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Schoolchildren (E-mail Addresses)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made
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with the Government's commitment to provide every school pupil with an e-mail address; and how he intends to ensure that children will not be (a) individually identifiable and (b) open to approaches by paedophiles when such addresses are allocated. [136213]
Mr. Wills [holding answer 6 November 2000]: The Government want fifty per cent. of pupils and students to have their own e-mail address by 2002. Good progress is being made towards achieving this. The majority of schools are now connected to the internet and almost all have been allocated a standard domain name (<school name>.<geographical area>.sch.uk). Currently, 9 per cent. of primary school pupils, 26 per cent. of secondary school pupils and 13 per cent. of special school pupils have a personal e-mail address. Some schools are providing access through whole class/or teaching group e-mail accounts.
We all share a responsibility to make sure that students' use of the internet is appropriate and safe. A range of measures to help to protect children have been publicised by my Department, via the Superhighway Safety information pack and website. These include, for example, monitoring pupils' computer use and the use of filtering software to prevent access to unsuitable internet material. The pack also includes a Disney 'Doug' poster, which promotes safe internet use to young children. It is the school's duty to ensure that every child is safe and that no individual child should be identifiable or contactable. Our publications recommend that school websites should not contain either personal e-mail or postal addresses.
Non-departmental Public Bodies (Scotland)
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the non-departmental public bodies responsible to him which have duties relating to Scotland, indicating their budget and staffing in Scotland, the number of Scottish board members and their emoluments. [137699]
Mr. Wills: Of the 13 Executive NDPBs responsible to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the following have a GB or UK-wide remit.
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a. "British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA)"
HQ based in Coventry. No staff based in Scotland. One Board Member representing Scottish interests--unpaid.
b. "Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)"
HQ based in Norfolk. 111 staff based in Scotland. 2 Board members representing Scottish interests--both unpaid.
c. "Disability Rights Commission (DRC)"
HQ based in Manchester. Ten members of staff based in Scotland with a further 4 expected to be recruited. One Commissioner with special knowledge of Scotland, receiving a daily fee of £134.
d. "Engineering Construction Industry Training Board"
HQ in Hertfordshire. Five members of staff based in Scotland. Five Board Members representing Scottish interests--all unpaid.
e. "Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)"
HQ based in Manchester. 12 members of staff based in Scotland. One Commissioner with special knowledge of Scotland, receiving a daily fee of £134.
f. "Investors in People UK (IiP UK)"
HQ based in London. No staff based in Scotland. One Board member from Scotland--unpaid.
g. "Remploy Limited"
HQ based in London. 962 staff based in Scotland. No Board representation for Scotland.
h. "The Students Loan Company Limited (SLC)"
HQ based in Glasgow. All the company's 525 members of staff based in Scotland. The SLC operates within overall strategies set by the SoS for Education and Employment and Scottish Ministers. None of the SLC's Board members are designated to represent a specific region but Scottish Ministers, and the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, are entitled to send a senior official as an "assessor" to attend all of the SLC's Board and Committee meetings to represent their interests.
Schools (Personal Safety)
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to encourage schools to consider and disseminate information and awareness of personal safety from crime, and to incorporate this issue into teacher training programmes. [138646]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 16 November 2000]: Safety education for pupils is covered within personal, social and health education, introduced as part of the revised National Curriculum. This includes teaching pupils about managing risk, how to stay safe and where to get help. A working group is currently developing guidance to help schools teach safety issues. In addition, citizenship education encourages partnerships between schools and community organisations such as the police.
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The Standards Fund school security grant of £22 million includes funding for training school staff and governors in personal safety techniques, prevention organisations and the police.
Mandarin
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to encourage the teaching of Mandarin in schools. [138804]
Jacqui Smith: There has been a steady expansion in learning of Mandarin Chinese in the Specialist Language Colleges sector, where around a third (31 institutions) offer accredited courses to 'A' Level. However, many more offer 'enrichment'--courses that are non-accredited but which give pupils enhanced learning opportunities. These can take the form of masterclasses, links with other colleges involving the sharing of teaching materials, exchanges and study visits.
The Government are also supporting a £50,000 pilot project for the teaching of Mandarin at the Djangoly CTC. We recognise the importance of young people having access to languages like Mandarin in developing trade and cultural links with China.
Objective 3 Grants
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish the percentage of Objective 3 European Social Fund grants that have been awarded to voluntary sector organisations for each of the past 10 years for which figures are available. [139126]
Ms Jowell: The percentage of Objective 3 European Social Fund grants that have been directly awarded to voluntary sector organisations in Great Britain for each of the past 10 years is as follows:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 9.2 |
| 1991 | 10.2 |
| 1992 | 10.8 |
| 1993 | 12.1 |
| 1994 | 8.3 |
| 1995 | 7.7 |
| 1996 | 8.2 |
| 1997 | 8.5 |
| 1998 | 13.1 |
| 1999 | (21)19.5 |
(21) 1999 figures excludes Scotland, as information is not currently available
These are likely to be underestimates of the percentage actually received by the voluntary sector as many voluntary sector projects receive funding indirectly from other sectors, especially local authorities and Training and Enterprise Councils.
Medium Density Fibreboard (Schools)
Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he has given to schools regarding the use of medium density fibreboard; and if he will make a statement. [139255]
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Jacqui Smith: The Department has not issued guidance on the use of medium density fibreboard in schools. This is because existing legislation covers the use of materials that may be deemed hazardous in certain circumstances. For example, as with any other workplace, schools are bound by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 1989.
Special Needs
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the timetable is for revising the Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs. [139273]
Jacqui Smith: We are considering carefully the responses to consultation on the revised Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and aim to bring forward a final version for approval by both Houses following the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill.
The arrangements for revising the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales are matters for the Welsh Assembly.
Retired School Teachers
Ms Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what measures he has taken to encourage retired school teachers to return to work. [139435]
Ms Estelle Morris: We have introduced a number of measures to make it more attractive to retired teachers to undertake further teaching service. Teachers who have retired are now able to undertake substantial periods of re-employment within any financial year without affecting their pension. The pensions of those teachers who have retired with actuarially reduced benefits are unaffected by any re-employment. We have also made it possible for all retired teachers who return to either full-time or part-time teaching to elect to re-join the Teachers' Pension Scheme and accrue additional retirement benefit entitlement.
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