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School Performance
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to commission research on the impact of socio-economic factors on school performance tables. [66603]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 20 January 1999]: We are currently considering our programme for future research. The impact of socio-economic factors upon school performance is one of the subjects under consideration in this programme.
Secondary School Teachers
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, following implementation of the School Teachers' Review Body's recommendations on salaries for secondary school teachers, what will be the pay differential between the salaries of secondary school teachers and further education college lecturers at the lowest, mid-point and highest points of the salary scale. [69582]
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Mr. Mudie:
Comparable information on scales in the school and FE sectors is not current available.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the total number of staff (a) in his Department and (b) in each of the agencies for which he is responsible and their location in (i) London, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) each of the English regions. [70481]
Mr. Mudie
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: A regional distribution of DfEE staff, including staff in the Employment Service, can be found in Table 3 of "Civil Service Statistics 1998". A copy of this publication is in the Library.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he has taken to relocate staff in (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible to the regions of the United Kingdom with the highest levels of unemployment; and what plans he has further to decentralise the location of his Department and its agencies. [70467]
Mr. Mudie
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: About half of DfEE staff are located outside London in Sheffield, Darlington, Runcorn and Regional Government Offices. Employment Service staff are located throughout England, Scotland and Wales serving the needs of the unemployed. The appropriate location of DfEE work across the department sites is kept under regular review. The Employment Service is by its nature already decentralised.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the numbers and percentages of surplus places are in each local education authority in England; and if he will make a statement on his policy on surplus places in schools. [69657]
Mr. Charles Clarke
[pursuant to his reply 4 February 1999, c. 709]: There was an error in the primary figures for Lambeth local education authority. Lambeth has 3,442 surplus primary school places, representing 17 per cent. of total capacity, and 10 primary schools with a surplus of 25 per cent. or more, representing 14 per cent. of all schools. This means there were 762,329 surplus school places in January 1998 and 2,530 schools with a surplus of 25 per cent. or more.
Mr. Wyatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many local authority-partnership schools have basic needs capital building projects starting after 1 April; and what arrangements are in place for local authority-partnership schools to reclaim VAT paid on these projects. [71358]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The Department does not hold information on how many such schools have basic need projects starting after 1 April 1999. The Department provides additional funding where a local education authority (LEA) can demonstrate that there will be a shortfall of places in an area in the medium term. It is, however, for each LEA to decide how to meet that
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shortfall, including how many of its existing schools to extend or adapt and what new schools to build. The Department itself provides grant directly to governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools. We expect to fund 28 projects to meet Basic Need starting after 1 April 1999.
The VAT treatment of capital building projects at schools maintained by LEAs depends upon the precise contractual arrangements in place.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each of the years 1990 to 1998 the number of press releases issued by his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies. [71485]
Mr. Mudie:
The number of press releases issued between 1990 and 1998 for this Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Qualifications & Curriculum Authority (QCA)(105) | 269 |
| Further Education Funding Council (FEFCE) | 194 |
| Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) | 171 |
| Funding Agency for Schools (FAS) | 36 |
| Teacher Training Agency (TTA) | 79 |
| Employment Service (ES)(106) | 31 |
(105) Includes figures for the previous bodies (SCAA, SEAC, NCC, NCVQ)
(106) Figures since June 1997. Prior to that date press releases were included in Departmental releases and does not include releases put out regionally by the Employment Service.
These are overall figures. A breakdown of figures year by year between 1990 and 1998 could not be supplied by the agencies concerned as no records were kept.
PRIME MINISTER
Elections
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Prime Minister what advice has been given to civil servants on the conduct of Government business during the forthcoming elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and local councils on 6 May and to the European Parliament on 10 June. [72140]
The Prime Minister: The Government have issued guidance to civil servants on the principles which they should observe in relation to the conduct of Government business in the period before the forthcoming elections.
The guidance stresses that civil servants should conduct themselves in accordance with the Civil Service code and is based on the need to maintain political impartiality of the Civil Service and the need to ensure that public resources are not used for party political purposes.
The guidance will come into force on 13 April for the 6 May elections and on 20 May for the 10 June elections.
Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Libraries of the House, and are also available from the Vote Office.
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Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the reason for Judge Willis being removed from hearing the case of R. v. Sparkes at the Bristol Crown Court in 1996-97; what advice was afterwards given by the Lord Chancellor to those responsible for the removal; if an apology was given to Judge Willis; and if he will make a statement. [71666]
Mr. Hoon:
The circumstances of this matter have so far as possible been fully investigated by the Lord Chancellor. Following a series of related cases being heard by Judge Willis in late 1996, an allegation of bias was made by the prosecution, who proposed to make application to the senior Presiding Judge of the Western Circuit in open court for the appointment of another judge to hear the case of R. v. Sparkes which Judge Willis was due to try. The Presiding Judge was then engaged in a highly publicised trial attracting much press interest. He was of the opinion that no matter how fanciful the substance of the allegation it was undesirable that the application should be made. With (as he understood) the concurrence of the Recorder of Bristol and Judge Willis, he accordingly arranged for another judge to conduct the trial in R. v. Sparkes. He did so knowing that, if the Defence objected, they could apply to have Judge Willis reassigned to the original case. This is what, in the event, happened.
The Lord Chancellor has informed the then Presiding Judge that he does not believe the matter was dealt with as it should have been. An allegation of bias should in his judgment be addressed in open court, or at least with all the parties present in chambers. In some circumstances, such an application might be made to the judge against whom bias is alleged.
Unfortunately, Judge Willis died before the Lord Chancellor had completed his investigations and before any question of any apology could be considered. The Lord Chancellor would however wish to make plain that there was never any ground to question the integrity of the late Judge Willis, which remains wholly untarnished and the Presiding Judge never for a moment thought otherwise.
Mr. Berry:
To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the impact on his Department's policies of the goods and services provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to be implemented in October 1999. [71265]
Mr. Hoon:
Consideration has been given to the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the changes that would be necessary to its practices, policies and procedures. Plans are in place to meet the requirements under the Act both in October 1999 and those parts of the Act due to come into force in 2004. Access to information and the training and awareness of staff have been identified as the key areas where changes will need to be made before October 1999.
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