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National Grid for Learning

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools (a) have produced and (b) are preparing development plans in connection with the National Grid for Learning. [93163]

Mr. Charles Clarke: All schools seeking grant in relation to the National Grid for Learning are expected to agree with their local education authority a development plan for the use of Information and Communications Technology. Information about the number of schools which have already done so is not held by the Department.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what part BT is playing in the establishment of the National Grid for Learning; and how it is otherwise providing information technology for schools. [93164]

Mr. Charles Clarke: BT, in common with other companies operating in the telecommunications and ICT industries, has a role to play in making a range of services available to schools and other organisations in order to enable those institutions to make optimum use of the Information Age.

The products and services that BT makes available to schools are a commercial decision and a matter for the company.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the sums allocated by each local authority in respect of the National Grid for Learning; and how much the sums amount to in each authority on (a) a per-pupil and (b) a per-school basis. [92746]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on the NGfL funding devolved to each school is not held centrally by the Department. However, the total amount of grant allocated to each authority from the National Grid for Learning Standards Fund programme in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 is set out in the tables. LEAs are required to devolve 95 per cent. of their allocation to schools.

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 171

£

LEA name1998-99 allocation1999-2000 allocationTotal allocation
Barking and Dagenham622,000484,6381,106,638
Barnet483,989562,5001,046,489
Barnsley660,000429,7571,089,757
Bath and NE Somerset350,000227,901577,901
Bedfordshire920,000830,2501,750,250
Bexley406,430488,360894,790
Birmingham4,000,0004,000,0008,000,000
Blackburn293,573449,871743,444
Blackpool233,891376,443610,334
Bolton750,000607,5001,357,500
Bournemouth183,098187,500370,598
Bracknell Forest196,886260,459457,345
Bradford1,002,0001,600,0002,602,000
Brent305,886358,131664,017
Brighton and Hove769,000502,5001,271,500
Bromley196,000536,027732,027
Buckinghamshire1,250,0001,125,0002,375,000
Bury393,713359,433753,146
Calderdale179,278509,857689,135
Cambridgeshire968,886911,6061,880,492
Camden500,000383,667883,667
Cheshire1,272,149982,5002,254,649
City of Bristol763,6571,229,0911,992,748
City of Kingston-upon-Hull540,171750,0001,290,171
City of London010,00010,000
Cornwall978,576651,1471,629,723
Coventry629,5911,013,3131,642,904
Croydon480,000343,968823,968
Cumbria1,500,0001,500,0003,000,000
Darlington226,541185,947412,488
Derby City417,900468,667886,567
Derbyshire800,000637,5001,437,500
Devon978,5761,212,7542,191,330
Doncaster489,288338,596827,884
Dorset800,000675,0001,475,000
Dudley2,000,0002,000,0004,000,000
Durham1,300,0002,032,6953,332,695
Ealing300,000371,250671,250
East Riding of Yorkshire800,000637,5001,437,500
East Sussex782,861675,0001,457,861
Enfield220,000273,482493,482
Essex1,713,6841,723,5003,437,184
Gateshead431,215337,500768,715
Gloucestershire750,000586,0321,336,032
Greenwich500,000520,0001,020,000
Hackney346,955444,000790,955
Halton311,121358,131669,252
Hammersmith and Fulham300,000300,000600,000
Hampshire2,201,7971,562,7523,764,549
Haringey429,615358,131787,746
Harrow348,208448,152796,360
Hartlepool123,301195,344318,645
Havering424,980285,202710,182
Herefordshire234,858195,000429,858
Hertfordshire1,957,1531,717,5003,674,653
Hillingdon284,766325,573610,339
Hounslow375,000364,642739,642
Isle of Wight219,104399,921619,025
Isles of Scilly10,41217,40027,812
Islington500,000381,000881,000
Kensington and Chelsea351,802221,883573,685
Kent2,240,0004,200,0006,440,000
Kingston upon Thames262,376206,250468,626
Kirklees1,000,000787,5001,787,500
Knowsley1,450,000612,7892,062,789
Lambeth650,000520,7661,170,766
Lancashire2,500,0001,627,8674,127,867
Leeds1,700,0001,350,0003,050,000
Leicester City600,000455,8031,055,803
Leicestershire997,900900,0001,897,900
