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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Voluntary Work
14. Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his plans to encourage and support voluntary work in the community. [88980]
Ms Hodge: The Department encourages a wide range of voluntary activity in education and training. We have also established Millennium Volunteers to enable young people aged 16-24 to give their time for the benefit of others and support of the Prime Minister's vision of an Active Community.
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
15. Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to inform employers and small businesses of their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [88981]
Ms Hodge: On 9 June my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched our "See the Person" campaign which, among other things, aims to improve business awareness of obligations to disabled people under the DDA. The DDA Helpline continues to provide help. A range of leaflets and advice has been produced, targeted at suppliers of goods and services and employers. On 29 June we published a new Code of Practice on the DDA responsibilities of service providers. This will be backed by national newspaper advertisements in July, and further newspaper and radio advertisements in the Autumn, as well as articles, speeches and seminars targeted at business.
School Repairs
16. Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment his Department has made of the progress made in eliminating the backlog of essential repairs and improvements to school buildings in England. [88982]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
We certainly inherited a large backlog of repairs and improvements when we took office. We have already allocated £680 million under the New Deal for Schools and will be supporting capital works amounting to a further £5 billion over the rest of this Parliament. This represents a doubling of investment compared to the previous Government and will substantially reduce the backlog. LEAs are responsible for their own maintenance programmes. By developing Asset Management Plans, which we are supporting and encouraging they will be able to make a more accurate assessment of capital spending needs and priorities, in consultation with their schools and their local partners.
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 629
17. Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what support is given by his Department to initiatives for helping young people who are not in education, training or employment. [88983]
Mr. Mudie:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in announcing the Government's White Paper, "Learning to Succeed", outlined a new strategy called 'Connexions' for making sure that far more young people continue in education and training until they are at least 19.
Alongside the forthcoming Social Exclusion Unit Report on 16-18 year olds not in education, training or work, and building on the White Paper, we expect to announce more about the strategy and the new support service for young people shortly.
18. Mrs. Mahon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps his Department is taking to tackle age discrimination in the workplace. [88984]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
We are making good progress. Within the last month we have launched the Code of Practice for Age Diversity in Employment; announced the Pathfinder Areas for the New Deal 50plus and initiated consultation on the basic design guidelines for New Deal 50plus. Copies have been placed in the Library.
19. Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the Government's policy in respect of those with severe learning disability. [88985]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Our policies for children with special educational needs, including those with severe learning difficulties, are set out in "Meeting Special Educational Needs: a programme of action", published on 5 November 1998.
20. Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the funds passed on to schools by local education authorities in 1999-2000. [88986]
Ms Estelle Morris:
I would refer my hon. Friend to the tables which we recently published which show that in 1999-2000 14 authorities passed on less than 90 per cent. of the increase in the education Standard Spending Assessment and a further 20 are passing on less than the full 100 per cent. of the increase. The remaining authorities passed at least 100 per cent. of the increase and in some cases more.
30. Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received on the tables of English local education authorities schools' budgets. [88996]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The feedback that we have received so far from local education authorities on the tables of comparative data has on the whole been positive.
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 630
34. Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list those local authorities not spending the full amount of their central Government funding allocated for schools. [89000]
Ms Estelle Morris:
We published tables of local education authority expenditure for the first time on 24 June. They indicated that 34 authorities had increased their education budgets this year by less than 100 per cent. of the increase of their Standard Spending Assessment: full details are in the tables, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries. The figures were constructed from a comparison between the Local Schools' Budget in 1999-2000 and the General Schools budget in 1998-99, with adjustments and making allowance for authorities' expenditure on non-school items.
35. Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received about the funding of schools in Northumberland; and if he will make a statement. [89001]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Since the start of the financial year the Department has received five letters about school funding in Northumberland.
21. Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made in reducing class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds; and if he will make a statement. [88987]
Ms Estelle Morris:
We are on course to meet our pledge to limit infant class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds to 30 or below by September 2001. There were almost 130,000 fewer infants in classes over 30 in January this year than in January 1998. We expect the number of infant pupils in classes over 30 to fall below 200,000 by September, a reduction of almost 60 per cent. on the January 1998 figure of 485,000.
22. Mr. Derek Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what provisions there are in the National Curriculum to ensure the teaching of literacy in primary schools. [88988]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Our proposals for the revised National Curriculum are fully aligned with the objectives in the National Literacy Strategy "Framework for Teaching", which primary schools have been teaching in the daily Literacy Hour since September 1998.
23. Judy Mallaber:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which areas have been chosen for new deal 50plus pathfinder projects. [88989]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
There will be nine pathfinder areas, one in each of the seven Employment Service regions in England, and one each in Scotland and Wales. Those areas are: Black Country; City Pride Manchester; Dorset; Durham; Edinburgh East and Midlothian; Hull; North Derbyshire; North East Wales; and Oxfordshire.
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 631
24. Caroline Flint:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what responses there have been to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's consultation on establishing a foundation stage for three to five-year-olds. [88990]
Ms Hodge:
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's recently published summary of responses to the review of the Desirable Learning Outcomes shows overwhelming support for the establishment of a foundation stage for three to five-year-olds.
| Questions asked by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority | Sample response |
|---|---|
| Are the aims of the foundation stage broadly right? | 98 |
| Do the Early Learning Goals reflect the aims? | Average 95 |
| Are the Early Learning goals appropriate for the majority of children at the end of the foundation stage? | Average 91 |
| Should a foundation stage be established? | 89 |
27. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to raise the quality of early years pre-school education. [88993]
Ms Hodge: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is reviewing the Desirable Learning Outcomes and has proposed the introduction of a Foundation Stage until the end of Reception Year. The QCA is also establishing a Qualifications and Training Framework for the early years education, child care and playwork sector. The Government are currently considering their response to the consultation on regulation and inspection of early years education and care and hope to make an announcement shortly.
32. Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the review of pre- school education will be completed; and if he will make a statement. [88998]
Ms Hodge: I have asked the panel reviewing the future role of pre-schools and playgroups to report to me by the middle of August. The review is considering how pre-schools and playgroups can play a full part in the expansion of early education and child care services.
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