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A/S Levels

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he expects syllabuses for A/S level subjects to be available. [95868]

Mr. Wicks: Draft versions of the specifications for all the new Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced level qualifications to be introduced for teaching from September 2000 are now available on the awarding bodies' websites. Synopses of the draft specifications are also available on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's website. The finalised specifications will be available to schools and colleges in January 2000.

Franchising

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received from the further education sector concerning the proposed changes to the funding arrangements for franchising; and if he will make a statement. [95873]

Mr. Wicks: Representations were invited by the Further Education Funding Council in February 1999 on proposals to tackle the serious problems which had arisen with franchising in some colleges. 153 representations were received of which 136 were from further education colleges. A large majority supported the proposed changes for 1999-2000 which were introduced in July.

PE Teachers

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many PE teachers there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools; and what they were as a percentage of the total number of teachers in England, for each year since 1991. [95492]

Ms Estelle Morris: The information is as follows:

PE teachers in secondary schools in England

	Academic year
	1991-92	1996-97
Number of Teachers(4) teaching PE	24,000	20,000
Teachers(4) teaching PE as percentage of all teachers	14	12

(4) Includes teachers without a specific PE qualification

29 Oct 1999 : Column: 1010

Information about PE teachers in secondary schools for other years, and PE teachers in primary schools is not available.

These reductions took place under the previous administration.

Class Sizes

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 27 July 1999, Official Report, columns 185-86, concerning class sizes (ref. 93239), when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Hertsmere. [96479]

Ms Estelle Morris: I will be writing to the hon. Member next week.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

National Lottery

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what are, in respect of the revenue in the National Lottery Distributions Fund Reserve (a) the amount (1) received and (2) drawn down, (b) the percentage drawn down, (c) the balance available and (d) the amount committed for (i) the Arts Council of England, (ii) the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, (iii) the Scottish Arts Council, (iv) the Arts Council of Wales, (v) the National Lottery's Charities Board, (vi) the National Heritage Memorial Fund, (vii) the Millennium Commission, (viii) the New Opportunities Fund, (ix) Sport England, (x) the Sports Council of Northern Ireland, (xi) the Scottish Sports Council, (xii) the UK Sports Council and (xiii) the Sports Council for Wales and (xiv) the total of the above. [95486]

Kate Hoey: The following table shows the figures requested, as at 30 September 1999. In addition to the figures shown here, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts has received an endowment of £200 million from the National Lottery, all of which has been drawn down from the National Lottery Distribution Fund.

Figures for the amount committed are taken from the National Lottery Awards Database using information supplied by the distributors. They do not include money set aside for a specific purpose but not committed to a particular project.

29 Oct 1999 : Column: 1009

	Amount received (£)	Amount drawn down (£)	Percentage drawn down	Balance available (£)	Amount committed (£)
Arts Council of England	1,197,614,609	920,492,229	77	277,122,380	1,132,457,415
Arts Council of Northern Ireland	42,419,281	16,607,723	39	25,811,558	35,467,589
Scottish Arts Council	130,640,795	79,801,991	61	50,838,804	116,821,408
Arts Council of Wales	72,650,470	48,852,619	67	23,797,851	77,310,838
National Lottery Charities Board	1,479,051,437	834,882,356	56	644,169,081	1,384,382,465
National Heritage Memorial Fund	1,497,290,954	614,906,973	41	882,383,981	1,223,222,820
Millennium Commission	1,662,106,529	941,790,686	57	720,315,843	1,744,220,362
New Opportunities Fund	428,058,277	9,768,541	2	418,289,736	12,984,543
Sport England	1,228,733,896	760,081,000	62	468,652,896	959,416,652
Sports Council for Northern Ireland	40,784,238	25,640,265	63	15,143,973	31,634,959
Sport Scotland	131,782,828	58,540,070	44	73,242,758	84,351,394
UK Sport	6,865,190	1,839,362	27	5,025,828	1,394,723
Sports Council for Wales	73,154,628	44,518,258	61	28,636,370	46,176,789
Total	7,991,153,132	4,357,722,073	55	3,633,431,059	6,849,841,957

29 Oct 1999 : Column: 1011

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the percentage drawn down for National Lottery expenditure allocations (a) in the UK and (b) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement. [95493]

Kate Hoey: 56 per cent. of the money paid into the National Lottery Distribution Fund has been drawn down for use by the National Lottery distributing bodies. A further 31 per cent. has been firmly committed but not yet drawn down.

I have made no assessment of the percentages drawn down by lotteries overseas. Given the different ways in which Lottery surpluses are used around the world, I do not believe such comparisons would be helpful. For example, the surplus of many state lotteries are paid straight to the national exchequers, so the question of draw down does not arise.

I am keen to ensure that National Lottery money should be put to effective use as quickly as possible. Many of the reforms that the Government have introduced--such as moving the focus of the Lottery from buildings to people and allowing distributors to delegate their functions--should help to facilitate this.

Sports Strategy

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in announcing his Department's sports strategy. [95485]

Kate Hoey: The sports policy paper will be published early next year. In order for the paper to be truly effective, it is important that there is the widest possible period in which to consult and canvass opinion.

VAT (Listed Buildings)

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received regarding VAT on work on listed buildings; and if he will make a statement. [95489]

Mr. Alan Howarth: In the year to 26 October 1999, this Department received 13 representations from organisations and individuals on the subject of VAT on work to listed buildings.

Responsibility for VAT rests with HM Treasury. There is no provision in current EC law to apply a reduced rate to all listed buildings.

New Opportunities Fund

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what will be the total sums for each of the next four years to be allocated to out-of-school-hours child care places from the New Opportunities Fund. [95487]

Kate Hoey: The New Opportunities Fund is required by the Policy Directions that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has issued to allocate £220 million in total to out-of-school hours child care places by 2002. There is no pre-determined annual profile for expenditure:

29 Oct 1999 : Column: 1012

the actual allocation of funding is a matter for the New Opportunities Fund taking into account the local child care plans drawn up by the local child care partnerships.

Local Authority Funding

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions regarding the amount of funding provided by local authorities to (a) the arts, (b) museums and galleries and (c) supporting the upkeep of listed buildings. [95488]

Mr. Alan Howarth: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on these subjects. Officials in the two departments keep in regular touch.

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