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Statistics
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the publication dates of statistics to be released by his Department and agencies in the next 12 months. [140363]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 27 November 2000]: A copy of the monthly release schedule for statistical publications for the period October 2000 to September 2001 has been placed in the Library. Alternatively, it can found on the Department for Education and Employment statistical website (http://www.dfee.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SFR/s0200/). In total there are some 82 statistical publications planned over this period. The website also provides the exact dates for publications that will be released shortly (http://www.dfee.gov.uk/statistics/whatsnew.html).
Special Needs Education (Lancashire)
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what (a) proposals and (b) reports he has received in the last 12 months from Lancashire County Council in connection with their plans to reorganise education provision for those with special needs or severe learning difficulties; and if he will place copies of them in the Library. [140385]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 29 November 2000]: Lancashire Local Education Authority published a document, "Review of Special School Provision in Lancashire", in May this year. Consultation on this document ended on 31 August. If, as a result of consultation, the authority decides to reorganise any of its special needs provision, it will have to publish formal proposals. A statutory two-month period will follow, during which objections to the proposals may be submitted to the authority. Responsibility for deciding school reorganisation proposals transferred from the Secretary of State to local School Organisation Committees on 1 September 1999.
Copies of the Lancashire consultation document can be obtained from the local education authority.
Industrial Relations
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent consultations he has held with employers and staff in (a) higher education and (b) further education into the state of industrial relations in these sectors. [140393]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 29 November 2000]: My right hon. Friend meets higher and further education employers and staff from time to time to discuss a variety of topics. Staff matters were included on the agenda when he last met HE union representatives on 29 November.
Individual Learning Account
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have (a) opened an individual learning account and (b) used their individual learning account, broken down by (i) age and (ii) occupation. [139497]
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Mr. Wicks: To date 448,228 people have opened an Individual Learning Account in England.
The further information requested is contained in the following tables. This relates solely to accounts opened under the national framework of individual learning accounts and reflects account usage from September 2000. The breakdown is not available nationally in relation to the 192,615 accounts opened through Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs)/Chamber of Commerce Training and Enterprise (CCTE) before the national framework was launched. Of the 255,613 accounts opened under the national framework, 78,314 account holders are currently using their accounts. This understates the position as there are two factors which result in a difference between the number of accounts opened and the number being used. People need to open their accounts before booking their learning, and learning providers have up to 42 days in which to notify the Individual Learning Account Centre of learning being undertaken by ILA holders.
| Age group | Number of individual learning accounts opened | Number of individual learning accounts used for learning |
|---|---|---|
| 19-30 | 71,032 | 21,394 |
| 31-40 | 80,370 | 24,469 |
| 41-50 | 58,195 | 17,526 |
| 51-60 | 33,277 | 10,508 |
| 60+ | 12,739 | 4,417 |
| Total | 255,613 | 78,314 |
| Occupation | Number of individual learning accounts opened | Number of individual learning accounts used for learning |
|---|---|---|
| Housewife/Homemaker | 23,859 | 8,255 |
| Manual/Factory worker | 13,375 | 4,397 |
| Owner Manager 250(22) staff | 7,884 | 2,072 |
| Office/Retail worker | 54,328 | 17,014 |
| Senior Manager/Professional | 24,639 | 14,781 |
| Skilled worker/Tradesperson | 18,948 | 6,618 |
| Teaching/Lecturer | 12,555 | 5,893 |
| Other | 47,405 | 3,062 |
| Not allocated to occupational sector | 52,620 | 16,222 |
| Total | 255,613 | 78,314 |
(22) Less than
Note:
Figures apply to England only.
Teacher Numbers
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers were made redundant in England as a result of falling school rolls in 1999-2000. [140605]
Ms Estelle Morris: The number of teachers made redundant as a result of falling school rolls is not held centrally.
The full-time equivalent number of regular teachers in the maintained sector has increased by 6,900 since January 1998.
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Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many qualified teachers have stopped teaching within five years in each of the last five years. [138902]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers there are in each local education authority; and how many of them have applied for the performance related pay threshold assessment in (a) actual terms and (b) as a percentage of the number of teachers in each LEA. [140775]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers were employed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last five academic years in (i) England and (ii) Kent. [139478]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers left the profession in each year since 1990, (a) due to ill health, (b) to pursue other careers and (c) as a direct result of disciplinary action. [139500]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Accident Prevention
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much was spent by his Department on (a) research into the prevention of accidents on school premises and playing fields and (b) public awareness campaigns on road safety in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [140661]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 28 November 2000]: We have not commissioned research in this area. On the second part of the question I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin), of 28 November 2000, Official Report, column 554W.
Parental Leave Directive
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the annual cost of the Parental Leave Directive to his Department. [134691]
Mr. Wills: Under the Statutory arrangements staff in the Department can take 13 weeks parental leave. Parental leave is unpaid and there has been no annual cost to the Department.
E-learning
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide a list of the Government initiatives to improve information and communications technology infrastructure in schools for
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each of the years 2000-01 to 2003-04; indicating in each case how much (a) public funding and (b) private funding will be provided. [140777]
Mr. Wills: Our investment in education includes several initiatives that will help to support the improvement of schools' ICT infrastructure. Our main programme is the National Grid for Learning, which is supporting a total of over £1 billion of publicly funded expenditure, including £657 million between 1998 and 2002 (including £205 million in 2000-01, and £245 million in 2001-02), and a further £710 million between 2002 and 2004. This will ensure that all schools are able to reach a common threshold of access to ICT, and to progress beyond this.
In addition, several other initiatives support ICT-related expenditure, including technology colleges and City Learning Centres (which provide state-of-the-art ICT-based learning opportunities for pupils and the wider community) and Education Action Zones and Excellence Clusters (which may use ICT as part of a package of measures to address under-performance). With the exception of City Learning Centres, private sector sponsorship supports each of these initiatives, but it is not possible to predict how much sponsorship will become available during this period.
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what interest the private sector has shown in his proposals to establish e-learning foundations; and if he will make a statement; [140776]
- (2) what role local education authorities will play in the process of establishing and maintaining e-learning foundations; [140778]
(3) what targets have been set for private sector contributions to e-learning foundations; [140773]
(4) how the national e-learning foundations will relate to the National Grid for Learning; and if he will make a statement. [140772]
Mr. Wills: The e-Learning Foundation will help the Government's drive to bridge the digital divide by providing children from low income families and in disadvantaged areas with portable computers and internet access to learning materials. The initiative runs in parallel with the National Grid for Learning's programme of connecting all schools to the web by 2002 and improving pupil/computer ratios in schools. 98 per cent. of all secondary schools and 86 per cent. of all primary schools are already connected to the internet.
The initiative is a partnership between Government, community groups and the private sector. Local e-Learning Foundations across the country will engage parents, the local business community and other major sponsors in funding equipment for disadvantaged children in that community. The national e-Learning Foundation is charged with brokering contributions from the corporate business sector.
Specific targets for private sector contributions will be agreed between the national e-Learning Foundation and my Department's officials in due course.
E-Learning Foundations can operate at a range of different levels; for example, an individual school, a group of schools, or a wider community foundation. LEAs may wish to run their own foundation, as has happened in the case of Nottingham local authority.
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