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European Social Funds

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps his Department is taking to consult voluntary sector organisations over changes to the mechanisms by which they can apply for European Social Fund grants. [R] [139125]

Ms Jowell: We have published a consultation document, "The European Social Fund: proposals for co-financing in England". We have sent a summary version to providers. The summary and full documents are also available on the ESF News website. The consultation was launched at a conference hosted by TEN (Training and Employment Network); that conference was attended mainly by representatives of voluntary and community organisations. The TEN website also carries the consultation documents. Voluntary and community organisations have been invited to attend regional consultation events. Officials are also holding more informal discussions with providers from the voluntary sector.

Objective 3 Grants

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the voluntary sector's use of ESF Objective 3 grants; and if he will make a statement. [R] [139127]

Ms Jowell: Our evaluation strategy for the ESF Objective 3 programme, which has been agreed with the European Commission and the Great Britain Monitoring Committee, has been primarily concerned with assessing

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the extent to which ESF has helped disadvantaged groups compete for jobs. There has not been any assessment of the voluntary sector's use of ESF assistance.

Expenditure

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the total amount of private sector revenue and capital promised to each Education Action Zone in (a) phase I, (b) phase II and (c) the audited accounts for 1998-99 and 1999-2000; and what was the total amount of revenue and capital actually provided by the private sector for each Education Action Zone. [138852]

Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 17 November 2000]: The total amount of private sector sponsorship pledge to all Education Action Zones (EAZs) (including small zones created under the Excellence in Cities initiative) in their first three years of operation is currently £34.8 million. The breakdown of information per large Education Action Zone is published in zone annual accounts once the amounts have been audited and confirmed. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is writing to the hon. Member separately about this, in response to his letter of 1 November.

The audited annual accounts for the first 25 zones for the period 1998-99, ie the first seven months (12 zones) or three months (13 zones) of their existence, confirm that a total amount of over £1.3 million private sector sponsorship was received. The figures for each zone, together with the total pledged figures to date, are contained in the following Table 1.

Details of pledged sponsorship to date for Round 2 zones are contained in the following Table 2. These have not yet been audited or checked against DfEE match funding rules.

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Table 1--round 1 zones

Name of zoneStart dateAmount as reflected in NAO audited accounts for FY 1998-99 (£)Total amount pledged to date (unaudited)
Aston (B'ham)January 19990803,500
BarnsleySeptember 199820,000493,164
BlackburnSeptember 1998150,521378,650
BrightonJanuary 19990369,425
East BasildonJanuary 19995,012163,054
HalifaxJanuary 19990833,200
HerefordshireSeptember 199828,04380,233
Kingston Upon HullJanuary 19995,100747,979
LambethSeptember 199841,000350,230
LeicesterSeptember 19983,000705,012
Leigh (Wigan)January 199950,000209,339
MiddlesbroughSeptember 199856,500703,137
New AddingtonSeptember 199812,087249,865
NewcastleSeptember 1998120,000151,600
NewhamSeptember 1998400,0001,007,000
Next Steps, GrimsbySeptember 1998111,000292,505
North Somerset (Weston)September 199833,006119,124
NottinghamJanuary 199919,000329,000
PlymouthJanuary 19991,050191,950
Salford and TraffordSeptember 199863,164299,495
Shard End/Kitts (B'ham)January 19996,500467,750
Sheffield NEJanuary 19996,000841,000
South TynesideJanuary 199934,00059,622
SouthwarkJanuary 1999116,000260,207
Thetford (Norfolk)January 199919,779438,070
Total1,300,76210,544,111

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Table 2--round 2 zones

Name of zoneStart datePledged sponsorship to date
AshingtonJanuary 2000198,600
Barrow-in-FurnessJanuary 2000425,837
BedfordJanuary 20001,335,459
BoltonJanuary 2000188,438
BridgwaterJanuary 2000138,912
BristolApril 2000469,500
Camborne, Pool and RedruthJanuary 2000292,260
Clacton and HarwichJanuary 2000314,810
CorbyJanuary 2000305,000
Coventry MillenniumJanuary 2000542,480
Derby NorthApril 2000750,150
Dingle, Toxteth and GranbyJanuary 2000876,000
Downham and BellinghamJanuary 2000389,746
DudleyDecember 19991,505,482
Easington and SeahamJanuary 2000208,950
East ClevelandJanuary 2000670,499
East ManchesterDecember 1999355,000
Epicenter Leap (Ellesmere Port)January 2000739,460
GloucesterJanuary 2000195,350
Great YarmouthApril 2000611,898
GreenwichSeptember 1999862,250
HackneyJanuary 2000415,500
Hamilton Oxford SchoolsSeptember 1999975,000
Hastings and St. LeonardsJanuary 20001,271,640
Heart of SloughJanuary 2000247,094
Kent/Somerset VirtualDecember 1999181,200
Leigh Park (Havant)January 2000566,270
North East Derbyshire CoalfieldsDecember 1999196,040
North GillinghamJanuary 2000301,515
North IslingtonJanuary 20001,050,000
North StocktonApril 2000244,800
North West ShropshireApril 20002,697
PeterleeJanuary 2000243,370
PrestonDecember 1999167,280
Rainbow Zone (Stoke-on-Trent)January 2000447,000
South BradfordJanuary 2000455,500
South East England VirtualApril 2000405,260
South East SheffieldApril 20000
SouthendDecember 1999308,498
Speke GarstonJanuary 2000287,484
SunderlandJanuary 2000827,650
Telford and WrekinDecember 1999361,603
WakefieldJanuary 2000189,605
WednesburyDecember 1999556,130
WestminsterMay 2000450,000
Withernsea and Southern HoldernessJanuary 2000447,442
WolverhamptonJanuary 2000868,500
WythenshaweDecember 1999781,814
Total23,624,973

Audited annual accounts for all 73 zones for the period 1999-2000 are not yet published. The National Audit Office expects to lay the first of these before Parliament in the near future.

"Partners in Europe"

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with teachers' representatives and local education authorities about his information pack, Partners in Europe. [139474]

Mr. Wicks: The information pack for schools, Partners in Europe, was issued in January 1998 as an initiative supported by the four education departments in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the UK's last Presidency of the European Union. The decision to distribute it was influenced by requests from teachers to update materials already in existence and to provide examples of good

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practice to those teachers wishing to incorporate the European dimension into classroom activities. Since its distribution there has been no formal discussion of the pack with teachers' representatives and local education authorities, but informal feedback suggests it was well received by teachers.

SSA (Stoke)

Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the education Standard Spending Assessment per pupil for the primary and secondary sectors in Stoke-on-Trent local education authority for each year since 1997-98. [139512]

Ms Estelle Morris: The following table shows the primary and secondary Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) per pupil and the DfEE special and specific grants per pupil for Stoke-on-Trent local education authority for each year since 1997-98.

£

Primary Secondary
Per pupil fundingSSAGrantsTotalSSAGrantsTotal
1997-982,040302,0802,690302,720
1998-992,160402,2002,820402,850
1999-20002,2801202,4002,940903,030
2000-012,4002902,6903,1002303,340

Note:

All figures have been rounded to the nearest £10



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