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Connexions Service
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many advisers have been employed for the Connexions Service; and how many vacancies remain. [3019]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The 12 partnerships that went live on 1 April 2001 are in a transition stage, building up their personal adviser staff from partner organisations, including the Careers Service and Youth Service, and by recruitment of new staff. Preliminary figures reported by partnerships at the end of May 2001 indicate that 991 full-time equivalent personal advisers were in post.
Education Committees
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department has given to local authorities on the role of external members of education committees in authorities with a leader and combined structure. [3025]
Mr. Timms: Guidance on the role of parent governor and diocesan representatives on local authority committees dealing with education is given through "Replacement Chapter 3 (Overview and scrutiny under executive arrangements) of the Local Government Act 2000: Guidance to English district councils and London borough councils". This guidance was issued on 15 March 2001 by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in conjunction with the Department for Education and Skills.
In addition, parent governor and diocesan representatives have access to the joint member training programme of the Department for Education and Skills and the Local Government Association. The programme includes a CD-ROM on school standards with guidance on council constitutions.
Examinations
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department gave to the QCA on the new Art A-level and AS-level syllabuses. [3026]
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not offer advice on the content of individual specifications. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is responsible for the development of A/AS-level criteria and the accreditation of A/AS specifications.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list those who were consulted prior to the determination of the new Art A-level and AS-level syllabuses. [3027]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority consulted representatives from the awarding bodies, schools, colleges, Higher Education, subject association, examiners, Welsh and Northern Ireland regulatory authorities, local education authorities and a small number of employers in developing the A/AS Art and Design criteria and accrediting the specifications.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make public the remit letter of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority inquiry into AS-level examinations. [3120]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 9 July 2001]: A copy of the remit letter will be placed in the Library together with the report of the QCA's review.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many A-level exam scripts were returned to schools for checking following publication of the results for the academic year 1999–2000; and how many results were challenged. [3162]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: A total sum of 51,572 A-level examination scripts were returned to schools. 29,628 results were challenged, which represented 3.8 per cent. of the A-level examination entries. Out of that, 4,644 resulted in a grade change, representing 0.6 per cent. of all entries.
Graduate Teacher Programme
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes have been made to the Graduate Teacher Programme since 18 January. [3028]
Mr. Timms: On 12 March my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State announced new funding to take the total number of Graduate Teacher Programme places available from 1,680 to 2,250 a year. Altogether, since 18 January 1,729 places on the programme have been allocated, 1,534 of those to schools outside London. In addition, my Department and the Teacher Training Agency have been working together on proposals to simplify the administration of the programme. The regulations needed to bring this about will be laid before Parliament in due course.
School Inspection Review
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish the evidence submitted by her Department to Ofsted for its review of the inspection regime. [3029]
Mr. Timms: My Department will not be submitting evidence to Ofsted. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have discussed with HM Chief Inspector the need for the inspection regime to continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of teachers, governors, parents
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and other stakeholders. We welcome the consultation exercise which HM Chief Inspector will launch later this year.
Departmental Awayday
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which Ministers and officials attended her Department's Awayday meeting; where the meeting was held; and what the cost of the meeting was. [3161]
Estelle Morris: The Department's Awayday was held at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire. Ministerial colleagues, senior civil servants and I undertook a review of current policies and strategic priorities. My ministerial colleagues at the Department for Education and Skills and I attended the Awayday along with the Department's board. The event was also attended by the Department's Whips and parliamentary private secretaries. The head of policy from No. 10 attended for part of the Awayday and the head of the No. 10 delivery unit was a guest speaker. Officials from the Department serviced the event and provided the secretariat.
The provisional cost of the event is £4,000. Should the final total differ significantly from our estimate I will write to the hon. Member with the new information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Classroom Sizes
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average classroom size of state schools is within the Greater London area. [3210]
Mr. Timms: The size of the average maintained primary and maintained secondary class in Greater London in January 2001 was 27.0 and 22.1 respectively. Comparable figures for England are 26.7 and 22.0. The latest class data were recently published in a Statistical First Release "Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England 2001" on 6 April, copies of which are available from the Library, or alternatively can be accessed from the Department for Education and Skills' statistical website www.dfes.gsi.gov.uk/statistics.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Ilisu Dam
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent consultations she has had with the Turkish Government about the building of the Ilisu Dam. [1549]
Ms Hewitt: Neither I nor my predecessor have had any discussions with the Turkish Government about the building of the Ilisu Dam. Officials at ECGD are in contact with the Turkish authorities regarding the project.
Universal Bank
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to ensure that customers of banks and building societies which are not participating members of the Universal Bank are able to withdraw cash from post offices free of charge. [2361]
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Mr. Alexander [holding answer 5 July 2001]: We are continuing discussions with banks and building societies not party to the Memorandum of Understanding on universal banking services.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total of (a) premiums received and (b) claims paid by the Export Credits Guarantee Department was in each business area in each of the last 10 financial years. [2732]
Ms Hewitt: For the last 10 years the figures for premium received, claims paid and recoveries are as follows:
| Financial Year | Premium | Claims | Recoveries | Net Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990–91 | 158.5 | 967.50 | 477.70 | - 331.30 |
| 1991–92 | 159.0 | 954.10 | 472.90 | - 322.20 |
| 1992–93 | 140.0 | 734.30 | 484.00 | - 110.30 |
| 1993–94 | 112.0 | 512.00 | 416.00 | 16.00 |
| 1994–95 | 113.0 | 422.00 | 341.10 | 32.10 |
| 1995–96 | 106.0 | 295.00 | 473.00 | 284.00 |
| 1996–97 | 130.0 | 231.00 | 558.00 | 457.00 |
| 1997–98 | 127.0 | 165.70 | 517.00 | 478.30 |
| 1998–99 | 81.0 | 145.00 | 425.00 | 361.00 |
| 1999–2000 | 102.0 | 296.00 | 343.00 | 149.00 |
ECGD does not maintain its records on a basis, which would enable it to provide a breakdown across business area as requested without disproportionate cost.
Yorkshire and Humber Region (Exports)
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the overall value of exports was from the Yorkshire and Humber region in each of the last five years to (a) Europe and (b) the USA; and if she will indicate separately the figures for steel and related products. [2964]
Alan Johnson: The available information is given in the table:
| £ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| EU | USA | |
| 1999 | 4,946 | 754 |
| 2000 | 5,508 | 928 |
Notes:
1. Information prior to 1999 is not available.
2. Separate figures for steel and related products are not available.
3. Exports of goods to Europe below the Intrastat reporting threshold cannot be allocated to any region and are, therefore, excluded. Below-threshold trade accounts for some 2 to 2.5 per cent. of UK exports of goods to the EU.
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