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Wirral Metropolitan College
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will place in the Library copies of the draft reports prepared for the FEFC by the inspectors of Wirral Metropolitan College. [83690]
Mr. Mudie: Copies of the FEFC inspection report on Wirral Metropolitan College have been placed in the Library as stated in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 21 April 1999, Official Report, column 558.
Headteachers' Pay Awards
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many headteachers will receive the maximum pay award this year. [83757]
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Ms Estelle Morris
[holding answer 10 May 1999]: Pay awards will vary according to individual circumstances, and will depend on a headteacher's position on the existing pay spine and whether the school will move to a higher range on the new pay spine when its weighted pupil numbers are recalculated in the restructuring. The figure of 9.5 per cent. which has been quoted represents the average increase payable to the 2,970 headteachers of small primary schools with fewer than 100 pupils.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what decision he has reached on the proposed intervention in Hackney Education Authority; and if he will publish lists of organisations which may be invited to bid for work as service providers in failing local education authorities. [84049]
Ms Estelle Morris:
On 19 March my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Hackney to inform them that, following Ofsted's second critical report, he was minded to direct the Director of Education to contract out the School Improvement Service (SIS) and the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS--formerly the Language and Learning Service) and asked them for their views. KPMG were appointed to draw up specifications for this work and also advise on the case for contracting out the ICT, Finance and Personnel Services. KPMG have now reported and I am today announcing the next steps for Hackney.
I am also publishing the list of organisations who may be invited to bid for work as service providers in failing LEAs and a list of those who may be used for consultancy work. Discussions are continuing with a number of organisations which may be added to the service provider list in the near future.
My right hon. Friend has written to Hackney today to confirm that we have accepted KPMG's advice that the next steps will involve contracting out the work of the School Improvement Service and the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service. The Government are inviting a number of organisations to bid for this work. We aim to have a contractor in place shortly to take on the functions of the SIS. The functions of the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service will transfer to the contractor on 1 April 2000 by which time the LEA will have reorganised this service to take account of the fact that most of the funding for extra teaching support now goes directly to schools.
Following advice from KPMG, my right hon. Friend has decided that ICT, Finance and Personnel should not be added to the package at this stage as the LEA has taken a number of important steps to improve the delivery of these services--including making key appointments and drawing up rigorous action plans. We will monitor these services very carefully and will not hesitate to add them to the contract if improvements are not delivered quickly.
Six organisations will be awarded framework contracts for possible consultancy work relating to LEA interventions. They are KPMG, Lorien, Capita, Office of Public Management, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen/Birmingham LEA.
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Ten organisations succeeded in gaining places on the current list of those who may be invited to bid for contracts as service providers in LEAs. They are Arthur Andersen/Birmingham LEA/APS Keele, Cambridge Education Associates, Nord Anglia, Hampshire LEA, The Education Partnership, Capita, CfBT, Essex LEA/Windsor and Co., Include and CEM Consortium.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the introduction of a green transport plan for his Department. [82835]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Since last July's Integrated Transport White Paper, which set targets for the introduction of green transport plans for Government Departments, we have completed five plans covering all our headquarters and main buildings. The Employment Service have also completed a plan covering their headquarters and main buildings.
We are developing plans for all other key buildings in line with the target for March 2000 set in the Integrated Transport White Paper.
Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what role the Environment Agency in Wales plays in monitoring experiments in genetically modified crops. [82221]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
None. The Government are advised on experimental releases of genetically modified organisms by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE). ACRE carry out an assessment of each application and advise the Government about the risks posed to human health and the environment; whether or not a consent should be granted; and whether any risk management of the release should be required as a condition of the consent. ACRE take a case by case approach to each application, taking into account the specific circumstances of the proposed release or marketing. The consents are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive specialist inspectors.
The Secretary of State for Wales' responsibilities in this area are shortly to transfer to the National Assembly for Wales.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what (a) reciprocal and (b) other arrangements have been made for hon. Members to use facilities at the National Assembly of Wales. [83239]
Mr. Michael:
This will be a matter for the Assembly to consider.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much NHS modernisation fund money has
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been allocated to the NHS in Wales (a) in total and (b) by health authority; and on what date the allocations were made. [83254]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones
[holding answer 4 May 1999]: There is no specific NHS modernisation fund in Wales but, as reported in my right hon. Friend's answer on 31 March 1999, Official Report, columns 719-20, health authority allocations for 1999-2000 are being increased by £168 million.
Following the transfer of functions, this will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the introduction of a green transport plan for his Department. [82829]
Mr. Hain:
Since last July's Integrated Transport White Paper which set targets for the introduction of green transport plans we have been working on a range of measures to encourage greener travel. These will be included in our Green Transport Plan for Cathays Park which is due to be completed by 31 May.
Following the transfer of functions, this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mr. Mullin:
To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer of 23 April 1999, Official Report, column 699, on freemasons, what further plans he has in relation to the CPS lawyers who declined to say whether or not they were freemasons and those who did not respond. [83375]
The Solicitor-General:
CPS lawyers, in accordance with Government policy, were invited to disclose freemasonry membership. As this was always a voluntary exercise, no further action is intended with regard to those lawyers.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what data he has collated on the possibility that spent nuclear fuel has been imported for the purpose of sham reprocessing at Sellafield as defined by the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's September 1997 report on the Import and Export of Radioactive Waste; in respect of which countries; and if he will make a statement; [83265]
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Mr. Battle
[holding answer 5 May 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor) on 10 February 1998, Official Report, column 206.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK energy generated by wind turbines in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002. [83320]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 5 May 1999]: The Department has estimated that electricity generation from wind turbines will grow from 750 GWh in 1999 to 1,000 GWh in 2000; 1,300 GWh in 2001 and 1,600 GWh in 2002.
(2) if his Department will conduct a study into how the tests for sham reprocessing recommended in the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's September 1997 report on the Import and Export of Radioactive Waste might be incorporated into UK law; and if he will make a statement. [82826]
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