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Class Sizes
33. Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on class sizes in secondary schools in England since May 1997. [99376]
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on average class sizes in secondary schools. [99370]
Ms Estelle Morris: The average size of classes in secondary schools remains at less than 22. That is around six below the figure for primary schools. Between January 1998 and January 1999 overall class size figures dropped from 24.9 to 24.8. Over the same period the overall pupil-teacher ratio fell from 18.9 to 18.8. Both these statistics represent the first reductions in 10 years. We have not only stopped the year on year increases seen under the previous Administration, but are reversing the trend towards higher average class sizes and pupil-teacher ratios.
Learning Through Landscapes
35. Mr. Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the effects of the learning through landscapes project on schools in Eltham. [99378]
Jacqui Smith: The school grounds programme in Eltham is managed by Learning through Landscapes in partnership with Greenwich Local Education Authority, and with support from The Bridge House Estate's Trust Fund and the Sir John Cass's Foundation. The programme is accountable to these partners but, as an original promoter of Learning through Landscapes, my Department would be interested to receive reports of the achievements of the Eltham project in due course.
GCSEs
36. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress the Government have made towards achieving their targets in respect of GCSEs. [99379]
Ms Estelle Morris: This year's GSCE results have improved for the fourth year running and indicate that we are on course to achieve the national targets for Key Stage 4 for 2002.
Further Education
Ms Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made in encouraging young people to remain in further education. [99358]
Mr. Wicks:
The Government have a range of policies to encourage young people to remain in further education. For example, the £275 million Further Education Standards Fund will help to promote better retention rates in colleges; and our new student support arrangements, with an additional £30 million funding, will also help young people to keep studying.
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Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on expenditure on secondary education since April 1997. [99366]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The unit cost per secondary school pupil in England in 1997-98 was £2,480. This rose to £2,490 in 1998-99. We expect the upward trend to continue and have provided funding to ensure that it does. The projected estimates for the period to 2001-02 are as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| 1999-2000 | 2,540 |
| 2000-01 | 2,610 |
| 2001-02 | 2,680 |
In contrast, between 1992-93 and 1997-98, secondary funding fell by £200 per pupil.
Employee Development Schemes
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to encourage the involvement of trade unions in employee development schemes. [99938]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 30 November 1999]: My Department provides support to encourage trade union participation in Employee Development Schemes and other workplace learning activities in a number of ways:
- (i) through the Union Learning Fund, established in May 1998, which encourages trade unions to build their capacity as learning organisations. The fund supports trade union influenced workplace learning activities. A total of £12 million is allocated to the Fund;
- (ii) through co-funding projects that help the TUC to develop case studies and good practice. For example, a project that encourages the use of individual learning accounts as a mechanism for adding value to Employee Development Schemes and the TUC publications "Employee Development Schemes--case studies of union involvement" and "Trade Unions and Employee Development Schemes--a negotiator's guide";
- (iii) the TEC funded Bargaining for Skills projects have helped trade unions to raise awareness of Investors in People. Unions have use the Standard as a tool to develop skills in the workplace and to ensure the long term employability of their own staff and members.
Education Spending
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the extra money for education announced under the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm 4011) includes contributions from local authorities. [100840]
Mr. Blunkett: The £19 billion additional funding for education across the UK (£16 billion in England) is made up of increases in central Government spending and in amounts allocated through Education Standard Spending Assessments for local authorities.
St. Luke's Primary School, Worksop
Mr. Ashton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will investigate the
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delay to the extension to St. Luke's Primary School, Shireoaks, Worksop, Nottinghamshire; why there has been no response from his Department to documentation submitted by the architects; and if he will make a statement. [101074]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Officials gave approval that this project proceed to tender on 24 November 1998 subject to confirmation from Nottinghamshire Local Education Authority that the phasing of spending could be contained within the overall "Local Education Authority Minor Works" allocation. This confirmation was given on 8 December 1998. It is for the school, diocese and Local Education Authority to agree when the project should proceed to the next stage--that is, the invitation of tenders--and advise the Department accordingly in order to allow the subsequent release of grant. It is understood from the consultant/architects acting for the school in this matter, that the Department will receive relevant documentation shortly and it is hoped that this will enable matters to be progressed.
Kingston Internet
Mr. David Heath: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department under what circumstances the Lord Chancellor's Department has required a website to be closed. [101091]
Mr. Lock: The Department's attention was recently drawn to material on a webspace provided by Kingston Internet to a Mr. J. F. Hulbert which contained a series of defamatory allegations against individually named judges and court staff. Consequently, the Department wrote to Kingston Internet drawing its attention to the material and inviting the company's proposals for closing the site. However, it was for Kingston Internet to consider whether the use of the webspace complied with the terms of its contract with Mr. Hulbert and it subsequently disabled the webspace.
Mr. David Heath: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent communications there have been between the Lord Chancellor's Department and Kingston Internet Ltd. [101090]
Mr. Lock: The Lord Chancellor's Department wrote to Kingston Internet on 25 October drawing attention to material on a website provided by that company to Mr. J. F. Hulbert. On 4 November the company responded indicating that it had disabled the webspace. This crossed with a letter from the Department of 5 November inquiring whether any consideration had been given to the letter of 25 October. The Department's letter of 5 November was in turn acknowledged by the company on 9 November. There have been no further communications between the Department and the company.
Inquests (Legal Aid)
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department under what circumstances
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and for what special reasons legal aid can be made available to enable bereaved families to be legally represented at inquests. [100715]
Mr. Lock:
An inquest is an inquiry concerned with the facts surrounding a death, rather than issues such as civil or criminal liability. Legal representation is generally considered unnecessary. Full civil legal aid is therefore not available to someone appearing at an inquest. Legal advice and assistance may be available under the Green Form scheme to those who are financially eligible in connection with inquests.
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