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Education Spending
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much each local authority in England and Wales spent on education in 1998-99 (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the authority's total budget. [102313]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Expenditure figures for each authority in England for 1998-99 are not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member when the figures he requests are available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library. Responsibility for education matters in Wales rests with the National Assembly for Wales.
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Angela Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils in infant classes in Essex schools were in classes of 30 or over in September 1999; what percentage of infant pupils this represents; and what the change in the percentage was from September 1998. [101958]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The available information shows that, in September 1999, there were 4,972 pupils in infant classes of 31 or more taught by one teacher in the Essex local education authority area. This figure represents 13 per cent. of all pupils in infant classes taught by one teacher in that area. Since September 1998, the number of pupils in infant classes of 31 or more in Essex has fallen by 39 per cent.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the (a) education standard spending assessment and (b) outturn education spending for Staffordshire local education authority for (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 1998-99, per (1) primary pupil and (2) secondary pupil. [101959]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The following table sets out, for Staffordshire local education authority, per primary pupil and secondary pupil, the education standard spending assessment and outturn education spending for 1997-98. Figures for 1998-99 are not yet available. I will write to my hon. Friend when the figures he requests are available and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library.
| Per primary pupil | Per secondary pupil | |
|---|---|---|
| Education SSA | ||
| 1997-98 | 1,935 | 2,533 |
| 1998-99 | 2,037 | 2,653 |
| Net institutional expenditure | ||
| 1997-98 | 1,575 | 2,115 |
Note:
Net institutional outturn figures are derived from LEAs' returns of their spending to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on revenue outturn form RO1. The RO1 and SSA figures have a different coverage and are not directly comparable.
Standards Fund
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to allow (a) individual schools and (b) groups of schools within a local education authority to bid for resources from the Standards Fund where the LEA has declined to do so. [101909]
Ms Estelle Morris: The Standards Fund is paid under powers conferred upon the Secretary of State by the Education Act 1996. Section 484 of that Act enables the Secretary of State to pay education standards grants to local education authorities in respect of eligible expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them.
Infant Class Sizes (Worcestershire)
Mr. Michael J. Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many infant pupils were
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in classes of over 30 taught by one teacher in maintained primary schools in Worcestershire in (a) September 1996 and (b) September 1997. [101503]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Information on infant class sizes in September has only been collected since 1998.
Between September 1998 and September 1999 the number of infants in Worcestershire in classes of 31 or more fell from 3,156 (18 per cent. of total) to 1,962 (or 11 per cent. of total).
Prior to local government re-organisation in April 1998 maintained primary schools in Worcestershire formed part of the local education authority of 'Hereford and Worcester'.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many sustained unsubsidised jobs of 13 weeks or more employment have so far been found by participants on the New Deal for Lone Parents. [102105]
Ms Hodge
[holding answer 9 December 1999]: Latest figures to the end of September 1999 show that 23,000 lone parents have gained unsubsidised jobs through the New Deal for Lone Parents since the launch of the full national programme on 26 October 1998. The issue of sustained employment is being addressed as part of the quantitative evaluation of the New Deal for Lone Parents.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will take steps to require local councils to provide specialist schools to teach English to children who are unable to speak it and to prepare them for admission to state schools. [102629]
Jacqui Smith:
No. The Government do not favour the introduction of such schools which would deny the children attending them access to the full National Curriculum, which is their entitlement.
The Government are providing additional support to schools and local education authorities for children learning English as an additional language. For 2000-01, £162.5 million will be available from the Standards Fund.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the percentage of nursery classes in primary schools with (a) 31 or more pupils and (b) 36 or more pupils in (i) January 1993 and (ii) January 1994. [102519]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Percentage of nursery classes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position as at January | of size 31 or more | of size 36 or more |
| 1994 | 19 | 13 |
| 1993 | 21 | 16 |
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Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the percentage of classes at Key Stage Two with 31 or more pupils in (a) January 1993, (b) January 1994 and (c) January 1995. [102521]
Ms Estelle Morris: Information on the size of key stage two classes is available only from 1996 onwards.
The percentage of primary classes in England with 31 or more pupils taught by one teacher was as follows:
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the percentage of secondary school classes with (a) 31 or more pupils and (b) 36 or more pupils in January (i) 1990, (ii) 1991, (iii) 1992, (iv) 1993 and (v) 1994. [102520]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The information requested is shown in the following table.
Position as at January
1995: 24.4 per cent.
1994: 23.2 per cent.
1993: 21.6 per cent.
| Position as at January | Percentage of classes with 31 or more pupils | Percentage of classes with 36 or more pupils |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 5.3 | 0.1 |
| 1995 | 4.9 | 0.1 |
| 1996 | 4.5 | 0.1 |
| 1997 | 4.1 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 4.1 | 0.1 |
School Funding
Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1999, Official Report, column 48W, what is the breakdown of funding by (a) LEA and (b) pupil, that comes through the (i) Standard Spending Assessment and (ii) Standards Fund for (1) 1997-98 and (2) 1998-99; and what are the projected figures for (x) 1999-2000 and (y) 2000-01. [101860]
Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 8 December 1999]: I will place tables in the Library that show the breakdown of funding by LEA and per pupil through the Standard Spending Assessment. SSA figures for 2000-01 are provisional. Standards Fund allocations by LEA are also given in the tables for the years 1997-98 to 1999-2000. Standards Fund allocations for 2000-01 will not be available until the new year. It is not possible to disaggregate Standards Fund allocations between different age groups. Standards Fund allocations are not made on a per pupil basis.
Skills Improvement
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what measures he is taking to improve basic skill levels among the adult population, with particular reference to the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. [102145]
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Mr. Wicks:
The Government announced the first steps of a national crusade to improve adult basic skills on 5 November in the light of the Moser Report, "A Fresh Start". Key measures include a national basic skills curriculum based on new standards, national testing, intensive training for basic skills teachers, an expansion of basic skills learning in the community and in the workplace, and improved screening and support for unemployed people. Further details of the Government's action to date are set out in the "Better Basic Skills" pamphlet available on the lifelong learning website--www.lifelonglearning.dfee.gov.uk. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment plans to announce the Government's full strategy to help adults with poor basic skills next year.
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