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Pakistan

Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Pakistani Government concerning the persecution of members of the Ahmadiyya Islamic Movement. [160625]

Mr. Wilson: On 3 April, the Under-Secretary, my noble Friend Baroness Scotland, met the Pakistani Attorney General and Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Ms Shahida Jamil, and reiterated our concerns about the position of the Ahmadi communities in Pakistan and allegations of their persecution under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

9 May 2001 : Column: 170W

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Trainee Teachers

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of trainee teachers left before completing their course in each year from 1992-93 to 1999-2000; and if he will make a statement. [157514]

Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 9 April 2001]: Information about the proportion of trainee teachers who leave a teacher training course before completing is not collected centrally.

Vocational A-levels

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the failure rate by those taking vocational A-level assessments. [158247]

Mr. Wicks [holding answer 23 April 2001]: We are committed to ensuring that the new vocational A-level is as rigorous as the GCE A-level. However, responsibility for assessing the standards of qualifications rests with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and with the awarding body. QCA is meeting with all awarding bodies to review the outcome of the assessments and consider whether there are lessons to be learned.

Education and Youth European Council

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the issues raised at the 9 November Education and Youth European Council, pertaining to (a) the Social Agenda, (b) the Blois seminar, Learn the History of Europe, (c) Young People and Europe, (d) the Youth Programme, (e) Social Inclusion of Young People and (f) measures to combat racism in the young; and if he will list the documents concerned and place them in the Library. [158751]

Mr. Wicks [holding answer 24 April 2001]: The outcome of the Education and Youth Council was reported in the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills) on 14 November 2000, Official Report, column 601W. In respect of the particular issues the hon. Member raises, further information is as follows:

a) The Social Agenda: the Council adopted an opinion on "the Social Policy Agenda" to forward to the Employment and Social Policy Council. This opinion welcomed, inter alia, that the Social Policy Agenda accepted the role of education and lifelong learning in the preparation and adaptation of the labour market. An Explanatory Memorandum on the European Social Agenda was deposited in the Library on 19 December 2000;

b) The Blois seminar: this item was included on the agenda as an information point. The Council was informed by the Presidency of the outcome of the seminar held in Blois from 13 to 15 October 2000 on the topic "learning the history of Europe". No discussion took place;

c) Young People and Europe: an open debate, as part of the Commission's consultation process to develop a White Paper on the future youth policy. The Council agreed the importance of involving young people at European level and the need to create opportunities to consult with young people at national and European level;

9 May 2001 : Column: 171W

d) The Youth Programme: the Commission informed the Council of the adoption and implementation of the Youth Programme to run for seven years from 2000 to 2006. The Council Decision establishing the Youth Community Action Programme was recorded in the Official Journal of the European Communities, L117, of 18 May 2000;

e) Social Inclusion of Young People: the Council adopted a resolution that recognised the distinctive position of young people. It encouraged member states to develop young people's social inclusion and to improve their social and economic situation. The Council Resolution was recorded in the Official Journal of the European Communities, C374, of the 28 December 2000;

f) Measures to combat racism in the young: the Council took note of a German statement on the need to tackle the problem of racism and xenophobia among young people.

Depositable papers were not available for those items without listed documents.

Schools (Ministerial Communications)

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) consultation documents, (b) regulations, (c) revised and corrected regulations, (d) guidance notes, (e) requests for statistical information and (f) letters from Ministers have been sent to schools by his Department since May 1997. [158920]

Jacqui Smith: In my reply to the hon. Member on 19 April 2001, Official Report, column 563W, I gave the number of mailings for the years 1996 to mid 2000. The tables cover mailings to primary schools and mailings to secondary schools in the whole of the year 2000 and in the year 2001 up to 2 May. Since September 2000, we have had a presumption against sending materials direct to schools. Instead most information is available on request.

Primary schools

Topic	2000	2001 to 2 May 2001
Consultation Papers(2)
School Finance	1	0
School Standards	0	1
Guidance
Early Years	1	0
Literacy and Numeracy	6	3
School Curriculum	11	1
School Discipline	1	1
School Finance	2	1
School Governance	2	2
School Health and Safety	3	1
School Organisation	1	2
School Premises	1	0
School Standards	1	1
Special Education	3	0
Teaching Profession	22	2
Data collection
Early Years	3	1
Class size	2	1
School Discipline	2	2
School Finance	0	2
School Standards	9	9
Special education	1	1
Teaching Profession	1	1
Letters from Ministers
To primary schools	7	2

⁽²⁾ In general DfEE now only consults a sample of schools, usually 10 per cent.

9 May 2001 : Column: 172W

Secondary schools

Topic	2000	2001 to 2 May 2001
Consultation Papers(3)
School Finance	1	0
School Standards	0	1
Guidance
Literacy and Numeracy	1	3
School Curriculum	14	1
School Discipline	1	1
School Finance	2	1
School Governance	2	2
School Health and Safety	3	1
School Organisation	1	2
School Premises	1	0
School Standards	1	1
Special Education	3	0
Teaching Profession	22	2
Data collection
Class size	1	1
School Discipline	2	2
School Finance	0	2
School Standards	9	9
Special education	1	1
Teaching Profession	1	1
Letters from Ministers
To secondary schools	6	3

⁽³⁾ In general DfEE now only consults a sample of schools, usually 10 per cent.

Note:

Regulations are not sent to schools

Advertising

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the amount his Department has spent on advertising (a) between December 2000 to May 2001 and (b) between May to October 1997. [158998]

Mr. Wills [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The role of advertising is to make the general public aware of the opportunities available to them for example in employment, training or education, to enable them to fulfil their potential.

During the period May to October 1997 the DfEE spend on advertising was nil. During this period the Department was developing its policies.

During the period December 2000 to May 2001 the total DfEE spend on advertising was £14,755,321. This reflects the DfEE's need to communicate to a diverse and broad range of target audiences what the Department's policies mean to them.

The campaigns include:

Individual Learning Accounts--To encourage people to take up Individual Learning Accounts to improve their career prospects (£568,777).


Childcare--A successful campaign to recruit more childcare workers and inform parents of local childcare provision (£1,775,475).

Disability--Raising disability awareness (including getting small business to take practical steps to help disabled customers) (£1,899,447).

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Fast Track Teachers--To inform potential recruits about the fast-track teachers scheme (£1,400,009).


Science Year--To encourage more interest in science among young people (£1,509,643).


Training and Jobs--To promote a range of training and jobs programmes, including apprenticeships for young people and jobs for the over 50s (£694,532).


UK online centres--Encouraging adults to gain computer skills (£3,238,739).


Millennium Volunteers--To raise awareness among young people about the benefits of volunteering in the community and stimulate recruitment (£615,341).


Learning Journey--Campaign to get parents more involved in their children's education (£1,700,000).


Widening Access to Higher Education--Letting young people know about university opportunities (£1,314,403).

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