Lewisham435,377450,000885,377
Lincolnshire978,5761,887,4022,865,978
Liverpool978,5761,050,0002,028,576
Luton374,087325,573699,660
Manchester983,6051,410,0002,393,605
Medway Towns456,300750,0001,206,300
Merton294,293325,573619,866
Middlesbrough300,000325,573625,573
Milton Keynes396,465325,573722,038
Newcastle upon Tyne1,016,000885,2041,901,204
Newham501,347806,9091,308,256
Norfolk1,615,7391,500,0003,115,739
North East Lincolnshire520,000390,000910,000
North Lincolnshire200,000150,000350,000
North Somerset293,573213,305506,878
North Tyneside563,533669,0001,232,533
North Yorkshire969,671681,2301,650,901
Northamptonshire1,500,0001,125,0002,625,000
Northumberland489,288525,0001,014,288
Nottingham City564,834403,208968,042
Nottinghamshire1,406,0001,302,2942,708,294
Oldham570,322651,1471,221,469
Oxfordshire1,200,0001,050,0002,250,000
Peterborough305,240264,691569,931
Plymouth489,288830,4501,319,738
Poole186,987179,065366,052
Portsmouth346,000357,480703,480
Reading210,368338,585548,953
Redbridge493,733582,4701,076,203
Redcar and Cleveland507,395545,7331,053,128
Richmond upon Thames160,792259,800420,592
Rochdale442,813354,000796,813
Rotherham587,146390,688977,834
Rutland56,41274,095130,507
Salford547,274520,9171,068,191
Sandwell405,882366,270772,152
Sefton587,146813,9341,401,080
Sheffield1,200,000900,0002,100,000
Shropshire672,000622,0351,294,035
Slough176,454284,000460,454
Solihull460,000299,528759,528
Somerset978,5762,200,0003,178,576
South Gloucestershire533,455453,849987,304
South Tyneside364,477488,360852,837
Southampton500,000292,500792,500
Southend-on-Sea0300,161300,161
Southwark600,020624,9811,225,001
St. Helens700,000546,5361,246,536
Staffordshire2,500,0003,300,0005,500,000
Stockport1,000,000851,6511,851,651
Stockton-on-Tees500,0001,000,0001,500,000
Stoke-on-Trent500,0001,000,0001,500,000
Suffolk1,454,693975,0002,429,693
Sunderland587,146390,688977,834
Surrey2,000,0002,250,000'4,250,000
Sutton241,484337,437578,921
Tameside400,000300,000700,000
Telford and Wrekin341,9421,950,0002,291,942
Thamesdown (Swindon)322,792227,901550,693
Thurrock224,640205,111429,751
Torbay214,987262,500477,487
Tower Hamlets400,000450,000850,000
Trafford500,000525,0001,025,000
Wakefield1,000,000750,0001,750,000
Walsall559,690511,8011,071,491
Waltham Forest391,431450,000841,431
Wandsworth291,558454,553746,111
Warrington401,364465,000866,364
Warwickshire1,016,2521,122,1412,138,393
West Berkshire307,488260,459567,947
West Sussex1,000,000750,0001,750,000
Westminster241,604258,750500,354
Wigan685,947675,0001,360,947
Wiltshire489,288716,2621,205,550
Windsor and Maidenhead268,168300,000568,168
Wirral671,532468,8261,140,358
Wokingham316,656212,925529,581
Wolverhampton556,915432,245980,160
Worcestershire1,125,048900,0002,025,048
York300,000260,459560,549
Total102,009,845105,000,002207,009,847

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 175

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 175

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers have submitted comments to the Standards Site of the National Grid for Learning. [92742]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Feedback forms on the Standards Site have been available since March 1999. To date,

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 176

237 forms have been returned. The site also has a discussion forum, within which teachers can, from day to day, debate issues raised by the standards agenda.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many visits have been paid to (a) the Standards Site, (b) the Virtual Teacher Centre, (c) the Governor Centre, (d) the Parent Centre,

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 177

(e) the Special Educational Needs Centre, (f) the National Year of Reading, (g) the Northern Ireland Network for Education, (h) the Scottish Virtual Teachers Centre and (i) the VTC Cymru of the schools section of the National Grid for Learning; [92743]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Not all of this information is held centrally by the Department. Many of the sites are hosted remotely, by a wide range of public sector bodies and commercial companies, both in this country and internationally. Total hits between November 1998 and July 1999 on the NGfL server are 43,067,816. Around 13,000 pages are hosted locally, with about 240,000 pages being indexed as part of the NGfL across all of the sites.

