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5 May 2000 : Column: 217W

Written Answers to Questions

Friday 5 May 2000

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the use his Department, its agencies and public bodies will make of the powers relating to the authorised obtaining of communications data in Part I, Chapter II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill once the Bill is enacted. [119511]

Mr. Wills: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 19 April 2000, Official Report, column 509W.

Learning and Skills Council

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the (a) estimated (i) capital and (ii) revenue cost of establishing and (b) projected staffing establishment of each local arm of the Learning and Skills Council in England for each of the next three years. [119254]

Mr. Wicks: (a) Estimates of the capital and revenue costs of establishing each local Council are not available as these will depend on the outcome of individual negotiations in each area to secure premises and to establish teams of staff. We estimate the total transitional costs of moving to the new arrangements to be some £60 million to £65 million over the next two years (2000-02). Overall, we estimate that the new arrangements will from 2001-02 produce savings in administration of at least £50 million per year compared with the current position.

(b) Projections of the staff numbers in each local Council for each of the next three years are not available since these matters will be determined by the Learning and Skills Council itself when it comes into being. However, for planning purposes we estimate that local Councils will on average have 80-90 staff.

Sixth Forms (Funding)

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much each local education authority has spent per sixth form pupil in each of the last five years. [120256]

Mr. Wicks: Although local education authorities produce budget and outturn statements for their expenditure on schools, information is not recorded in the form requested.

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Standards Fund (Further Education)

Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what was the total amount of Standards Fund expenditure allocated to further education in each year since June 1997-98 in England and Wales; [120597]

(2) if he will list the allocation of Standards Fund expenditure to further education by recipient in each year since 1997-98 for England and Wales; [120598]

Mr. Wicks: The FE Standards Fund in England was introduced in April 1999. £35 million was allocated for 1999-2000; £98 million is earmarked for 2000-01 and £160 million for 2001-02.

The data requested are as follows for 1999-2000:

	£
FE Colleges	31,639,796
Other developmental expenditure (governor/principal training)	440,682
Basic Skills Quality Programme	350,000
Further Education National Training Organisation	500,000
Further Education Development Agency	1,750,000
Standards Fund Evaluation	300,000

A breakdown of the allocations provided to individual colleges has been placed in the Library.

The Standards Fund expenditure allocated to further education in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

Further and Higher Education

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to improve the pay and conditions of part-time lecturers in further and higher education. [121069]

Mr. Wicks: Pay and conditions for FE and HE staff are an important issue, although the detailed arrangements are for employers to determine. We have increased the funding for higher education by over £1 billion over the four years to 2001-02. And we have made the biggest ever investment in FE, increasing funds from £3.1 billion in 1998-99 to £3.9 billion in 2001-02. We are encouraging employers and unions to work together on a sensible way forward under the improved circumstances we have created.

Careers Service

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which Careers Service contractors hold (a) a Charter Mark, (b) an Investors in People award and (c) an International Standards Organisation registration. [120779]

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Mr. Wicks: The Careers Service accreditations are as follows:

Charter Mark
Calderdale and Kirklees Careers
Career Connections
Career Decisions
CareerLink
Careers Partnership
Cheshire Guidance
Cornwall and Devon Careers
Cumbria Careers
East Lancashire Careers
Essex Careers and Business Partnership
Guidance Enterprises (Wakefield)
Guidance Enterprises (York and North Yorkshire)
Lifetime Careers Bolton, Bury and Rochdale
Lifetime Careers Stockport and High Peak
Lifetime Careers Wiltshire
Oldham Careers
Quality Careers
St. Helens Career Services
Somerset Careers
Wigan Careers
Investors in People
3S Strategies
Calderdale and Kirklees Careers
Cambridgeshire Careers
CareerLink
Career Path (Northamptonshire)
Careers Bradford
Careers and Education Business Partnership
Central Careers
CfBT Bedfordshire
CfBT West London
Cheshire Guidance Partnership
City of Sunderland Careers
Cornwall and Devon Careers
County Durham Careers
Derbyshire Careers
Dorset Careers
Enterprise Careers
Essex Careers and Business Partnership
Futures Careers Guidance
Future Steps
Guidance Enterprises (York and North Yorkshire)
Guidance Enterprises (Wakefield)
GuideLink Careers
Hereford and Worcester Careers
Hertfordshire Careers
Humberside Partnership
Learning Partnership West (Avon)
Learning Partnership West (Gloucestershire)
Leeds Careers
Leicestershire Careers
Lifetime Careers Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham

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Lifetime Careers Bolton, Bury and Rochdale
Lifetime Careers Brent and Harrow
Lifetime Careers Wiltshire
Lincolnshire Careers
London South Bank Careers
Norfolk Careers
Northumberland Guidance Company
Oldham Careers
Prospects Careers (Black Country)
Prospects Careers (North London)
Prospects Careers (South London)
Quality Careers
Search
Sheffield Careers
Shropshire Careers
Somerset Careers
Suffolk Careers
Surrey Careers
Sussex Careers
Tyneside Careers Partnership
VT Southern Careers
VT West Sussex Careers
Warwickshire careers
Wigan Careers
International Standards Organisation
3S Strategies
Calderdale and Kirklees Careers
Capital Careers
Careers Partnership
Cheshire Guidance
City of Sunderland Careers
Essex Careers and Business Partnership
Future Steps
Guidance Enterprises (York and North Yorkshire)
Hertfordshire Careers
Wigan Careers.

Disability Discrimination Act

Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the remaining provisions of Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will be implemented; and if he will make a statement. [121312]

Ms Hodge: We have decided that the final stage of Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act should come into force on 1 October 2004. From that date, in addition to their current duties, service providers will have to take reasonable steps to remove, alter or provide a reasonable means of avoiding physical features which make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use a service.

I asked the National Disability Council to review the existing Code of Practice to take account of this final stage of the duties on service providers. A revised version of the Code and a Practical Guide for service providers were handed over to the Disability Rights Commission when it began operating on 25 April. Public consultation on the revised Code of Practice and Guide, and

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the Government's proposals for a small number of Regulations under the Act, starts on 8 May and will last for three months.

The Commission will consider the views expressed in the consultation before preparing final versions of the Code and Guide.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Harmon v. House of Commons Corporate Officer

Mr. Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by Sir Thomas Legg and Mr. Peter Bosworth on the case of Harmon v. House of Commons Corporate Officer. [120780]

Mr. Kirkwood: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mrs. Roe) on 19 April 2000, Official Report, column 502W, in which I said that the action is still sub judice. The Commission has decided not to release the report at present.

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