| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
EU Rural Development Policy
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what benefits he has identified from the creation of an integrated European Union rural development policy. [122960]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 22 May 2000]: The Rural Development Regulation enables member states for the first time systematically, coherently and comprehensively to plan expenditure on rural measures which aim to meet environmental, social and economic objectives for the countryside.
CAP
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in preparing a strategy for further CAP negotiations, he has made specific provision for the possibility that Britain will retain its own currency for the foreseeable future. [122972]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 22 May 2000]: In developing agricultural strategy, no assumptions have been made as to whether or not the UK is likely to join the eurozone, or to remain outside.
Hill Farmers
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral statement of 11 May 2000, Official Report, column 1028, if his statement that the England rural development plan would enable support for hill farmers to be continued meant that support for hill farmers would continue at its current level. [122964]
Mr. Nick Brown [holding answer 22 May 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 5 May 2000, Official Report, column 249W.
BSE
Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the BSE Inquiry's report will be completed. [123393]
Ms Quin [holding answer 23 May 2000]: The BSE Inquiry requested a six month extension beyond the deadline of 31 March 2000 to complete their task. The Government have agreed this extension. The Report will be published shortly after its receipt by Ministers.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Sure Start
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the annual cost to date of establishing the Sure Start Scheme; and what estimate he has made of the number of Sure Start places in each year since its establishment and in 2000-01. [122531]
24 May 2000 : Column: 557W
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 17 May 2000]: The 60 trailblazers cover approximately 50,000 children aged under four in disadvantaged areas. 57 of these programmes have now been approved and most are delivering services. The total spend in the financial year 1999-2000 was £4,877,000.
By March 2002, we intend to establish 250 programmes covering up to 200,000 children, around 8 per cent. of children aged under four at one time, and around 20 per cent. of the age group living in poverty in England. We expect most of these programmes to either start operations or start planning by March 2001.
Post-graduate Certificate in Education Courses
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many physics graduates entered PGCE courses for secondary teaching in each of the last five years. [123036]
Ms Estelle Morris: The number of new entrants to postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) courses for secondary teaching in Physics is not collected centrally. The numbers of new entrants to postgraduate ITT courses in England for secondary teaching in Science for the last five years are given in the following table.
| Year | Intake |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 2,530 |
| 1996-97 | 2,564 |
| 1997-98 | 2,438 |
| 1998-99 | 2,058 |
| 1999-2000 | 2,149 |
Note:
Data are mid year provisional
Source:
TTA Survey of ITT Providers
Coverage:
Universities and other HE Institutions, School Centred ITT and Open University
At 25 September 1999, with Golden Hello incentives, the number of Physics applications for postgraduate ITT was up by 40 per cent. on the previous year. The number of new entrants on postgraduate ITT Science courses in England for 1999-2000 was up by 4 per cent. on the previous year, effectively meeting the overall target for the year. It is too early to predict recruitment to PGCE courses in 2000-01.
The following table, taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency's Student Record Survey shows the percentage of those commencing PGCE ITT in England, funded by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), who were graduates in Physics in the years 1995-96 to 1998-99. These are the subjects of first degree and not necessarily the subjects or phase in which the student is undertaking teacher training. Information for the current year is not yet available. There is a significant proportion of students for whom the first degree subject is unknown. The subjects of first degree do not include combined courses, or closely related courses such as engineering.
24 May 2000 : Column: 558W
| Year | Percentage with Physics degree |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 1 |
| 1996-97 | 1 |
| 1997-98 | 1 |
| 1998-99 | 1 |
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency's Student Record Survey
Early-years Education
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment who has responsibility for the strategic overview of Government policy for the maintenance of pre-school learning provision. [123104]
Ms Hodge: The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the Government's early education policy. The statutory duty to secure free early education places for all four-year-olds rests with local education authorities. Together with their Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships, they have responsibility for planning and monitoring the sufficient supply of high quality early education places in their area.
Skills Task Force
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list (a) the membership and qualifications, (b) the activities and (c) the reports of the Skills Task Force since its inception. [123459]
Ms Jowell [holding answer 23 May 2000]: The 19 members of the National Skills Task Force were appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to serve in a personal capacity. Their names and positions within their respective organisations are listed. The Department does not hold information on members' qualifications.
The Task Force was remitted by the Secretary of State to assist him in developing a National Skills Agenda. Meeting monthly since its launch in April 1998, the group has considered a range of themes concerned with skill demand and supply, and recorded its conclusions and recommendations in its reports. It has overseen an extensive programme of original research which provides the evidence base for its conclusions. The Task Force has undertaken over 40 formal consultation events, some with a particular sectoral or geographical focus, and has held a series of bilateral meetings with the main agencies involved in education and training.
To date, the Task Force has issued three interim policy reports, covering: a preliminary analysis of skill shortages and gaps, vocational skills for young people, key skills, collection and use of skills and labour market information, upskilling adults and learning in the workplace. Other publications so far are the final report from its IT, Communications and Electronics skills strategy group, a recruitment guide for small businesses, and 19 research papers on various topics. All are available in the Library.
24 May 2000 : Column: 559W
24 May 2000 : Column: 559W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |