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Advanced Skills Teachers
Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many advanced skills teachers there are in each local education authority; and if she will make a statement. [12840]
Mr. Timms: Advanced Skills Teachers (AST) in post in each local authority in January 2001 and the number of teachers who have passed assessment for the AST grade since assessments resumed in May 2001 are as follows:
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The number of AST assessments between May and September 2001 is equal to 64 per cent. of the January figure of ASTs in post, reflecting the rapidly growing number of teachers interested in becoming ASTs. The Government are committed to the continuing expansion of the AST grade.
Schools
Ms Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on her plans for further public investment in schools. [11358]
Mr. Timms: This Government are investing unprecedented sums to modernise schools. Since 1997, annual capital and recurrent investment in schools has increased by almost £5.5 billion in real terms, from £20.6 billion to over £26 billion. Our plans allow for a further real terms increase of £2.5 billion over the next two years.
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Teacher Training
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in Northamptonshire, have been granted funding for teacher training, indicating in each case their (a) phase and (b) location. [11281]
Mr. Timms: The following schools have been granted funding to act as recommending bodies for trainees on the Graduate and Registered Teacher Programmes (GRTP) in Northamptonshire since September 2000:
| School name | Phase | Town |
|---|---|---|
| Magdalen School | Secondary | Brackley |
| Lodge Park Technical College | Secondary | Corby |
| Brooke Western CTC | Secondary | Corby |
| St. James Infant School | Primary | Daventry |
| Trinity School | Secondary | Northampton |
| Mereway Upper School | Secondary | Northampton |
| Northampton School for Boys | Secondary | Northampton |
| Headlands School | Primary | Northampton |
| Prince William School | Secondary | Oundle |
| Ferrer School | Secondary | Rushden |
| Rushden School | Secondary | Rushden |
| Wrenn School | Secondary | Wellingborough |
In addition, the following organisations have received funding to train GRTP trainees in schools in Northamptonshire since September 2000.
- Centre for British Teachers (CfBT)
- Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (CILT)
- Northampton LEA
- Northamptonshire Teacher Training Partnership SCITT.
| Lead school | Phase | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sponne School | Secondary | Towcester |
| Northampton School for Boys | Secondary | Northampton |
University College Northampton also offers primary ITT in partnership with local primary schools. School involvement in teacher training changes from year to year and there is no central list of the schools involved.
As to in-service training, the flexibility within the Standards Funds arrangements should enable schools to meet the key priorities for professional development; it is for schools to decide how much money they spend from the Standards Funds on this area.
Further Education
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many individual courses have been (a) commenced and (b) completed in further education each year since 1997–98. [12566]
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John Healey: The information requested is contained in the table:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | |
| Starts in the academic year | 4,716,573 |
| Completions in the academic year | 3,932,800 |
| 1998–99 | |
| Starts in the academic year | 4,497,223 |
| Completions in the academic year | 3,599,593 |
| 1999–2000 | |
| Starts in the academic year | 4,463,154 |
| Completions in the academic year | 3,581,458 |
Notes:
1. The data are taken from the Individualised Student Record (ISR)
2. Starts and completions figures are based on a different student cohort—i.e. enrolments that start in a particular year do not necessarily end in the same year
The Learning and Skills Council recently published data on retention rates which are based on qualifications over the whole length of the course, which includes those courses that are longer than one year. Using this definition, the retention rates are as follows:
- 1997–98: 85 per cent.;
- 1998–99: 84 per cent.; and
- 1999–2000: 84 per cent.
- (2) what grants were made to training and enterprise councils (a) for all purposes, (b) for further education and (c) for administration in the last year of their operation; [12928]
(3) what the budget is of the Learning and Skills Councils (a) at national level and (b) at local level for (i) all purposes and (ii) administration (A) in the current year and (B) in the coming year. [12930]
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John Healey [holding answer 6 November 2001]: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has taken on a range of functions previously carried out by a number of bodies, including the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC), 72 Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs), the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), Government Offices, and the National Advisory Council on Education and Training Targets (NACETT), as well as new work. For the latest year for which we have robust estimates available (1999–2000), our assessment is that the total spent on administration by the predecessor bodies, in relation to the relevant functions, was between £270 and £280 million.
The LSC's resource budget nationally for the financial year 2001–2002 is £5.5 billion. Of this, local LSCs have so far been allocated £4.955 billion. The LSC anticipates that the majority of the currently unallocated total funds will be directed to local LSCs during the remainder of the financial year. The LSC has been allocated £188 million for administration, of which £144 million has been allocated to local LSCs.
These amounts increase in 2002–2003 to £7.4 billion in total (which includes programme funding of £1.35 billion funding for sixth forms) and £193 million for administration. It is not possible to disaggregate these figures to local level, because the LSC has not yet allocated next year's budget to local LSCs.
We do not yet have final expenditure details for further education in 2000–01. Planned total funding for the FEFC for all purposes in 2000–01 was £3,530 million, excluding student support funds and employer contributions, of which £27 million was for administration.
In 2000–2001, the last year of TECs' contracts with Government, the DfES paid them a total of £1,270 million for all purposes in cash terms. There were no specific grants to them for further education. No specific amount was set aside for administration within this figure—it was up to individual TECs to allocate their overall budget according to need. However, we know from the most recent consolidated TEC accounts, that TECs spent over £260 million in total on staffing in 1999–2000.