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Minster College, Isle of Sheppey
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the withdrawal by Kent County Council of match funding from the Single Regeneration Budget funded Inclusion Unit at Minster College on the Isle of Sheppey. [105200]
Ms Estelle Morris: I understand that discussions are continuing between Kent Local Education Authority and Minster College about the future of the Inclusion Unit at the School. I have asked my officials to keep in touch with the discussions and will write to you as soon as possible with further details.
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the changes to the Standard Fund Grant 19 and their impact on match funding for the Single Regeneration Budget funded Inclusion Unit at Minster College on the Isle of Sheppey. [105201]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Kent Local Education Authority's Standards Fund Grant 19 allocation for secondary schools and LEA initiatives has been increased from £950,000 in 1999-2000 to £2.8 million for 2000-01. Nearly £2.2 million of the grant must be devolved directly to Kent secondary schools and colleges to help combat truancy and exclusions. Kent are consulting on how the funds will be distributed. I understand that discussions are continuing between Kent Local Education Authority and Minster College about the future of their Inclusion Unit. I have asked my officials to keep in touch with the discussions and will write to you as soon as possible with further details.
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Mr. Wyatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will take steps to secure the future of the Inclusion Unit at Minster College on the Isle of Sheppey. [105202]
Ms Estelle Morris:
I understand that discussions are continuing between Kent Local Education Authority and Minster College about the future of the Inclusion Unit at the school. I have asked my officials to keep in touch with the discussions and I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible with further details.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the cost to English local education authorities of maintaining sixth forms in schools in the last year for which figures are available. [105351]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The Standard Spending Assessment mechanism includes an unhypothecated element for post-16 education. Information on the cost to local education authorities of maintaining sixth forms in schools is not collected.
Mr. Gerrard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what methods are used to monitor the quality of training services provided under the New Deal by private sector companies. [104103]
Ms Jowell:
In line with our continuing commitment for ensuring quality, the Employment Service has worked in partnership with the Training Standards Council (TSC) to develop a framework for the assessment of the quality of New Deal training provision. By March 2002, every New Deal Unit of Delivery will have been inspected by the Council. This framework is the basis for each New Deal partnership to carry out an annual self assessment. These inspections and self-assessments cover the quality of all training provision including that delivered by the private sector.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what funding he will make available to enable schools and colleges to improve facilities for people with disabilities. [104272]
Ms Hodge:
We have significantly increased the funding available under the Schools Access Initiative to enable local education authorities to improve access to mainstream schools and the curriculum for pupils with disabilities. We recently announced that £30 million will be available in the 2000-01 financial year. This is a 50 per cent. increase on the previous year's level of funding and 200 per cent. increase on funds available in 1996-97. We expect to allocate £100 million for access schemes in the three years to 2002.
In the Further Education sector the Further Education Funding Council's (FEFC) funding methodology allows for additional units of funding, to be allocated to support provision for students with disabilities, or learning difficulties. This is used to fund a range of support for individual students, including care assistants and signers. In addition, £12 million capital funding has been allocated
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over three years (1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02) specifically to improve access and facilities for students with learning difficulties and or disabilities. Capital projects supported under the general widening participation and skills agenda will also have the potential to improve access for disabled students. Responsibility for funding of further education will pass to the Learning and Skills Council from April 2001 and a consultation document on the new Council's funding arrangements will be issued early in 2000.
Improving access and facilities for disabled people in education was a key feature of the recommendations of the Disability Rights Task Force, who published their report "From Exclusion to Inclusion" in December 1999. We will be introducing legislation later this session to address its recommendations for education and consider longer term costs as part of the Year 2000 Spending Review.
Mr. Hilary Benn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the TUPE regulations will apply to staff in the Careers Service as a result of the creation of the new combined arrangements for the Youth Support Service. [104697]
Mr. Wicks:
Decisions have yet to be taken about the structure of the Youth Support Service and how Careers Service companies will be affected. It is therefore too early to consider the extent to which TUPE regulations will apply to Careers Service staff. We indicated in the White Paper "Learning to Succeed" that the best of the Careers Service companies will play a major role in the new Service together with a range of other local partners. We have established a Transitional Issues Group with Careers Service National Association (CSNA) that will be considering the implications for Careers Service companies and providing them with guidance.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many school headships in each London Borough are held by (a) men and (b) women from an ethnic minority background. [104796]
Ms Estelle Morris:
This information is not held centrally.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make it his policy that metropolitan boroughs eligible for EU Objective One status on account of their poverty and social deprivation do not receive per pupil education standard spending assessment allocations below the national average. [104838]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The Government announced in November 1998 a three year review in partnership with local government to look for a way of distributing revenue support grant which is simpler, more stable, more robust and fairer than the present arrangements for SSAs. While the review is taking place there will be no further changes to the method of distributing funding.
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Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics with regard to the production of an assessment of each of the New Deal programmes; and if he will make a statement. [102101]
Ms Jowell
[holding answer 9 December 1999]: Officials from both the Department for Education and Employment and the Office for National Statistics liaise regularly to discuss and analyse the impact that New Deal programmes have had on unemployment figures and other economic indicators published by the Office for National Statistics. Evaluation is carried out independently by outside contractors and the Department's internal analysis and monitoring uses Government Statistical Service figures and internal data.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many letters have been sent to lone parents inviting them to participate in the New Deal for Lone Parents. [102103]
Ms Hodge
[holding answer 9 December 1999]: From the national introduction of the New Deal for Lone Parents on 26 October 1998, to the end of October 1999, initial invitation letters were sent to 434,570 lone parents.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his latest assessment of substitution, dead-weight and displacement in each of the New Deal schemes. [102107]
Ms Jowell
[holding answer 9 December 1999]: There is a comprehensive evaluation programme in place for all elements of New Deal. The article "New Deal for the young unemployed: monitoring and evaluation", published in Labour Market Trends in November 1998, sets out a framework which is broadly common across New Deal. We are committed to publishing the final reports of all these evaluations.
New Deal is a long term initiative, still in its early days. Consequently, most evaluation is also still in progress and is yet to report. However, Employment Service Research report ESR33, published in December 1999 and available in the Library, provides an independent assessment, by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), of the effects of the New Deal for Young People in its first year. This provides encouraging evidence of the early impact of the New Deal. On deadweight it found that
Ms Jowell
[holding answer 9 December 1999]: Our management information on those who leave New Deal to claim benefit is only broken down to those who return
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to Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and those who claimed another benefit. In the period ending October 1999, of the 251,600 people who left the New Deal for Young People; 23,680 claimed JSA and 30,060 claimed another benefit.
"Approximately 50 per cent. of individuals leaving unemployment via the NDYP would have done so in absence of the programme".
and that this
"is broadly in line with estimates from other active labour market programmes".
On substitution and displacement it found that
"NDYP does not appear to have had any significant effect on unemployment of others than the client group so far".
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many persons have left their New Deal scheme to be placed on (a) Incapacity Benefit, (b) Income Support, (c) Jobseeker's Allowance and (d) any other benefit. [102109]
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