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Departmental Vehicles
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) cars and (b) commercial vehicles operated by his Department were manufactured (i) in the UK, (ii) in the EU and (iii) elsewhere. [122252]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer being given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
My Department operates no vehicles other than those provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Eco-schools Scheme
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the contribution that the eco-schools scheme makes to the teaching of curriculum subjects. [121933]
Jacqui Smith: The Eco-schools Programme is managed in the UK by Going for Green, a charitable trust. My Department is aware of the programme and the contribution it can make to environmental awareness in schools, and I recently visited a school to present an eco-schools certificate. We also discuss it as part of our regular liaison with the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.
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Penalty Clauses
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the contracts entered into with private sector companies for the provision of goods or services since May 1997 where penalty clauses were triggered for non-performance; and if he will make a statement. [122021]
Mr. Wicks: There are none to list as the Department for Education and Employment does not include penalty clauses in its contracts.
Objective 3 Funding
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which areas of England and Wales are covered by the European Social Fund Objective 3 Funding; when the funding scheme will come into operation; and if he will make a statement. [122101]
Ms Jowell: In England, Objective 3 will cover all the English regions, except for the Objective 1 areas of Merseyside, Cornwall and South Yorkshire. I expect the European Commission to approve our plan in June, and for bidding rounds to be held in all regions before the end of July. In Wales Objective 3 will cover the seven unitary authorities outside the Objective 1 area of West Wales and the Valleys. The Welsh plan has been prepared by the National Assembly for Wales, and I understand that approval from the Commission is expected in time for the programme to come into operation either in the summer or in the early part of the autumn.
Female Circumcision
Ms McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance his Department issues to local education authorities concerning the operation of the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985. [122495]
Jacqui Smith: Our advice in "Working Together to Safeguard Children", which we published jointly with the Department of Health and the Home Office earlier this year, highlights the importance of focusing on preventative strategies in relation to female genital mutilation. Copies of "Working Together" were sent to all local education authorities. Furthermore, our advice to schools and local education authorities on child protection procedures in Circular 10/95, "Protecting Children from Abuse: The Role of the Education Service" makes clear that, if school staff have reason to believe that a child is at risk from any form of abuse, they should report their suspicions immediately to the school's designated teacher for child protection. The designated teacher will refer any concerns to the appropriate professional agencies to investigate further.
Institute for Learning and Teaching
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on (a) membership and (b) industrial relations at the Institute for Learning and Teaching in higher education. [122169]
Mr. Wicks: The Institute for Learning and Teaching (ILT) is an independent body. 1,100 applications for membership have been received in the six months of recruitment which has taken place so far. The ILT is
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taking steps to increase awareness of the benefits of membership among those eligible to join. I understand that both the AUT and NATFHE have representation on the Transitional Council of the ILT and that their contribution is greatly valued by the Institute.
Hearing-impaired Children
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance his Department has given to local education authorities about making educational provision for children with a hearing loss (a) over and (b) under the age of two years in order to support their language and educational development. [122249]
Jacqui Smith: The Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs includes guidance on the steps to be taken to identify and meet the needs of children with sensory impairments, including hearing difficulties. The Code of Practice also contains a chapter offering guidance on assessments of special educational needs for children under the age of five, which includes specific guidance on the assessment of children under the age of two. Local education authorities are under a statutory duty to have regard to the Code of Practice.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that take-up of training by teachers wishing to undertake the mandatory training for teachers of the deaf is sufficient to meet national demand. [122250]
Jacqui Smith: Prime responsibility for the in-service training of teachers rests with local education authorities and schools, who are in the best position to determine their needs and respond to demand in the light of local circumstances. In recognition of the importance of training, the Department is supporting expenditure of £26 million in the 2000-01 financial year through the Standards Fund to help LEAs with the costs of training teachers of children with special educational needs, including training in the mandatory qualifications. The Teacher Training Agency has also been conducting a review of the courses leading to mandatory qualifications.
Correspondence
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a substantive reply to his letter of 29 March on behalf of his constituent Dr. Irwin. [122331]
Mr. Wills [holding answer 16 May 2000]: A reply to the right hon. Member's letter was issued on 15 May.
Connexions
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the optimum mix of delivery of the Connexions Service through private, voluntary and public partners as referred to in paragraph 7.12 of Connexions: the best start in life for every young person. [122454]
Mr. Wicks: The Connexions Service: prospectus and specification, which was published on 4 May, invites prospective partner organisations to come together to agree how the Connexions Service can operate most
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effectively in their area and to produce outline Partnership Proposals. Partnerships will need to ensure that the mix of public, private and voluntary sector provision is appropriate to the needs of the particular area and that these decisions are based on the quality of existing provision. Partnerships will need to demonstrate in their Business Plans to be produced in the autumn that public, private and voluntary sector providers have been given a fair opportunity in each area to offer relevant services, on the basis of the quality of existing provision. The Connexions Service National Unit, through its assessment and approval of partnership Business Plans and subsequent monitoring of service delivery, will ensure that an appropriate mix of public, private and voluntary sector providers are involved.
Class Sizes
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the average class size in each infant school in Cleethorpes constituency since 1995. [122347]
Ms Estelle Morris: Information on individual schools is not normally published. Where individual school information is published, as in the School Performance tables, the information is first checked with the schools concerned. The latest available information on infant class sizes in the parliamentary constituency of Cleethorpes is shown in the table.
Provisional national estimates of infant class sizes in England for January 2000 was recently published in a Statistical First Release "Class sizes in Maintained schools in England: January 2000" on 12 April 2000. Prior to this, information on infant class sizes for September 1999 was published in Statistical First Release "Infant class sizes in England: September 1999" on 21 January 2000. Copies of both publications are available from the Library.
| Position as at January | Average class size |
|---|---|
| 2000(7) | 24.7 |
| 1999 | 26.5 |
| 1998 | 28.3 |
| 1997 | 27.5 |
| 1996 | (8)-- |
| 1995 | (8)-- |
(6) Key stage 1 classes
(7) Provisional
(8) Not available
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