Figures which are available are as follows:

Site Number of hits
Standards site13,379,688
Virtual Teacher Centre16,060,495
Governor Centre89,366
Parents Centre236,844
Special Educational Needs Centre145,747
The National Year of Reading533,000
Scottish VTC(13)2,700
VTC Cymru564,330
Further Education hub679,331
Career Development652,216
Learning Resource Index3,083,163

(13) Page views per day

Notes:

Unless otherwise indicated, figures are for hits, between November 1998 and July 1999


Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many comments have been received from teachers via e-mail to the Web Keeper of the Virtual Teacher Centre. [92741]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Around 25 messages a week are received by the Virtual Teacher Centre (VTC) Web Keeper.

In addition to this, conferencing activity on the VTC sees around 80,000 hits per month, with an average of 1,000 contributions made.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) universities, (d) colleges and (e) libraries are connected to the National Grid for Learning; and how many he estimates will be connected by the end of 1999. [92739]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Latest estimates indicate that 51 per cent. of primary schools and 90 per cent. of secondary schools and 100 per cent. of universities are connected to the Internet. An April 1999 survey suggested that 100 per cent. of colleges of further education had internet access.

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 178

Statistics collected late in 1997 found that 5 per cent. of public library service points offered public Internet access. The Library and Information Commission is currently compiling updated statistics, as part of the development of the Public Library ICT Network which will link all public libraries, where practicable, to the NGfl by 2002.

While targets for connection by the end of 1999 have not been set, our aim is that all schools, colleges, universities, libraries and as many community centres as possible should be online and able to benefit from access the National Grid for Learning by 2002. To achieve this target we are supporting over £700 million of ICT-related expenditure in UK schools over this period.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact made by the National Grid for Learning on equipment purchasing by (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools. [93181]

Mr. Charles Clarke: This information is not yet available from this year's survey of ICT in schools. The Government anticipate that the impact of its £657 million Standards Fund programme for the NGfL up to 2002 will be substantial, as will arrangements which they have announced this month for the availability of higher quality managed ICT services to schools at competitive prices.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the views of teachers on the National Grid for Learning. [92740]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The overall implementation of the National Grid for Learning, including school's purchasing strategies, is subject to a rigorous programme of independent evaluation. This also focuses on the Grid's impact on classroom practice and on students' achievements. Interim findings form these studies should be available early in 2000.

The British Educational Communications and Technology agency, on behalf of the DfEE, is also carrying out evaluation of the classroom application of the Grid via the Multimedia Portables for Teachers project. Teachers are currently participating in curriculum groups, which provide feedback on the Grid's curriculum materials and identify any gaps in that provision.

These activities are in addition to Ofsted's evaluation of the impact of ICT on teaching and learning.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the cost of the National Grid for Learning; and what projections he has made of future costs. [92745]

Mr. Charles Clarke: A total figure encompassing investment by the Government, Local Authorities, commercial companies, education institutions, libraries, community and other NGfL-related projects is not held centrally by the Department. However, over £700 million will be allocated for schools' purchase of ICT networking and infrastructure by the year 2002. Additional funding for teacher and librarian training, content development and the equipping of libraries and related projects takes investment in this initiative to £1.6 billion. This funding

27 Jul 1999 : Column: 179

will enable all schools to be connected to the Grid by 2002, and will provide them with online access to a wide range of educational and managerial resources.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the timetable for the development of the National Grid for Learning. [92738]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The timetable for the development of the National Grid for Learning is as follows:


All targets to date have been fully met and on time.


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