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Military Exports
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of visible exports were accounted for by identified military equipment, including aerospace equipment, in each year from 1995 to 1998. [98489]
Mr. Alan Johnson: UK exports of military equipment, as a percentage of exports of goods, were:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 1.4 |
| 1996 | 2.0 |
| 1997 | 2.7 |
| 1998 | 2.3 |
Sources:
UK Defence Statistics, Ministry of Defence
Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, Office for National Statistics
EU-funded Programmes
Dr. Whitehead:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the value of EU-funded programmes in (a) Southampton, (b) Newcastle, (c) Hull, (d) Sheffield, (e) Manchester, (f) Rotherham, (g) Dover, (h) Bristol, (i) Bath, (j) Sunderland, (k) Birmingham and (l) Leicester. [98574]
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Mr. Caborn:
It is not possible to give figures specific to each town, nor for all European funding since UK accession. The following table gives the value of 1994-99 EU-funded programmes available in the areas containing the towns mentioned.
| Programme | Value (£ million)(1) | Towns contained |
|---|---|---|
| Objective 3/4 | 2,691.7 | Nationally available |
| Objective 5a(2) | 282.3 | Nationally available |
| NE England Objective 2 | 494.1 | Newcastle and Sunderland |
| Yorkshire and Humberside Objective 2 | 536.5 | Hull, Sheffield and Rotherham |
| Manchester/Lancashire/Cheshire Objective 2 | 539.1 | Manchester |
| West Midlands Objective 2 | 595.2 | Birmingham |
(1) £ = 1.534 euro
(2) Objective 5a is a rural programme and therefore unlikely to have funded projects in urban areas
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Flood and Coastal Defence
Mrs. Butler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in producing high level targets for flood and coastal defence operating authorities. [99380]
Mr. Morley: I am pleased to announce the publication, today, of more comprehensive targets for flood and coastal defence operating authorities and a further elaboration of the Environment Agency's supervisory duty. I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.
The targets are designed to assist in developing a seamless and integrated service of flood forecasting, warning and response as well as a more certain delivery of Government policy towards flood and coastal defence. They follow recommendations, which the Government accepted, in last year's Agriculture Committee report on flood and coastal defence and in the Independent Report on the Easter 1998 floods. The targets take effect from 1 April 2000, building on and developing the interim targets which we published in May.
These targets will, among other things, require flood and costal defence operating authorities to produce policy statements on their plans for achieving the Government's policy aims and objectives; flood and coastal defence assets to be recorded and inspected, and flood and erosion risk assessed, There are targets for the Environment Agency to develop its flood warning service, for emergency exercises to be held, and in relation to development control in areas at risk of flooding or erosion. Three are also targets for taking forward initiatives on Shoreline Management Plans, Water Level Management Plans and Coastal Habitat Management Plans, and for monitoring the impact of flood and coastal defence on habitats covered by Biodiverstiy Action Plans.
These targets, and elaboration of the Environment Agency's supervisory duty, have been developed in full co-operation with the Agency, the Association of
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Drainage Authorities and the Local Government Association and in consultation with a wide range of relevant organisations. I have been impressed by the strong support we have had both for the overall approach we have adopted and for the particular measures we are introducing.
The Government attach great importance to these targets. We will be monitoring achievement and keeping them under review. There are significant reporting requirements and I shall ensure Parliament is kept informed of relevant developments.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list all primary and secondary schools in the West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency. [98517]
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In addition, there are two maintained nursery schools, two maintained special schools and five independent schools within the West Chelmsford constituency.
Education Initiatives
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list, for contracts concluded by his Department since May 1997 with external consultants and advisers not covered by his answer of 23 July 1999, Official Report, columns 691-92W, (a) the total number of contracts concluded, (b) the number and total value of those contracts that have been awarded following a competitive tendering process, (c) the number and total value of those contracts that have been awarded without a competitive tendering process and (d) the names of all companies with which contracts not put out to competitive tender have been concluded. [98643]
Ms Estelle Morris: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Education Funding (Shropshire)
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what grants have been made by his Department in addition to revenue support grant for each of the years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 to date to (a) Telford and Wrekin Council and (b) Shropshire County Council. [99058]
Ms Estelle Morris: Details of the grants, in addition to revenue support grant, made available by the Department for Education and Employment in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 to Shropshire County Council and Telford and Wrekin Council are shown in the tables. For the Standards Fund, the figures shown include the grant made by the Department and the contribution made by the local education authority.
