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Disabled Children
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the availability of funding from his Department for Schools for Parents for parents of children with severe disabilities aged 1 to 5 years. [136820]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 6 November 2000]: There are a variety of funding streams available to schools and the voluntary organisations with which they work, including Standards Fund and the Department's Special Educational Needs Small Programmes Fund. We are not aware of any approach to the Department for funding from School for Parents.
Thurlow Park School, Lambeth
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) when he last visited Thurlow Park School in Lambeth; [137227]
- (2) what discussions he has had with Lambeth Council about the proposed closure of Thurlow Park School. [137225]
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Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 November 2000]: The Secretary of State and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities visited Thurlow Park School on 2 March this year.
In October 2000, officials from the Department for Education and Employment met officers from Lambeth local education authority to discuss the authority's plans for the reorganisation of educational provision for pupils with moderate and complex special educational needs, including the proposed closure of Thurlow Park School.
Recycled Computers (Wirral)
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many subsidised recycled computers will be made available at low personal cost to low-income families living in each of the four constituencies of Wirral over the next three months; [137727]
- (2) how many subsidised recycled computers have been made available at low personal cost to low-income families (a) in total and (b) living in each of the four constituencies of Wirral, since March 1999. [137728]
Mr. Wills: I announced the commencement of the Computers Within Reach scheme on 25 october 2000 for those on certain benefits who were seeking to gain or retain employment. The first phase of the scheme will provide up to 35,000 recycled PCs in various areas in England until 31 March 2001. Potential applicants have been asked to contact the free telephone helpline 08080 100 900 in the first instance. The PCs will be delivered following the applications being processed by the relevant regional contractor. I am writing to all hon. Members with details of the scheme and the pilot areas to be covered in this first phase. The PCs will be provided in areas where there are locally based groups that made a successful bid to be part of the scheme. The Wirral constituencies are not in an area currently covered by a bid.
The first phase pilots are located in areas within the following locations: Birmingham, Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Knowsley, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Sheffield.
Apprenticeships
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many workers on apprenticeships there were in each of the last 15 years; and what is the estimated number for the next three years. [137733]
Mr. Wicks: Figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) on the number of apprentices in employment for each of the last 15 years is given in the table. There are no projections on the number of apprentices there might be in the future.
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Sure Start
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to expand Sure Start. [136586]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 6 November 2000]: I am delighted to say that following the Spending Review, the number of Sure Start programmes will be increased from 250 to 500 programmes by 2004 reaching a third of all children aged under four living in poverty. The budget for Sure Start will rise from £184 million a year in 2000-01 to £499 million a year in 2003-04.
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to amend the Departmental expenditure limit and gross running costs limit for 2000-01. [138397]
Mr. Wills: Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class 1, Vote 1 (Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services) and Vote 3 (the Employment Service), the Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) for 2000-01 (excluding Welfare to Work) will be increased by £640,856,000 from £18,355,519,000 to £18,996,375,000.
This overall increase is made up of DEL increases on Votes 1 and Vote 3 of £627,511,000 and £36,075,000 respectively and an decrease of £22,730,000 in non-voted expenditure. As a result, the Voted element of the Departmental Expenditure Limit (excluding Welfare to Work) will be increased by £663,586,000 from £16,806,467,000 to £17,470,053.000. The non-Voted element will be decreased by £22,730,000 from £1,549,052,000 to £1,526,322,000.
The changes in Vote 1 are the result of the take up of £608,950,000 of the end-year flexibility entitlement announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in Table 7 of the 1999-2000 Public Expenditure Outturn White paper (Cm 4812); transfers of: £1,068,000 to the National Assembly of Wales for mature student bursaries and the administration of the mature student bursaries, of £860,000 to Class XII, Vote 2 (Department of Social Security: Housing, benefit subsidies, council tax benefit subsidies and administration, payments to the National Insurance Fund and the Social Fund and other grants) for intercalating students, of £13,474,000 to the Scottish Executive in connection with Scottish Open University
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(OU) students, access funds for Scottish OU students and the European Social Fund (Verification and Audit Service), of £3,738,000 from Class 1, Vote 3 (Employment Service) for Employment Zones, work-life balance, the salary of a Grade 7 lawyer, the new agency policy division, the manual girocheque reconciliation function and ONE marketing, of £3,000,000 from Class II, Vote 1 (Department of Health: Hospital, community health, family health and related services, England) for the Tomlinson project at Queen Mary and Westfield College, of £4,000,000 from Class II, Vote 2 (Department of Health: administration, miscellaneous health and personal social services, England) as a contribution to Education and Health Partnerships, of £950,000 to Class XI, Vote 1 (the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) for dance and drama students; the draw down of £825,000 from the Civil Service Modernisation Fund and the draw down of £23,350,000 from the Department's non-Voted Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP).
