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Standard Spending Assessments
31. Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to
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reform the standard spending assessment distribution per pupil to reduce disparities between local education authorities. [103709]
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.
33. Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the impact of anti-smoking and anti-illegal drugs education programmes on reducing drug use. [103711]
Jacqui Smith:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 21 December 1999, Official Report, column 555W, in which I announced plans for a long-term study on the effectiveness of drug education.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of the funds allocated to schools for the implementation of Curriculum 2000 will be allocated to sixth forms with fewer than (a) 50, (b) 100, (c) 150 and (d) 200 pupils; and what will be the method of allocation. [104849]
Mr. Wicks:
The Education Standard Spending Assessment for 2000-01 takes into account the estimated additional recurrent costs of successfully implementing the forthcoming reforms to post-16 qualifications in LEA maintained schools. It is for individual local education authorities to decide how to allocate resources to the schools they maintain.
Mr. Alan W. Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress to date of the New Deal for those aged over 50 years. [103702]
Ms Jowell:
New Deal 50plus has made an excellent start in nine selected areas of the country. People aged over 50 who have received one of a number of benefits for six months or more are eligible for a package of advice and other support including a cash employment credit to help them back into work. By early January over 350 people had found work with the support of New Deal 50plus. Many of those finding work so far through this New Deal have been out of work and on benefits for a long time. We will launch New Deal 50plus across the whole country in April.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make it his policy that Ofsted inspectors will, as a matter of course, meet the trade union representatives during an inspection. [103704]
Ms Estelle Morris:
This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, Chris Woodhead. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend and to place a copy of his letter in the Library.
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Dr. Cable:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps she has taken to benchmark the extent of on-line Government services in the United Kingdom against other countries, with particular reference to the US and Australia. [105187]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The Government are very keen to learn from good examples of international electronic service delivery. There are a number of very interesting examples of developments in this area not just in the USA and Australia, but in other countries. We intend to publish a report in the summer that will set out the results of our research and indicate what lessons we can learn from exemplars of international best practice.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to introduce the use of the Internet for (a) VAT payment, (b) passport renewal, (c) renewal of television licenses, (d) renewal of vehicle licences and (e) Government procurement contracts; and what targets exist for Internet based transactions in these areas. [105249]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
As part of our Modernising Government programme we announced in our Action Plan, published in July 1999, that we would provide six-monthly reports on our progress in delivering Government services electronically. The second of these reports was recently published on the Central Information Technology Unit (CITU) website (http://www.citu.gov.uk). Copies of these reports are available in the Libraries of the House.
I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, North (Helen Jones), on 17 January 2000, Official Report, column 276W.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what representations she has made to the Commissioner for Public Appointments regarding the date of publication of her report on appointments to NHS trusts and health authorities. [106018]
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she expects the Commissioner for Public Appointments to publish her report on public appointments to NHS trusts and health authorities. [106019]
Mr. Stringer:
The publication of the report is entirely a matter for the Commissioner. However, I understand that a press release issued by the Commissioner's office on 17 January 2000 stated that the Commissioner will announce her findings and recommendations in early March.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what were the numbers of registered drug misusers in Gloucestershire (a) 1997 and (b) 1999. [105552]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The Addicts Index was discontinued by the Home Office in 1997. The following table shows the number of drug misusers presenting to
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treatment agencies in the Gloucestershire Health Authority area. Figures for the six month period ending September 1999 are not yet available.
| Six month period ending | Agency episodes reported in Gloucestershire Health Authority area (7) |
|---|---|
| March 1997 | 28 |
| September 1997 | 33 |
| March 1998 | 63 |
| September 1998 | 71 |
| March 1999 | 96 |
(7) The number of agency episodes is generally higher than the number of users as a person may start an episode during the period at more than one agency
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what measures she is taking to counter the increase in numbers of people registered as drug misusers in Gloucestershire. [105551]
Mr. Ian McCartney: The Government's strategy for tackling drug misuse was set out in the White Paper "Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain" in 1998. The Government backed this ten-year strategy by allocating an extra £217 million for anti-drugs work as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. This includes an additional £70.5 million for health and local authorities over the next three years for drug treatment services and £18 million to support drug prevention activities, particularly among young people. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has also announced a further £20 million for the expansion of Arrest Referral Schemes to help drug-misusing offenders obtain treatment. The Gloucestershire Drug Action Team is responsible for co-ordinating local implementation of the strategy.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Departmental Smoking Policy
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Solicitor-General what action he is taking to reduce smoking in his Department. [105793]
The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers' Departments have different policies on smoking in offices, reflecting the different buildings and the results of locally based decisions. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a general no smoking policy. Staff may not smoke in their own rooms. The provision of a separate smoking room is a matter for managers to decide locally, taking into account the interest of staff. CPS HQ is in two buildings. In the London office, the number of smoking rooms has been reduced to one and in the York office, there is no separate smoking room. Information about the provision of separate smoking rooms in the CPS's 42 Areas is not available centrally.
The Counselling and Support Service of the CPS advertises the now annual National No Smoking Day (in their in-house publication "Inform") and offer literature to assist anyone wishing to give up smoking.
The Treasury Solicitor's Department has a policy of restricting and confining smoking to clearly defined areas.
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The Department's Health and Safety Advisory Committee is currently reviewing the policy and will in due course be making recommendations.
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