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| £ | ||
|---|---|---|
| Grant title | Shropshire | Telford and Wrekin |
| Standards Fund | ||
| School Improvement | 1,450,020 | 818,988 |
| School Leadership: NPQH | 124,794 | 63,504 |
| School Leadership: Serving Heads | 53,483 | 27,216 |
| Advanced Skill Teachers | 58,500 | 10,500 |
| Early Years Training and Development | 81,170 | 26,010 |
| National Literacy Strategy-- Primary | 263,470 | 180,516 |
| Summer Literacy Schools | 33,000 | 33,000 |
| Summer Literacy Schools-- Conferences | 12,000 | 9,000 |
| National Numeracy Strategy-- Primary | 340,265 | 173,125 |
| Summer Numeracy Schools | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Family Literacy | 28,000 | 28,000 |
| Lifelong Learning Development Plans | 55,880 | 42,824 |
| Qualifications | 88,986 | 33,951 |
| Work Related Learning at Key Stage 4 | 0 | 37,500 |
| Special Educational Needs | 218,916 | 248,152 |
| Social Inclusion: Pupil Support | 260,884 | 255,790 |
| Drug Prevention | 40,715 | 23,879 |
| Youth Service | 10,765 | 6,313 |
| National Grid for Learning | 622,035 | 1,950,000 |
| School Security | 135,149 | 76,335 |
| Specialist Schools | 109,040 | 160,440 |
| Protecting LEA Music Services | 110,000 | 67,000 |
| Ethnic Minority Achievement | -- | 216,498 |
| Access Fund for Post 16 Pupils in schools | 11,566 | 9,949 |
| Year 6 Booster Classes | 308,189 | 171,420 |
| Asset Management Plans | 49,760 | 25,540 |
| PCs for Chairs of Education | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Education Action Zones | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Support for Parent Governor Representatives | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Working Environment Fund | 124,657 | 68,727 |
| Administrative Support in Small Schools | 248,887 | 73,068 |
| Books for Schools | 305,821 | 163,477 |
| Class Sizes | ||
| Reducing Infant Class Sizes (Revenue) | 540,000 | 468,000 |
| Reducing Infant Class Sizes (Capital) | 493,653 | 110,000 |
| New Deal for Schools | ||
| New Deal for Schools | 1,902,287 | 217,000 |
| Total | 8,124,892 | 5,838,722 |
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Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide estimates for (a) Shropshire County Council, (b) Telford and Wrekin Council and (c) the Wrekin constituency in respect of the impact of additional Government funding since 1997-98 on the number of (i) additional teachers appointed, (ii) infant school class sizes reduced to 30 pupils or fewer, (iii) children who have benefited from smaller class sizes, (iv) schools which have benefited from new buildings or major repairs and (v) extra books for schools. [99109]
Ms Estelle Morris: The Government have pledged to reduce infant class sizes for all children aged 5, 6 and 7 to 30 or below by September 2001 at the latest. Recent figures show that the number of children in large infant classes has halved since September 1998 from 354,000 (22 per cent.) to 181,000 (11 per cent.) in September 1999 and that over 300,000 children have benefited since January 1998. A total of £620 million has been made available to implement the pledge early in virtually all schools by September 2000.
Table One sets out the information requested by local education authority.
| Total funding to reduce infant class sizes (£) | Extra teachers | Extra classrooms | Children in large classes in September 1998 (%) | Children in large classes in September 1999 (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shropshire | 1.3 million | 42 | 10 | 1,105 (15) | 62 (1) |
| Telford and Wrekin | 934,000 | 45 | 3 | 719 (15) | 251 (5) |
Table Two shows the number of schools benefiting from new buildings and major repairs under the New Deal for Schools. All Shropshire schools have benefited from a risk assessment for asbestos.
| Number of schools | Amount of expenditure supported (£ million) | |
|---|---|---|
| Shropshire | 158 | 2,380 |
| The Wrekin | 6 | 0.821 |
Since 1997-98, Shropshire LEA has received £691,733 for books for all maintained schools and Telford and Wrekin LEA has received £245,217. A further allocation of £128,725 for Shropshire LEA and £63,223 for Telford and Wrekin LEA was made in 1998-99 to support the National Literacy Strategy in primary schools. In total, the allocation for books for schools to the two authorities was enough to buy around 225,780 books.
It should be noted that Telford and Wrekin Council has been in existence as a unitary authority only since April 1998, and that the figures for Shropshire include sums allocated before that date. It is not possible to provide figures for the Wrekin constituency.
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