The increase in the provision on Vote 3 is the result of the take up of £35,779,000 of end-year flexibility entitlement; the draw down of £250,000 from the DUP to help fund New Deal Action teams; transfers of £195,000 from Class IV, Vote 1 (Home Office) for the Recovery Employment and Progress Drug Projects, of £3,738,000 to Class 1, Vote 1 (Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services) for Employment Zones, Work-life balance, the new agency project, ONE marketing, legal advice and the manual girocheque reconciliation function and of £2,374,000 from Class XII, Vote 3 (Department of Social Security: administration) to cover Decision Making Advice costs connected with adjudication work; an increase of £1,670,000 to cover the cost of administering allowance payments for work based learning for adults in Scotland and Wales (offset by matching increase in receipts); and the draw down of £1,215,000 from the Civil Service Modernisation Fund.
The Departmental running costs limit (excluding Welfare to Work) will be increased by £19,793,000 from £1,072,601,000 to £1,092,394,000. The changes on Vote 1 are as a result of the transfer of £20,000 to the Scottish Executive, the movement of £600,000 out of running costs into programme provision, and the draw down of £825,000 from the Civil Service Modernisation Fund. The changes on Vote 3 are the result of the take up of £17,261,000 of end-year flexibility entitlement, the transfer of £2,374,000 from the Class XII, Vote 3 (Department of Social Security: administration), the addition of £1,670,000 to cover work on allowance payments for Work Based Learning for Adults in Scotland and Wales and the draw down of £1,215,000 from the Civil Service Modernisation Fund. The Supplementary Estimates also include transfers of £3,738,000 of running costs from Vote 3 to Vote 1, of which only £806,000 increases the Vote 1 running costs provision.
The Department's Welfare to Work provision is being increased by £111,414,000 from £1,144,281,000 to £1,255,695,000. The increase is made up of changes on Votes 1 and 3 of £90,251,000 and £21,163,000 respectively. The change on Vote 1 is as the result of the take up of £75,472,000 of end-year flexibility; draw down of new provision of £8,494,000; net transfers from Class 1, Vote 3 (the Employment Service) of £6,300,000,
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a transfer of £15,000 to the Class XII, Vote 3 (Department of Social Security) and an increase in running cost expenditure for New Deal Task Force projects and corresponding receipt of £750,000. The change on Vote 3 is as a result of the take up of £13,350,000 of Windfall Tax end-year flexibility entitlement, the draw down of £6,746,000 of Windfall Tax provision to fund additional expenditure on the New Deal for 50plus and the New Deal for Lone parents, net transfers of £6,300,000 to Class 1, Vote 1 (Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services) for New Deal for Partners, Action Teams, The Training Standards Council and the Government Office's financial monitoring of New Deal and of £7,367,000 from Class XII, Vote 3 (Department of Social Security: administration) for the New Deal for Lone parents.
The Departmental Welfare to Work running costs limit will be increased by £12,865,000 from £184,011,000 to £196,876,000. The change on Vote 1 is as a result of the take up of £478,000 of new provision, the increase of £750,000 for the New Deal Task Force and the transfer of £15,000 to the Department of Social Security. The change on Vote 3 is a net result of the take up of £7,000,000 of Windfall Tax end-year flexibility entitlement, the draw down of £6,134,000 of Windfall Tax provision to fund additional expenditure on the New Deals for 50plus and Lone Parents and a transfer of £4,550,000 from Class XII, Vote 3 (Department of Social Security: administration) for the New Deal for Lone parents. The Supplementary Estimates also include transfers of 6,480,000 from Vote 3, of which only £448,000 increases the Vote 1 running costs provision.
The decrease in non-Voted expenditure within DEL arises from the draw down of £23,600,000 of DUP and an increase in credit approvals due to a transfer from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions of £870,000 in connection with the overpayment of Annual Capital Guideline to Derby City Council.
The increases are the result of transfers or will be charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
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