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Education Service (Islington)
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish an annual report on the performance, costs and profit of the contractor appointed to run Islington's education service. [108875]
Ms Estelle Morris: Islington Council have signed, and are therefore responsible for, the education services contract with Cambridge Education Associates (CEA at Islington). Their council papers have made known the fact that the cost of the seven year contract is fixed at £86.6 million and that CEA agreed to cap their target related management fee at £600,000 net per annum. CEA are working to clear specifications and if they do not deliver they will not be rewarded. 50 per cent. of their profit is linked directly to standards. All changes in standards will be reflected in the published performance tables.
The London Borough of Islington is overseeing the tight contract monitoring arrangements with the assistance of DfEE officials. It is therefore up to Islington Council to decide whether they wish to publish an annual report regarding the monitoring of the contract.
New Deal
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what arrangements are offered to young people on disability benefits who wish to join the New Deal and who are recovering from drug and alcohol misuse. [108606]
Ms Hodge:
Young people on incapacity benefits are not eligible for New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds which is designed for jobseekers actively looking for work. However, we are developing initiatives to ensure that all disabled people who want to work are given the help they need. For example, the New Deal for Disabled People offers personal adviser support in 12 pilot areas to people
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of all ages on incapacity benefits. The personal adviser offers an individually designed programme to tackle the specific needs of each client, including any who may need to overcome drug or alcohol misuse. We hope to make an early announcement about the next stage of the New Deal for Disabled People taking account of emerging findings from the pilots.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of the cost of introducing a maximum class size of (a) 30 pupils, (b) 28 pupils and (c) 25 pupils for (i) Key Stage 1, (ii) Key Stage 2, (iii) Key Stage 3 and (iv) Key Stage 4. [108866]
Ms Estelle Morris:
We have made available £620 million to reduce Key Stage 1 class sizes to 30 by September 2001.
We have estimated that the cost of reducing class sizes to 25 for all primary school children would be around £3 billion.
We have not made any other estimates of the costs which the hon. Member asks about.
Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to enforce minimum nutritional standards in school meals. [108442]
Jacqui Smith:
The Government believe it is very important that children should be able to have healthy and enjoyable school meals. We have consulted widely on the introduction of minimum nutritional standards for school lunches, and we are currently considering representations on our draft Regulations and guidance. Schools and local education authorities will be under a duty to comply with the Regulations, to be laid this year, which will set out the new standards. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will investigate any complaints that the standards are not being met and could issue a direction to ensure compliance with the statutory duties.
Mrs. Ray Michie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate how many students from Argyll and Bute are currently attending universities in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland. [108578]
| Country of study | Number of students |
|---|---|
| England | 246 |
| Wales | 12 |
| Northern Ireland | 2 |
(1) Full-time and part-time students, excluding students on sabbatical or writing up theses.
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Homophobic Bullying
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent reports he has received of homophobic bullying in schools; and if he will make a statement. [108313]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 3 February 2000]: In March 1998 we received from Stonewall a copy of the report "Playing it Safe", which they commissioned with the Terrence Higgins Trust. This contains, among other things, evidence and recommendations on homophobic-related bullying. And in October 1998 the noble Lord Tope's unstarred question in the Other Place about bullying in secondary schools focused to a large extent on the problem of homophobic bullying.
We attach a high priority to helping schools prevent and combat bullying in whatever form--be it racial, or as a result of a child's appearance, behaviour or special needs, or related to sexual orientation.
Teachers' Pay (West Sussex)
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the cost of the teachers' pay rise to West Sussex Education Authority. [109059]
Ms Estelle Morris: In his written answer on 1 February 2000, Official Report, column 498W, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment made clear his assessment that the pay settlement would be affordable within the resources available to local authorities in 2000-01. The cost from 1 April 2000 will be 3.3 per cent., with assimilation costs of around 0.1 per cent. West Sussex will receive an increase in its Education Standard Spending Assessment of 6.11 per cent., which takes account of changes in local authority function. Its share of the £50 million special grant to support school budgets will add the equivalent of a further 0.2 per cent. to this. The rescheduling of increased employers' contributions to teachers' pensions will save the authority 0.7 per cent. of the cost of its teachers' pay bill.
Playing Fields
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what data he has collated on the extent of access by schools to sports playing fields since May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [108118]
Jacqui Smith: The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 (SPRs) prescribe minimum areas, as well as quality standards, for team game playing fields for which schools must have access. No data have been gathered on the extent of access which schools have to sports playing fields since May 1997, or before.
Data being obtained through Asset Management Plans will eventually provide a comprehensive picture of the number and condition of school playing fields throughout England.
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Mr. Reed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the total cost of sport played in schools in the most recent year for which figures are available; what organisations other than his Department provide funds for sport in schools; and if he will estimate the amount of such other funding in the most recent year for which information is available. [108297]
Jacqui Smith:
Schools and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) decide how much to spend on sport in schools. We do not collect centrally information on this support. However there are a number of organisations which support sport in schools nationally, and many others which give support at a local level. Sport England, the Sports Lottery distributor, spent £14.4 million in schools and colleges in 1998-99. The National Sports Governing Bodies also contribute a great deal at national and local level through coaching and talent development schemes and competitions involving schools. We are working closely with DCMS, OFSTED, QCA and national PE and sport bodies to further develop and expand the range and quality of opportunities available to all young people.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to develop the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant. [108517]
Jacqui Smith
[holding answer 7 February 2000]: As part of the drive to raise the achievement of ethnic minority pupils, we are making available more money than ever before through the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Grant. For 2000-01, £162.5 million will be available to LEAs to improve the attainment of ethnic minority, Traveller and refugee pupils, an increase of 7 per cent on the amount available for these purposes in 1999-2000. From April 2000, we are phasing in a needs-based formula for allocating the Grant for raising ethnic minority achievement. Increasingly, as we build up for the first time a national picture of achievement levels, we will target the Grant at those who need it most. In further developing the Grant we will seek to embed in local strategies the knowledge we are acquiring about good practice in raising achievement levels.
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