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Literacy/Numeracy
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the (a) number and (b) cost of family literacy and numeracy initiatives in the last 12 months. [14219]
John Healey: Family literacy and numeracy is a key element of Skills for Life, the national strategy for adult literacy and numeracy, which was launched in March 2001 by the Prime Minister. This is a national initiative to enable parents and their children to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, learning together.
Funding of £7 million through the Standards Fund will reach up to 20,000 families in 2001–02. An additional sum of £10 million will also be made available in 2001–02 to widen access to family literacy and numeracy programmes to reach at least 64,000 parents and 28,000 children.
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her estimate is of the number of children who are not educationally sub-normal and who left school in each of the last five years unable to (a) read and write and (b) undertake simple arithmetic; and if she will make a statement. [14069]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number and percentage of 15 year olds achieving, and not achieving, a GCSE pass (A*- G) in English or Mathematics in the last five years are listed in the following tables.
| Percentage | Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Maths | English | Maths | |
| 1996–97 | 89 | 87 | 522,221 | 510,486 |
| 1997–98 | 89 | 87 | 511,936 | 500,432 |
| 1998–99 | 90 | 89 | 522,874 | 517,955 |
| 1999–2000 | 91 | 90 | 528,157 | 522,353 |
| 2000–01(2) | 91 | 90 | 622,246 | 615,408 |
(2) 2001 figures are based on provisional data
| Percentage | Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Maths | English | Maths | |
| 1996–97 | 11 | 13 | 64,544 | 76,279 |
| 1997–98 | 11 | 13 | 63,273 | 74,777 |
| 1998–99 | 10 | 11 | 58,097 | 63,906 |
| 1999–2000 | 9 | 10 | 52,235 | 58,039 |
| 2000–01(3) | 9 | 10 | 54,340 | 60,378 |
(3) 2001 figures are based on provisional data
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of literacy problems in England in the last three years; and what progress she has made with tackling illiteracy in that period. [13516]
John Healey [holding answer 14 November 2001]: Lord Moser's 1999 Report, "A Fresh Start", notes that perhaps as many as 7 million people (roughly one in five adults) in England have difficulties with functional literacy and numeracy. We are commissioning a new survey next year to provide an up-to-date assessment of the scale of basic skills need in England.
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The Government are fully committed to helping those who do not have adequate literacy skills. For adults, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minster launched Skills for Life, the national strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy in England on 1 March 2001. New national standards, a core curriculum for literacy and numeracy, teacher training and national tests in literacy and numeracy are all now available nationally after a successful pilot. A national promotional campaign is currently boosting demand. We are working across Government and with key partner organisations to ensure that all those who can help adults with literacy and numeracy skills needs are able to do so. Our target is that 750,000 adults improve their literacy and numeracy by 2004. More than 70,000 adults have already gained literacy and numeracy qualifications since April 2001.
We are also committed to raising literacy standards for all children. The national literacy strategy, introduced in all primary schools in September 1998, is raising literacy standards for all primary aged pupils. This year 75 per cent. of 11 year olds achieved Level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 English tests, a 10 per cent. point improvement since 1998. Literacy standards are also rising consistently at Key Stage 1.
Learndirect
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the cost of the Learndirect development centres. [14220]
John Healey: We made available £44 million in 1999–2000 and £74 million in 2000–01 to support the development and operation of Ufi Ltd. This money was used by Ufi to support a wide range of developmental activities including the Learndirect development centres.
Ofsted
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the performance target of (a) transferring staff from local authorities to Ofsted and (b) providing initial training by September. [14067]
Mr. Timms: This is a matter for Ofsted to comment on and I have asked HM Chief Inspector of Schools, Mike Tomlinson, to write to the hon. Gentleman and to place a copy of his letter in the Library.
15 Nov 2001 : Column: 860W
School Funding
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the cost is in 2001–02 of the ethnic minority and traveller achievement grant; [14088]
- (2) what the cost is in 2001–02 of expenditure through the standards fund to raise standards in literacy and numeracy; [14097]
(3) what the cost is of the early years training and development standards fund in 2001–02; [14099]
(4) what the cost is in 2001–02 of the social inclusion: pupil support standards fund; [14104]
(5) what the cost is of standards fund grants in England in 2001–02 for (a) improving adult pupil ratios in reception classes, (b) the supported early retirement scheme for heads, (c) administrative support in small schools, (d) performance management and threshold assessment training, (e) the working environment fund, (f) the small school support fund, (g) teaching assistants, (h) support for parent governor representatives, (i) teaching incentives for new maths and science teachers, (j) education and health partnerships, (k) local authority support for lifelong learning, (l) protecting and expanding local education authority music services, (m) school security and (n) the learning mentors and learning support units programme; [14200]
(6) what the cost is of standards fund grants in England in 2001–02 for (a) gifted and talented children, (b) the access fund for 16 to 19-year-olds, (c) social inclusion pupil support, drug prevention and youth service, (d) special educational needs, (e) study support, (f) playing for success, (g) family literacy and family numeracy, (h) year of literacy and numeracy booster classes, (i) summer literacy and numeracy skills, (j) early excellence centres, (k) early years training and development, (l) specialist and beacon schools, (m) advanced skills teachers, (n) initial teacher training schools, (o) the new national curriculum, (p) qualifications, (q) school leadership and (r) school improvement. [14201]
Mr. Timms: The cost of these grants in 2001–02 are shown in the table. Administrative support in small schools and the small school support fund have combined into the small schools fund. The working environment fund was for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 only. Support for parent governor representatives is included in the School Improvement Grant for 2001–02. Local authority support for lifelong learning is funded through the Learning and Skills Council for 2001–02. Access funding for 16 to 19-year-olds of £10 million has been made available by the Government for 2001–02, but is no longer part of the Standards Fund.
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Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to review the national schools funding formula. [15046]
Mr. Timms: There is no national formula for funding schools, and there are no plans to introduce one. We confirmed in the Green Paper "Modernising Local Government Finance", published in September 2000, that the allocation of funds between schools would remain a local responsibility.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the cost of the (a) Standards Fund for further education and (b) first 15 beacon colleges. [14250]
Margaret Hodge: The standards fund for further education is £160 million in 2001–02—twice the amount available in 2000–01. Every beacon college, and there are now 18, is eligible for £50,000 from the standards fund to help them promote and disseminate examples of their good practice.
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