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New Deal for Schools
Mr. Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools will benefit from the New Deal for Schools in 2000-01. [120084]
Jacqui Smith: Over 6,000 schools will benefit from the £600 million of New Deal for Schools funding announced on 11 April. We would expect most of these schools to benefit in 2000-01.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) teachers and (b) classroom support staff have been employed by (i) former grant-maintained primary schools and (ii) former grant-maintained secondary schools in each of the last five years. [120258]
Ms Estelle Morris: The available information on numbers of teaching staff and educational support staff in former grant-maintained primary and secondary schools is shown in the table.
The Department is currently collecting information on teaching and education support staff in maintained primary and secondary schools for January 2000. These data will be published in a statistical volume in September.
(10) Includes full-time and full-time equivalent of part-time staff
(11) Includes nursery assistants, special needs support staff, librarians and technicians
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2 May 2000 : Column: 93W
Education Spending (Stoke-on-Trent)
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the (a) standard spending assessment and (b) total estimated spending per head in Stoke-on-Trent local education authority in each of the years 1998-99 and 1999-2000; and what estimate he has made of comparable figures for 2000-01. [120397]
Ms Estelle Morris: The table shows the total education standard spending assessment (SSA), the education standard spending assessment (SSA) per pupil and the DfEE special and specific grant allocations per pupil for the years requested for Stoke-on-Trent local education authority. The special and specific grant totals includes the money for schools announced in the Budget on 21 March.
| Total SSA (£ million) | SSA per pupil (£) | Special and specific grant per pupil (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | 95.93 | 2,437 | 68 |
| 1999-2000 | 99.48 | 2,560 | 122 |
| 2000-01 | 104.17 | 2,703 | 241 |
Ofsted Inspections
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what measures he has in place to reduce the stress to teachers caused by Ofsted inspections; and if he will make a statement; [120221]
- (2) what complaints his Department has received in the last two years from (a) unions and (b) individuals about Ofsted inspections; what response has been made by Ofsted to these complaints; and what changes in inspection practices have been made as a result; [120222]
(3) what lessons have been learned by Ofsted regarding the suicide of Ms Pamela Relf; and if he will make a statement. [120223]
Ms Estelle Morris: These are matters relating to the responsibilities of 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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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Abattoirs
Sir Peter Emery: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he is taking to assist small and specialist abattoirs in Devon. [118501]
Ms Stuart: As responsibility for food safety and standards matters has now passed to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which reports to Parliament through Health Ministers, I have been asked to reply.
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that it recognises the difficulties faced by the meat industry, especially small businesses, as a result of increased veterinary supervision levels and the associated costs. Equally, it understands very well the importance of local slaughtering facilities and it is certainly not its intention to put out of business smaller operations, particularly those specialising in a high quality product.
A number of measures have been put in place to help small and medium sized abattoirs. These include the freezing of Meat Hygiene Service hourly rates in 1999-2000 at 1998-99 levels (worth £7 million) and restricting the increase in 2000-01 to no more than the rate of inflation (2.2 per cent.), and the deferment of charges for SRM controls for a further two years until 2002-03 at the earliest (worth £44 million). Following advice received from the European Commission, the Meat Hygiene Service is reviewing its levels of inspection in individual low throughput (permanently derogated) premises. In the meantime, no increases in veterinary supervision levels in such premises have been made since the Commission's advice was received last May, nor will there be any changes made until that review has been completed.
We have accepted, or are giving further consideration to, 32 of the 35 recommendations of the Meat Industry Red Tape Working Group and, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister confirmed at the agriculture summit on 30 March, the Government are pressing on urgently with their implementation. Steps are being taken to secure changes in the European Union meat hygiene and charging legislation in line with the Group's recommendations but this will inevitably take time to achieve. In the meantime, a small independent task force has been set up, as recommended by the Group, to explore all the issues surrounding a "capping" approach to meat
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hygiene inspection charges for low volume abattoirs. The task force, chaired by Colin Maclean, former Director-General of the Meat and Livestock Commission, held its first meeting on 6 April and is due to report by 31 May.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has recently received concerning the future of small abattoirs; and what action he is taking to ensure their survival. [116251]
Ms Stuart: As responsibility for food safety and standards matters has now passed to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which reports to Parliament through Health Ministers, I have been asked to reply.
Since publication of the Government's response to the report of the Meat Industry Red Tape Working Group, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, from 1 April, the Food Standards Agency, has received a number of representations from a wide variety of sources about the future of small abattoirs. The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recently replied to an open letter from 136 organisations about the impact of meat inspection charges on small and medium sized abattoirs, copies of which are available in the Library.
I am advised that the Food Standards Agency recognises the difficulties faced by the meat industry, especially small businesses, as a result of increased veterinary supervision levels and the associated costs. We also understand the importance of local slaughtering facilities.
A number of measures have been put in place to help small and medium sized abattoirs. These include the freezing of Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) hourly rates in 1999-2000 at 1998-99 levels (worth £7 million) and restricting the increase in 2000-01 to 2.2 per cent., in line with the rate of inflation and the commitment made by us last year. Charges for enforcement of specified risk Material controls have been deferred until 2002-03 at the earliest (worth £22 million). Following advice received from the European Commission, the MHS is reviewing its levels of inspection in individual low throughput (permanently derogated) premises. No increases in veterinary supervision levels in such premises have been made since the Commission's advice was received last May. No changes will be made until that review has been completed.
In addition, we have adopted, or are giving further consideration to, 32 of the 35 recommendations of the Meat Industry Red Tape Working Group. We are pressing on with their implementation as was confirmed by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at the agriculture summit on 30 March. Steps are being taken to secure changes in the European Union meat hygiene and charging legislation in line with the Group's recommendations and discussions are underway in Brussels. The Food Standards Agency has also acted on the Group's recommendation and has set up a small task force to explore all the issues surrounding a 'capping' approach to meat hygiene inspection charges for low volume abattoirs. Its membership and working arrangements were announced in a Food Standards Agency press release on 11 April, copies of which are available in the Library.
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Mr. Luff: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reason the "Action Plan for Farming", published on 30 March, contains no proposals to assist the re-establishment of abattoir facilities in areas that have lost such facilities; and if he will make a statement. [117697]
Ms Quin: Assistance for the re-establishment of abattoir facilities was not included in the "Action Plan for Farming" published on 30 March because the Government have already put in place a number of measures to help this sector.
Veterinary supervision levels in low throughput (permanently derogated) abattoirs have been frozen at May 1999 levels pending completion of a review of supervision levels in such plants following advice from the Commission (published by the Government in October 1999). The introduction of charges for cattle passports and MHS enforcement of SRM controls has been deferred until at least 2002-03 (worth £44m). Meat inspection charges for 1999-2000 were capped at 1998-99 levels (worth £7m) and will rise by only 2.2 per cent. in 2000-01, in line with the rate of inflation as previously announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister. As recommended by the Meat Industry Red Tape Working Group (the Pooley Report) a small task force has been set to urgently explore alternative ways of recovering the costs of inspection work, within the framework of Community law. This will report and make recommendations to the Food Standards Agency who now have responsibility for meat hygiene.
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