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Sure Start

24. Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the new resources announced for the sure start programme in the comprehensive spending review. [132612]

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.

As announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 18 July, in the Spending Review Command Paper 4807, Sure Start has new resources of £449 million for 2002-03 and £499 million for 2003-04. These, added to the provision before the spending review of £448 million for the years 1999-2000 to 2001-02, bring the total resources for Sure Start to £1,396 million over the five-year period. As a result, the 250 programmes will be increased to around 500 programmes, and these will reach one third of children in poverty by 2003-04.

New Deal

25. Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment his Department has made of the net cost of the New Deal for Young People. [132613]

Ms Jowell: We have commissioned independent research on the net impact of the New Deal for Young People. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) published a first report in December 1999.

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NIESR concluded that in its first year the New Deal had a positive impact on the levels of output and employment, and that the New Deal was close to self-financing because the extra activity it generated led to higher Government revenue.

A second summary report on the macroeconomic evaluation of New Deal, covering the first two years of the programme, will be published in the next few months.

34. Mr. Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what he estimates to be the percentage deadweight in the new deals for employment. [132623]

Ms Jowell: The information requested is not yet available, but will be assessed as part of the evaluation of each of the New Deals. Information on deadweight in the New Deal for Young People will be included in the second summary report on the macroeconomic evaluation of the New Deal for Young People, due to be published this year.

Post-16 Education

26. Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what opportunities recent changes will give for greater collaboration between schools and further education colleges over post-16 education. [132614]

Mr. Wicks: The creation of a Learning and Skills Council will support collaboration, including through the development of a coherent funding formula across schools and FE. The system we inherited had achieved some success, but it was complex, fragmented and inadequate for the challenge of the 21st Century.

Pupil Spending

27. Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment by how much spending per pupil will increase in real terms between 2000-01 and 2003-04. [132616]

Ms Estelle Morris: Total funding per pupil in England has increased by over £300 per pupil in real terms since 1997. The Year 2000 Spending Review means a real terms increase in planned spending of £370 over the three years bringing the total to almost £700 per pupil between 1997-98 and 2003-04. Spending per pupil fell by £60 in real terms under the last three years of the previous administration.

Mr. Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the level of spending per school pupil since May 1997. [134221]

Ms Estelle Morris: Under this Government, funding per pupil has already increased by over £300 (to some £3,100 per pupil this year). In this year alone it has risen by £180. Under the last Government, funding per pupil fell by £60 in real terms between 1994-95 and 1997-98. There will be further increases in funding following the year 2000 spending review: a further £370 per pupil over the three-year period, taking the total increase to nearly £700 between 1997-98 and 2003-04.

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Departmental Administration Costs

28. Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the cost of administration in his Department. [132617]

Mr. Wills: The planned net running cost of the Department in 2000-01 is £252 million. A further £3.25 million is available this year from the Windfall Tax for DfEE administration. These and comparable figures for past years are set out in Annexes Ei and Eii of the Departmental Report (Cm 4602). They illustrate our success in reducing the costs of administration while delivering the Government's radical programme of reform for education and employment. The planned DfEE running cost for 2000-01 (excluding Windfall Tax funding) is £15 million or 6 per cent. less than in 1996-97. This represents a reduction in real terms of 15 per cent.

Further Education Funding

29. Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on funding for pay in sixth-form and further education colleges. [132618]

Mr. Wicks: To help colleges meet the challenge to raise standards of learning, we have made available additional sums to improve the rewards for high calibre staff and to secure their recruitment and retention. My right hon. Friend announced on 18 July a £50 million increase in funding for further education lecturers' pay in 2001-02.

The Government are strongly committed to the continuation of the current independent arrangements for settling pay and conditions in the further education sector. These issues will remain a matter between employers and staff. Representatives of employers, unions and officials from this Department have started the process of designing appropriate mechanisms for further education.

Class Sizes

30. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on class sizes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools since May 1997. [132619]

Ms Estelle Morris: The size of primary classes has gone down in each of the past two years after rising steadily throughout the previous 10 years. In January 1997, the size of the average primary class was 27.5. By January 2000 it had fallen to 27.1. The Government are well on target to deliver their pledge to limit the size of infant classes to 30 pupils, and 300,000 children have already benefited. £620 million is available to support the pledge, and allocations so far to York LEA amount to some £1.4 million. This has helped to reduce the size of the average Key Stage 1 class in the Vale of York to 24.2--the figure in January 1997 was 24.5. The size of the average Key Stage 2 class in the constituency has fallen to 27.1, from 27.2 in January 1997.

The size of the average secondary class in January 1997 was 21.7. In January 2000 it was 22.0, when the pupil-teacher ratio in secondary classes was 17.1. Secondary class sizes have been rising steadily since 1988, when the average figure was 19.9. However, a typical secondary school will in 2001-02 be receiving

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£60,000 in direct grant to spend as they choose. If this was spent on teachers, the pupil-teacher ratio could be reduced by 0.6.

Education SSAs

31. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made in the review of education standard spending assessments; and if he will make a statement. [132620]

Ms Estelle Morris: On 19 September, the Government published "Modernising local government finance--a green paper" which sets out our ideas for a fairer distribution of education funding between local authorities. It makes clear that there is a continuing and important role for LEAs in deciding--with their schools--how funding is distributed at local level. We are keen to hear views on the options set out in the Green Paper--there will be three months for responses which we will consider carefully before making any decisions.

Secondary School Achievements

32. Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps are being taken to improve the achievement of children in secondary schools. [132621]

Ms Estelle Morris: In recent speeches, my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Secretary of State have set out the Government's vision for transforming secondary education. The initiatives include: introducing a pilot scheme to focus on boosting pupil achievement at Key Stage 3; expanding the geographical range and scope of the 'Excellence in Cities' programme; expanding the number of specialist schools; introducing City Academies to areas of urban disadvantage; and investing in professional development for our teachers.

Child Care Workers

33. Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the response to the Government's campaign to recruit child care workers. [132622]

Ms Hodge: The response to the campaign has been very positive and encouraging. By 15 October, the high-profile media and press advertising had generated some 41,728 calls to the national recruitment helpline and 41,321 booklets have been sent out to callers.

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