143
Middlesbrough	2,318	3,066	118	130
Southampton	2,310	3,036	131	147
Blackburn	2,304	2,995	125	147
Brighton and Hove	2,303	3,001	130	154
Bromley	2,298	2,965	119	125
Newcastle upon Tyne	2,296	2,998	125	151
Portsmouth	2,295	2,988	132	156
Kingston upon Thames	2,293	2,954	125	129
Havering	2,293	2,993	117	140
Isle of Wight Council	2,288	2,981	122	140
City of Kingston-upon-Hull	2,279	2,968	120	134
Reading	2,279	3,037	126	140
Bradford	2,272	2,985	120	140
Wolverhampton	2,270	2,987	119	138
Southend	2,264	2,955	129	145
Sandwell	2,261	2,954	121	146
Salford	2,259	2,970	120	155
Hertfordshire	2,257	2,927	123	139
Richmond upon Thames	2,253	2,878	127	150
Milton Keynes	2,252	2,956	120	142
Coventry	2,243	2,922	120	136
Rochdale	2,235	2,934	121	128
Halton	2,235	2,946	107	135
South Tyneside	2,232	2,900	111	120
Doncaster	2,232	2,918	116	135
Bracknell Forest	2,231	2,909	127	157
Windsor and Maidenhead	2,228	2,859	130	154
Essex	2,228	2,907	124	145
Surrey	2,228	2,897	119	133
Kent	2,227	2,902	123	143
East Sussex	2,226	2,910	132	156
Peterborough	2,222	2,886	123	130
Oldham	2,218	2,868	117	135
Wirral	2,218	2,905	118	141
Redcar and Cleveland	2,218	2,866	112	127
Hartlepool	2,208	2,875	110	120
City of Bristol	2,207	2,911	114	127
Medway Towns	2,205	2,876	113	127
Sunderland	2,203	2,871	114	127
Derby	2,197	2,865	112	118
Gateshead	2,188	2,854	114	117
North East Lincolnshire	2,187	2,849	111	121
Kirklees	2,185	2,848	119	129
Sheffield	2,184	2,854	115	129
Buckinghamshire	2,180	2,851	116	138
Bedfordshire	2,179	2,835	124	138
Oxfordshire	2,178	2,815	131	145
Walsall	2,176	2,819	105	118
Stockton-on-Tees	2,174	2,837	108	130
Blackpool	2,168	2,872	120	133
The Wrekin	2,166	2,820	106	119
Torbay	2,163	2,811	108	123
Cornwall	2,162	2,820	105	122
Calderdale	2,161	2,820	110	130
Durham	2,159	2,824	116	138
West Sussex	2,159	2,810	117	135
Bolton	2,159	2,802	117	128
St. Helens	2,158	2,824	113	128
Leeds	2,156	2,806	115	125
Stoke on Trent	2,155	2,818	112	125
North Lincolnshire	2,155	2,806	116	133
Barnsley	2,154	2,823	116	136
Norfolk	2,153	2,802	111	127
Sefton	2,153	2,789	116	127
Rotherham	2,152	2,779	115	123
Lincolnshire	2,149	2,802	108	126
Herefordshire	2,149	2,818	102	111
Plymouth	2,149	2,773	115	128
Bournemouth	2,148	2,774	115	124
Darlington	2,145	2,810	107	127
Lancashire	2,138	2,783	112	126
Devon	2,137	2,794	112	125
Tameside	2,135	2,768	111	119
Cumbria	2,133	2,774	111	129
North Tyneside	2,125	2,793	109	128
Hampshire	2,124	2,776	117	145
Northumberland	2,120	2,765	105	126
Newbury	2,118	2,733	124	143
North Yorkshire	2,117	2,732	111	129
Somerset	2,105	2,747	110	125
Cambridgeshire	2,104	2,734	115	122
Northamptonshire	2,104	2,739	105	118
Trafford	2,103	2,726	110	123
Suffolk	2,100	2,724	118	124
Shropshire	2,100	2,727	100	115
Wakefield	2,097	2,728	109	124
Wiltshire	2,092	2,731	105	128
Swindon	2,082	2,720	103	119
Bury	2,081	2,686	109	127
Gloucestershire	2,081	2,703	104	118
Nottinghamshire	2,077	2,709	108	128
Wigan	2,076	2,689	107	116
Dorset	2,073	2,691	110	126
East Riding of Yorkshire	2,071	2,688	110	126
Rutland	2,065	2,594	123	128
Warwickshire	2,063	2,685	102	112
Dudley	2,059	2,673	105	113
Cheshire	2,058	2,663	106	121
Derbyshire	2,057	2,682	105	117
York	2,056	2,700	111	134
North Somerset	2,054	2,681	112	128
Solihull	2,053	2,648	93	108
Worcestershire	2,051	2,664	94	105
Poole	2,044	2,655	101	115
Stockport	2,042	2,665	102	117
Bath and North East Somerset	2,041	2,606	108	122
Staffordshire	2,037	2,653	102	119
Warrington	2,036	2,659	97	115
Wokingham	2,028	2,657	115	139
Leicestershire	2,006	2,620	101	116
South Gloucestershire	2,004	2,619	102	122
Total	2,248	2,918	119	135

3 Nov 1998 : Column: 525

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