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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Satellite and Cable Television

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the current availability to schools via satellite or cable of overseas television programmes of news, information or language teaching, and in what languages; and if he will make a statement on recent changes in that availability. [110396]

Mr. Wills: The information requested is not available centrally. Decisions about whether to subscribe to specific satellite or cable services are taken by individual schools in the light of their specific curriculum requirements.

Women's Incomes

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish the findings of Government research into women's incomes over their lifetimes. [111335]

Ms Jowell: We have published today and will be placing in the Library our document "Women's Incomes over the Lifetime".

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The research set out to examine the key features of women's incomes over their lifetimes, and to identify, and quantify, the factors behind men and women's lifetime incomes, drawing on existing research and undertaking new analysis. While we know quite a lot about income comparisons between individuals at particular moments in time, these do not tell us about the impact over women's lifetimes of the pattern and level of their earnings, the effect of the tax and benefit systems and the importance to women's incomes of transfers within families.

Women's lives have undergone a revolution in the last 25 years. Nearly eight out of 10 of all mothers are in paid work. Overwhelmingly mothers work because they want to--seven out of 10 saying they would rather work even if they could afford not to. But when children are young and dependent there must be a choice; therefore the Government has delivered the Working Families Tax Credit which guarantees low-paid families with one full-time worker a minimum income of £190 a week with no tax to pay on incomes below £220.

Lone parents often find it the most difficult to go back to work, but thanks to the New Deal for Lone Parents many are now finding jobs that are giving them on average, an extra £39 a week in their pockets.

Women already working are benefiting from a whole host of policies put in place by the Government. The National Minimum Wage, which the Government have announced will be uprated by 10p in October, has given around 1.5 million people, the majority of whom are women, an immediate pay rise. The new 10p tax rate halved the tax paid by over one million women.

Maternity pay has been improved for part-time women, women who have only been working for a year and those who are self-employed. Therefore getting pregnant while in work should no longer mean giving up jobs.

Many women work part-time because it gives them the best chance of balancing work and home life. New improved part-time employment rights mean that women working part-time now have the same rights, and therefore security, as other employees.

And the biggest ever increase in child benefit last April, straight into mum's purse, will help ensure women are not worse off in work. Next April will come another boost so that mums get £15 for the first child and £10 for the second.

Through this action we are committed to equipping women for the challenges of the new economy--one that values a broader range of skills, diversity and knowledge and one that provides new opportunities for women.

Departmental Publications

Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the cost of preparing, printing and distributing the publication, "Raising Aspirations in the 21st Century: A Speech by the right hon. David Blunkett MP Secretary of State for Education and Employment, 6 January 2000". [110739]

Mr. Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 18 January 2000, Official Report, column 388W.

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Internet Access

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance the Government are giving about ensuring that children at school are unable to access inappropriate material on the internet. [111156]

Mr. Wills: We are determined that pupils should be protected from unsuitable material while accessing the wealth of educationally valuable material on the internet. DfEE and the British Educational Communications and Technology agency (BECTa) have produced a detailed information pack for teachers and parents about pupils' safe use of the internet. The Superhighway Safety pack, which is available free and is also on the National Grid for Learning, provides guidance on the wide range of measures which schools can adopt. These range from using walled gardens and filtering software, to monitoring and tracking pupil access and providing user contracts for pupils, spelling out how they should behave.

Administration Costs (LEAs)

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list (a) the total administration costs and (b) administration costs as a percentage of income for each local education authority in England in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [110708]

Ms Estelle Morris: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 11 January 2000, Official Report, columns 148-52W. As part of the 2000-01 settlement, the Secretary of State set targets for LEAs relating to delegation of resources and retention of central costs.

Pupil Spending (Somerset)

Mr. Ashdown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of spending per pupil in secondary schools in Somerset for each year from 1988-89 to 1999-2000, expressed in 1997-98 prices; and if he will make a statement. [110762]

Ms Estelle Morris: Spending in secondary schools in Somerset on a per pupil basis from 1989-90 to 1997-98, the years for which this information is currently available, is set out in the table. The figures are based on Net Institutional Expenditure and expressed at 1997-98 prices.

	£
	1997-98 prices
1989-90	2,347
1990-91	2,312
1991-92	2,292
1992-93	2,497
1993-94	2,369
1994-95	2,307
1995-96	2,347
1996-97	2,277
1997-98	2,222

The balance of funding between secondary and other sectors of education is a matter for local education authorities. More generally, the Government announced in November 1998 a three year review in partnership with

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local government to look for a way of distributing revenue support which is simpler, more stable, more robust and fairer than the present arrangements for SSAs.

Training and Enterprise Councils

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to ensure that TECs do not divest themselves of assets derived from public funds before the ending of such funding in 2001. [110397]

Mr. Wicks: My Department has a number of mechanisms in place to ensure that TECs do not dispose of assets without our agreement. We hold a debenture which prevents TECs from selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of any assets other than in the ordinary and proper course of business without the permission of the Secretary of State. The TEC licence also requires them to gain the Department's approval to dispose of any land and buildings and to get the full market value for them and, following the notice of termination of the licence on 13 July 1999, to comply with reasonable requests to limit expenditure.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will establish a mechanism for valuation and apportionment of assets currently held by TECs according to whether or not they were derived from public funds; how publicly owned assets will be treated for accounting purposes; and what advice he will offer TECs on the use or disposal of their remaining assets. [110398]

Mr. Wicks: My officials are currently working up proposals for the valuation and treatment of assets currently held by TECs. We expect to publish these by the end of March 2000. As private companies TEC assets, including publicly funded assets, are recorded in their accounts and depreciated in line with the recognised accounting standards. Should any assets remain on wind up, TEC memorandum and articles of association require them to be passed to a body with similar objects and which has been agreed by the Secretary of State. It is our intention to agree with each TEC a transition plan that will set out, among other things, plans for the future use or disposal of assets.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to monitor performance and contract compliance by TECs during their last financial year, 2000-01. [110401]

Mr. Wicks: There is a well established system in place for monitoring TEC performance and this will continue to operate until all TEC business with DfEE ceases. Managing TEC performance is the role of Government Offices (GOs). They collect and analyse information to assess how well each TEC is performing. GOs manage and report upon the delivery of performance against the TEC Business Plan and hold TECs to account for meeting programme objectives. Officials will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these arrangements throughout 2000-01.

DfEE will continue to monitor TECs' compliance with their contracts throughout 2000-01 and has in place claims testing processes that will be applied to all TECs during this period. In parallel with this work, the Department is monitoring TECs' compliance with specific

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requirements resulting from the issue of notices of contract termination to the TECs. Audit work based on professional risk judgments will also continue.

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