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Recruitment and Retention
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultations he has held with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals on their most recent analysis of recruitment and retention problems in the higher education sector. [107876]
Mr. Wicks: My right hon. Friend meets representatives of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals from time to time to discuss a variety of issues of interest to the higher education sector. He last met them on 25 January.
Teaching Staff (TUPE Regulations)
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the application of TUPE as it affects existing employees of (a) TECs and (b) the FEFC; and what steps he is taking to encourage a smooth transition of essential staff to the new local learning and skills councils. [107646]
Mr. Wicks: In respect of TECs, their functions are being split several ways; some will transfer to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), some to the Employment Service and some to other bodies. We expect a significant proportion of TEC staff to transfer under TUPE to these organisations. In respect of the FEFC, some functions transfer to the LSC, some to the Adult Learning Inspectorate and some to OFSTED. Again we expect the majority of staff to transfer under TUPE to these organisations.
We are working closely with partner organisations to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements.
Independent State Schools Partnership
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of state school pupils receiving lessons from independent school teachers as a result of the Independent State Schools Partnership scheme. [108573]
Ms Estelle Morris:
We estimate that over 18,000 pupils in maintained schools and 12,000 pupils in independent schools have been involved in the Independent/State School Partnership scheme so far.
7 Feb 2000 : Column: 38W
Many of the partnerships also focus on staff development, through joint INSET training, sharing ideas on curriculum development and classroom observation. Some involve joint teaching, particularly in minority subject areas, to provide a broader curriculum for pupils and a wider experience base for teachers in both sectors; but information is not collected specifically on the number of state school pupils taught by independent school staff.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list (a) state schools and (b) independent schools participating in the Independent State Schools Partnership scheme. [108574]
Ms Estelle Morris:
There are around 300 state and independent schools participating in the Independent/State School Partnerships Scheme. These schools are listed in the Department's Press Notices 241/98 and 200/99, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much (a) has been spent and (b) was planned to be spent in support of the Independent State Schools Partnership scheme in each year since its inception. [108575]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Actual expenditure in support of the Independent/State School Partnerships scheme is given in the table, together with the originally announced planned expenditure which was later supplemented in the light of the response to the scheme:
| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Financial year | Actual expenditure(10) | Planned expenditure(10) |
| 1998-99 | 600,000 | 500,000 |
| 1999-2000 | 925,000 | 675,000 |
| 2000-01 | n/a | 675,000 |
(10) Including £250,000 joint funding from the Sutton Trust in 1998-99 and £100,000 in each of 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
Playing Fields
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by local education authority the total acreage of playing fields sold by schools in each year since 1990. [108119]
7 Feb 2000 : Column: 39W
Jacqui Smith:
The tables list, by local education authority, the total area (in acres) of sports pitches that the Secretary of State has given approval to sell since Section 77 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 took effect on 1 October 1998. Before that date, this information was not collected by the Department.
| Local education authority | Sports pitch and approved for sale |
|---|---|
| Bristol | 17.16 |
| Bury | 0.31 |
| Calderdale | 3.75 |
| Cheshire | 1.60 |
| Halton | 0.53 |
| Hillingdon | 0.07 |
| North Somerset | 4.74 |
| Warwickshire | 1.65 |
| Wirral | 1.73 |
| Local education authority | Sports pitch and approved for sale |
|---|---|
| Bedfordshire | 6.67 |
| Bolton | 4.58 |
| Buckinghamshire | 2.47 |
| Cheshire | 6.05 |
| Coventry | 0.16 |
| Croydon | 3.80 |
| Derbyshire | 19.58 |
| Devon | 3.60 |
| Durham | 8.15 |
| Enfield | 2.12 |
| Essex | 3.70 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 0.54 |
| Hertfordshire | 9.88 |
| Kent | 2.94 |
| Lancashire | 21.43 |
| Leeds | 1.23 |
| Milton Keynes | 7.65 |
| Newcastle | 28.00 |
| North Tyneside | 1.06 |
| North Yorkshire | 2.05 |
| Northumberland | 4.62 |
| Oxfordshire | 8.15 |
| Rochdale | 2.96 |
| Sheffield | 0.62 |
| Staffordshire | 0.30 |
| Surrey | 18.25 |
| Wakefield | 6.91 |
| Walsall | 3.26 |
| Warwickshire | 1.26 |
| West Sussex | 7.98 |
| Wigan | 5.12 |
7 Feb 2000 : Column: 40W
New Deal (Blyth Valley)
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that have been created in Blyth Valley as a result of the New Deal. [106825]
Ms Jowell: New Deal is not a job creation scheme. It is designed to help unemployed people improve their skills and compete effectively for vacancies. The latest figures to the end of October 1999 show that this policy is working; in the Blyth Valley constituency, 329 people have found employment through the New Deal (275 young people under the New Deal for young people and 54 people through the New Deal for long term unemployed adults).
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the destination of those who have left the New Deal for those aged 18 to 24 years (a) at the time at which they left the New Deal, (b) 13 weeks after leaving the New Deal and (c) 26 weeks after leaving the New Deal, for the parliamentary constituency of Blyth Valley. [106826]
Ms Jowell: The table summarises the immediate destinations of the 392 young people who have left the New Deal in Blyth Valley. In addition to those recorded as leaving for unsubsidised employment, many of those recorded as leaving for unknown destinations will have found work but not told the Employment Service. In fact, a recent survey found that of those leaving for unknown destinations from the Gateway stage of New Deal, 57 per cent. entered paid employment.
Young people who return to claim Jobseeker's Allowance within 13 weeks of leaving New Deal are not regarded as having left the New Deal. By definition, the leavers in the table below have not returned to Jobseeker's Allowance within 13 weeks.
| Blyth Valley | |
|---|---|
| Sustained unsubsidised jobs | 180 |
| Other benefits | 85 |
| Other known destinations | 46 |
| Unknown destinations | 81 |
Nuclear Engineering
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the nuclear engineering courses available at higher education institutions in England. [108232]
Mr. Wicks:
At present there are two postgraduate courses in nuclear engineering. These are at the University of Birmingham and the Royal Naval College. It is understood that the nuclear industry also provides its own specially designed training programmes for suitable graduates, enabling them to meet the required standards in the field.
7 Feb 2000 : Column: 41W
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to introduce ethnic monitoring in relation to academic and academic-related staff working in higher education institutions. [108276]
Mr. Wicks:
As independent bodies, higher education institutions appoint their own staff. Like other employers, they are responsible for implementing equal opportunities legislation and fair employment policies. My right hon. Friend has asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England to ensure that all higher education institutions have equal opportunity policy statements and that they are accountable for their implementation. He has also asked the Council to encourage institutions to give proper emphasis to racial equality in their policy statements.
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many higher education institutions in the United Kingdom have a racial equality policy. [108278]
Mr. Wicks:
Most higher education institutions have equal opportunity policy statements which cover racial equality but the latest research which drew upon a sample of 123 responses from HEIs showed that one third had specific racial equality policies.
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