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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Pupil Registration Regulations

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to amend the Pupil Registration Regulations; and if he will make a statement. [68624]

Ms Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to amend the regulations. Advice on registration issues is however included in our new guidance on "Social Inclusion: Pupil Support", which was issued for consultation on 22 January 1999. We shall of course consider the case for any amendments in the context of responses to that document.

Departmental Spending

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will (a) account for the difference between outturn departmental spending in Table A1 of the Comprehensive Spending Review and outturn departmental spending in Table 1.2 of the 1998-99 Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis for his Department for (i) 1993-94, (ii) 1994-95, (iii) 1995-96 and (iv) 1996-97 and (b) provide forecast figures for departmental spending for his Department in (1) 1997-98, (2) 1998-99, (3) 1999-2000, (4) 2000-01 and (5) 2001-02 on a comparable basis to Table 1.2 of the 1998-99 Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis. [68380]

Mr. Mudie: The figures in Table 1.2 in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis relating to DfEE include net lending to students but exclude subsidy payments and an element for bad debt. The equivalent figures in Table A1 of the Comprehensive Spending Review White paper exclude net lending to students but include subsidy payments and an element for bad debt.

2 Feb 1999 : Column: 599

It is not possible to provide forecast figures for departmental spending for DfEE for 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 on a comparable basis to Table 1.2 of the 1998-99 Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis. The data in PESA give each Department's Control Total for the years in question. That method of controlling expenditure has been replaced with Departmental Expenditure Limits. Control Total data and Departmental Expenditure Limits data are not comparable. With that caveat, the information requested is shown in the following table:

DfEE Spending plans

Year£ million
1997-98(30)14,622
1998-99(31)14,166
1999-2000(31)15,473
2000-01(31)17,295
2001-02(31)18,612

(30) estimated outturn

(31) plans

Note:

1 The figure for 1997-98 is the Control Total for DfEE in Table 1.2 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 1998-99.

2 The figures for other years are the Department's Expenditure Limits in Table 6.1 of the Comprehensive Spending Review White Paper, Cm 4011.


TECs (North-east)

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the cash balances held by each of the training and enterprise councils in the north-east Region, as at December 1998. [68317]

Mr. Mudie: The following table provides the cash balances held by each of the Training and Enterprise Councils in the north-east as at March 1998. Information as at December 1998 is not available.

£

TECCash balance as at March 1998
County Durham8,919,543
Northumberland3,145,209
Tees Valley8,101,000
Tyneside6,696,000
Sunderland City3,357,671
Total30,219,423

Disability Rights Commission

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 11 January 1999, Official Report, column 97, if he will set out his Department's estimate of the associated costs of the proposals for the Disability Rights Commission to undertake (a) working towards the elimination of discrimination against disabled persons, (b) promoting the equalisation of opportunities for disabled persons in all fields of activity and (c) reviewing the working of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [68532]

Ms Hodge [holding answer 1 February 1999]: A provisional annual allocation of £11 million has been made for the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) in 2000-01 and 2001-02. It will be for the Commission when it is established to decide how to allocate its resources.

2 Feb 1999 : Column: 600

Meanwhile interim estimates indicate some 10 per cent. of that annual budget may be devoted to administrative costs; 40 per cent. to advice and information, conciliation, assistance to individuals and formal investigations; 30 per cent. to promotional work, and 20 per cent. to policy work. Estimates are not available in the precise form requested by the hon. Member.

The Government will keep the annual allocations under view in the light of operational experience of the Commission.

Hospitality Industry

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many New Deal places have been offered by the United Kingdom hospitality industry; and how many have been taken up. [68862]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Richard Foster to Mr. Peter Ainsworth, dated 2 February 1999:



    Up to the end of December some 57,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 had entered jobs after having started the New Deal. Of these the available data indicates that around 8 per cent. had entered jobs in the hospitality sector. No similar information is available specifically in respect of job offers or, as yet in relation to entrants to job under the New Deal for those aged over 25 and for lone parents.


    I hope this is helpful.

Highcliffe School

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his oral statement of 27 January 1999, Official Report, column 307, on Highcliffe School, what is the basis of the calculation that Dorset has been allocated a 7.3 per cent. increase in standard spending assessment for education in 1999-2000; and if he will express the increased allocation as a percentage per pupil. [68990]

Ms Estelle Morris: Dorset's provisional education standard spending assessment for 1999-2000 represents an underlying increase of £9.2 million or 7.3 per cent.. These figures illustrate the effect of allowing for local authority changes of function and taking account of new arrangements for funding music and student support. The allocation represents a year-on-year increase in overall education SSA funding per pupil of 4.3 per cent..

Millennium Compliance

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many millennium bug-busters have successfully completed their training to date. [68727]

2 Feb 1999 : Column: 601

Mr. Mudie: The latest figures show that 8,916 trainees have started Bug Buster courses, and of these 7,209 have completed. A further 9,011 are booked.

Education Action Zones

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidelines his Department has issued on the calculation of the value of gifts in kind donated by businesses to Education Action Zones. [68937]

Ms Estelle Morris: We issued guidance in September 1998, and supplemented this in January 1999. I have placed copies of the guidance in the Library.

Teacher Training

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the targets set by his Department for the number of students entering teacher training in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000, by phase. [68936]

Ms Estelle Morris: The following table shows the target intake to initial teacher training for the years 1997-98 to 1999-2000, by phase.

Target recruitment to initial teacher training (ITT) courses in England, 1997-98 to 1999-2000

PrimarySecondaryTotal
1997-9811,05019,50030,550
1998-9911,50019,10030,600
1999-200012,00017,21029,210

Source:

DfEE



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