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Further Education Funding
26. Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his plans for funding of further education. [64066]
Mr. Mudie: This Government have announced that further education colleges will have £725 million more over the next two years. This will enable major progress to be made towards providing for an extra 700,000 students in further education by 2001-02 and raising standards across the sector.
School Councils
27. Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of schools which currently have school councils. [64067]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department does not collect such data centrally. However, in a survey for the Institute of Citizenship Studies--Citizenship Education in Primary Schools (Kerr 1996), 14 per cent. of the 144 schools responding said they had a school council; some 75 per cent. said they involved pupils in negotiating rules on behaviour. In a similar survey of secondary schools--Citizenship Education in Secondary Schools--a national survey (Fogelman 1991)--around 60 per cent. of the 455 schools surveyed said they had school councils.
Education Welfare Officers
29. Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to improve the training and qualifications of education welfare officers. [64069]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 22 October 1998, Official Report, columns 1189-90.
Three-year-olds
30. Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much has been allocated to local authorities to enable them to provide pre-school places for three-year-olds. [64070]
Ms Hodge:
On 30 December 1998, the Department announced that we would be making available £390 million additional funding for over the next three years. This will enable the participation rate for three-year-olds in early education to approximately double to 66 per cent. by 2002. I should also add that there has been an increase of 9½ per cent. in Local Education Authority's standard spending assessments. Local Education Authorities can spend this money on early years education if they wish.
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31. Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to monitor the implementation of his reforms in schools. [64071]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The overall effect of our education reforms on schools standards will be monitored through the annual collation and publication of examination and test results, and through the continuing inspection programme of OFSTED. There will also be evaluation of the impact of individual policies.
32. Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimates he has made of the number of schools connected to the Internet; and if he will make a statement. [64072]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Latest estimates indicate that over 12,000 schools are connected to the Internet. Our aim is that all schools should be online and able to benefit from access the National Grid for Learning by 2002. To help achieve this target we are supporting over £700 million of ICT-related expenditure in UK schools over this period.
34. Barbara Follett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his plans for the youth service. [64074]
Mr. Mudie:
I refer my hon. Friend to my oral answer today, Official Report, column 431, to my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Mr. Hope).
35. Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate the number of children between the ages of seven and 11 years currently being taught in classes of over 30 in maintained schools in England. [64075]
Ms Estelle Morris:
In January 1998 there were 832,668 pupils in Key Stage 2 classes of more than 30 pupils taught by one teacher.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the potential impact of delegation of spending on the provision of support for children with special educational needs. [64059]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The new arrangements for school funding continue to allow flexibility for spending to support children's special educational needs to be made by local education authorities or by school governing bodies as appropriate.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list his Department's approved
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PFI projects together with the relevant local education authorities and the amount of finance involved in each case. [65112]
Mr. Charles Clarke
[holding answer 11 January 1999]: The schools PFI projects that have been approved so far by the Department and the Treasury chaired Project Review Group are as follows:
The majority of these projects are currently in, or about to enter, contractual negotiations with potential private sector partners. It would not, therefore, be appropriate at this stage to release details of the funding for individual projects. Individual local education authorities, however, may be prepared to release details of the funding that has been approved. The overall total funding to be provided by central Government through PFI credits for all of the above projects is £705 million. Three projects have completed negotiations and have signed contracts. PFI credits have been approved for these projects as follows:
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Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent representations he has received on age discrimination. [64052]
Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to discourage age discrimination; and if he will make a statement. [64051]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
With key partners such as TUC, CBI and Age Concern, we have been developing a draft code of practice to promote age diversity in employment. It covers all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection training, development, redundancy and retirement.
The most recent representations on age discrimination in employment have been on the subject of the draft Code which was published for wider consultation on 16 November 1998. We are pleased with the wide interest the draft prompted, with copies being distributed to individuals, businesses, interest groups representing older people and Trades Unions. The consultation came to an end on 8 January and we are currently analysing the responses and representations we have received. The full version of the Code will be launched in the Spring.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what role his Department has in the tendering process for the provision of digital broadcasting services to support the GCSE curriculum; [65690]
(3) what advertising, subscription and sponsorship revenue sources will be permitted to the provider of digital broadcast services to support the GCSE curriculum; [65691]
(4) if he will place in the Library a copy of the tender document for the provision of digital broadcasting services to support the GCSE curriculum; [65686]
(5) which national curriculum subjects will be supported by a digitally broadcast education service; [65688]
(6) what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of establishing a digital broadcast service to support the GCSE curriculum in (a) year one, (b) year two and (c) year three of operation; [65684]
(7) what plans he has to encourage (a) schools, (b) individuals and (c) others to subscribe to a new digital broadcast channel to support the GCSE curriculum. [65693]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Department for Education and Employment has invited companies with a broadcasting or transmission licence and experience in the provision of educational broadcast material to submit tenders on a competitive basis for the provision of specific digital broadcasting services to support the GCSE curriculum. These services will support GCSEs in English, mathematics, double award science, history and geography.
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Bids are currently being considered and information relating to them is commercial in confidence. The precise cost and nature of the services, plans to promote them and permitted sources of revenue will depend on the outcome of the tender exercise and will form part of any contract. A copy of the Invitation to Tender for the digital broadcasting services is being deposited in the Library.
Individual School Projects and Local Education Authority
Colfox Secondary School; Dorset
new secondary school; Enfield
new secondary school; Essex
new secondary school; Hillingdon
Victoria Dock Primary School; Kingston upon Hull
Swanscombe Secondary School; Kent
Lillian Bayliss Secondary School; Lambeth
Fleetwood High School; Lancashire
Speke Forward Learning Centre; Liverpool
Cardinal Heenan Secondary School; Leeds
Temple Primary School; Manchester
new secondary school; Portsmouth
Mulberry School; Tower Hamlets
new secondary school; Waltham Forest
Pimlico School; Westminster
Grouped Schools Projects (Repair/Rebuild/Refurbishment schemes) and Local Education Authorities
10 schools; Birmingham
36 schools; Cornwall
6 schools; East Riding of Yorkshire
5 schools; East Sussex
10 schools; Haringey
7 schools; Leeds
4 schools; North Yorkshire
6 schools; Nottinghamshire
6 schools; Sheffield
2 schools; Staffordshire
126 schools; Stoke on Trent
schools rationalisation scheme; Tameside
2 schools; Torbay
47 schools; Tower Hamlets
3 schools; Wiltshire
9 schools; Wirral
104 schools (Information Technology project); Dudley
90 schools (catering project); Lewisham.
Colfox Secondary School; Dorset--£15 million;
new secondary school; Hillingdon--£19 million; and
Victoria Dock Primary School; Kingston upon Hull--£2 million.
(2) how many bids have been received in response to the tender for the provision of digital broadcasting services to support the GCSE curriculum; and from which companies; [65689]
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