---

Sixth Forms

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 7 November 2001, Official Report, column 246W, if she will make a statement on the circumstances that led to those closure proposals. [14676]

Mr. Timms: Seven proposals were decided by the Secretary of State. The circumstances varied in each case. Some were published by the LEA, or school governors, to address changes in local demand for sixth form places, some featured as part of a wider reorganisation of schools in the area, others arose from the need to rationalise places to deliver more cost effective provision. The remaining six proposals were published after September 1999 and were decided under local decision making arrangements, introduced by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Under these arrangements those publishing or deciding proposals are not required to send details of the background to the proposals to the Department, and we therefore cannot comment on the circumstances leading to these proposals.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to allow schools with sixth forms to make direct representations to local Learning and Skills Councils regarding sixth form funding. [14567]

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. I have therefore asked John Harwood, the council's chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and to place a copy of his reply in the Library.

Student Finance Review

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what submissions she has received for the review of student finance following her announcement of such a review; if she will list those submissions; and if they will be taken into account before she publishes her proposals to reform student finance. [14540]

13 Nov 2001 : Column: 718W

Margaret Hodge: Consultation on the review of student finance will begin next year. We shall take account of consultation responses when reaching a decision about the future of student finance.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will call for submissions to her review on student finance from (a) the National Union of Students, (b) Universities UK, (c) the Association of Colleges, (d) the Student Loan Company, (e) the Association of University Teachers, (f) the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, (g) the Standing Conference of Principals, (h) the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities and (i) others; if she will publish their submissions; and if she will make a statement. [14543]

Margaret Hodge: We plan to consult widely on any proposals for change that may result from the review.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with other Government Departments in relation to her review of student finance; if she will place such submissions in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [14541]

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to Ministers responsible for higher education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to Ministers in other Government Departments, to advise them that a review is taking place. Treasury and the Inland Revenue are represented on the review. We plan to consult on any proposals to emerge.

Student Loans

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what submissions she has received recently on the student loans system; if she will list such submissions; and if she will make a statement. [14539]

Margaret Hodge: We receive submissions, correspondence, etc., from a range of individuals and organisations, on a regular basis. It is not our practice to make correspondence with the Department public. We will be consulting on proposals that emerge from the review of student finance.

Basic Needs Grants

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria are used by her Department for the allocation of basic needs grants to schools. [14561]

Mr. Timms: Basic need is the requirement for additional school places in areas of population growth.

Funding for this is normally provided through the allocation of Basic Credit Approvals to local education authorities or grant to the governors of voluntary aided schools.

The criteria used by the Department to assess basic need are contained in the "Guide for the Schools Capital Allocation Round" issued to local education authorities annually, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

13 Nov 2001 : Column: 719W

State Schools (Private Management)

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what are the statutory provisions that govern schools in the state sector being run by private sector firms. [14578]

Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 5 November 2001, Official Report, column 46W.

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in the state sector are run by private firms. [14576]

Mr. Timms: No schools in the state sector are run by private firms. The legal responsibility for running a school rests with the governing body and head teacher, even where they are supported by expertise from the private sector.

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received in the last year from local education authorities wanting to hand the running of a state school over to the private sector. [14577]

Mr. Timms: There have been no representations in the last year from local education authorities wanting to hand over the running of a state school to the private sector. State schools cannot be run by the private sector, although local education authorities and schools may enter into contracts for support to governing bodies.

Performance-related Pay (Teachers)

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to allocate funds for schools to pay teachers awards on the upper spine of performance-related pay. [14566]

Mr. Timms: We intend to introduce a new grant to contribute towards performance points for leadership group members, post threshold teachers and high performers on the main scale. We believe their skills, expertise, commitment and leadership are crucial to the success of the teaching profession. We propose to make available £100 million in financial year 2002–03 and £150 million in 2003–04, in addition to existing threshold funding.

We will be consulting shortly on the details of the new grant to support the cost of performance points. Details of the consultation will be posted on the DfES website to enable schools to comment on the proposals.

School Threshold Payments

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will guarantee funding of threshold payments to schools beyond 2004. [14563]

Mr. Timms: Crossing the threshold gives teachers a substantial and permanent pay increase by moving them to an upper pay scale. The Government have always accepted that this means a substantial and permanent increase in the overall cost of teachers' pay. Our financial planning will continue to take account of that.

13 Nov 2001 : Column: 720W

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what proportion of cases the threshold assessment made by a head teacher has been overturned. [14564]

Mr. Timms: Verification of threshold assessments involves professional dialogue between heads and assessors about assessment methods and individual applications. Assessors overturn heads' judgments only when it is impossible to reach agreement. In the first round of threshold applications this happened in only 0.2 per cent. of cases—a clear indication that the system worked.

Learning Support Units

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many learning support units for children with challenging behaviour there were in schools in 1997. [14137]

Mr. Timms: The Department was carrying out a pilot of 41 learning support units in schools in 1997. This lasted from 1996–97 to 1998–99. The units were funded by the predecessor of our "Social Inclusion Pupil Support" Standards Fund grant.

There are now over 1,000 learning support units in schools, both within Excellence in Cities authorities and elsewhere.

Re-marked Exam Papers

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will state the percentage of re-marked papers at (a) GCSE, (b) AS-level and (c) A-level which resulted in marks being (i) increased and (ii) decreased in each of the last three years. [14562]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: In 1999 the awarding bodies were asked to re-mark 0.5 per cent. of GCSE papers, of which 11 per cent. resulted in a change of grade; and 3.3 per cent. of GCE A-level papers, of which 13 per cent. resulted in a change of grade. In 2000 the awarding bodies were asked to re-mark 1 per cent. of GCSE papers, of which 11 per cent. resulted in a grade change; 3.8 per cent. of GCE A-level papers, of which 16 per cent. resulted in a grade change; and 1.5 per cent. of AS-level papers, of which 15 per cent. resulted in a grade change. All of these grade changes were upwards as until 2001, grades could only be raised or remain the same as a result of a re-mark.

Figures for 2001 are not available at this stage as the inquiries on results and appeals process is not yet complete.

---