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Small Acute Hospitals (Emergency Admissions)
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the use of information technology and telemedicine links in the maintenance of small acute hospitals which take emergency admissions. [16458]
Jacqui Smith: A national programme of information and communication technology demonstrator projects was announced in 2000. Some of these projects are assessing telemedicine applications supporting smaller hospitals and minor injuries units. The projects are due to report in 2002.
Telemedicine
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future commissioning and use of transmitted clinical images as binary code for the purpose of remote diagnosis by specialist consultants. [16454]
Jacqui Smith: "Information for Health", the information strategy for the national health service published in 1998, required each health authority to consider the potential for telemedicine as part of their annual health improvement programmes. The decision to
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deploy facilities such as picture and archiving systems would be a local one based on clinical need and cost effectiveness.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the future uses of new technology to conduct clinical examinations remotely and to allow specialist consultants to consult with colleagues at another hospital. [16453]
Jacqui Smith: A national programme of information and communication technology demonstrator projects was announced in 2000. Many of these projects are assessing telemedicine applications in the context of clinical and cost effectiveness. The projects are due to report in June 2002.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
University Staff
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 July 2001, Official Report, column 554W, on university staff, (1) how many of the academic staff reported to have resigned from their universities were re-engaged by their universities (a) for the academic year until 30 September and (b) for a longer period; [16229]
- (2) which universities transferred academic faculty members from a contract of employment to a contract of service between 1 January and 30 March indicating the faculties involved in each case. [16228]
Margaret Hodge: This information is not available.
Departmental Expenditure
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for each (a) area based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which her Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expenditure in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative (1) nationally and (2) in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency. [16213]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 19 November 2001]: Department for Education and Skills' programmes contribute to the regeneration of all deprived neighbourhoods by raising the educational attainment, skills and aspirations of children, young people and adults. Levels of funding for the initiatives listed by the Cabinet Office Regional Co-ordination Unit as being the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills are as follows:
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02(12) | 2002–03(13) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbourhood Support Fund(14) | — | 3 | 11 | 19 | 19 |
| Education Action Zones | 10 | 24 | 57 | — | — |
| Community Champions(15) | — | — | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Healthy Schools Programme | — | — | 6 | 6 | — |
(12) Estimated
(13) Plans
(14) Neighbourhood Support Fund expenditure for 2003–04 is planned to be £6,000,000
(15) The figures for Community Champions in 2001–02 and 2002–03 include £1 million from the Home Office Active Community Unit
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Funding for Education Action Zones (EAZ) within the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency is:
- East Cleveland EAZ: DfES grant £102,400 (1999–2000); £851,900 (2000–01).
Middlesbrough (East) EAZ: DfES grant £517,500 (1998–99); £866,700 (1999–2000); £803,100 (2000–01).
It is not possible to provide figures at constituency level for the Neighbourhood Support Fund or Community Champions.
The Excellence in Cities (EiC) programme is designed to transform secondary education in our cities. The budget is some £200 million in 2001–02. As the programme comes on stream across all the new EiC authority areas and across all strands this figure is expected to rise to up to £300 million by 2003–04. In addition, over the life of the programme £124 million of capital investment is being made available. Funding for the three main strands of EiC (learning mentors, learning support units and extended opportunities for gifted and talented children) in Middlesbrough is £1,300,000 (2001–02). In addition, they have received a capital allocation of £1,200,000 for the new City Learning Centre.
The Early Excellence Centres (EEC) programme is a national Beacon initiative aimed at developing and disseminating good practice in the provision of integrated early years education, child care and family services. The total investment in the programme from 1997 to 2004 is £45 million. There are currently no EECs in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills is also responsible for the Children's Fund which is administered by the cross-departmental Children and Young People's unit and for which my right hon. Friend the Minister responsible for Young People has day to day responsibility. She is also responsible for Sure Start together with my hon. Friend the Minister for Public Health which is administered by the cross- departmental Sure Start Unit. The provisional budgeted figures for these programmes are:
| Children's fund | Sure start(16) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | — | — |
| 1999–2000(17) | — | 7 |
| 2000–01(18),(19) | — | 58 |
| 2001–02(19),(20) | 65 | 184 |
| 2002–03(19),(20) | 114 | 449 |
(16) The figure for Sure Start in 2000–01 is for estimated outturn. Outturn will be published later this year in line with audited reports
(17) Outturn
(18) Estimated Outturn
(19) From DfEE Departmental Report, published March 2001
(20) Plans
Figures are not available for the Children's Fund at the level of the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency. Funding allocation for the Sure Start programme in East Cleveland constituency is: £20,000 (1999–2000); £799,911 (2000–01); £570,950 (2000–02).
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Literacy and Numeracy
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 11-year-olds failed to reach expected levels in (a) Maths and (b) English in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [16416]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Provisional figures for the 2001 Key Stage 2 assessments show that 158,000 (25 per cent.) eligible pupils did not achieve a Level 4 or above in the 2001 English Key Stage 2 test. 185,000 (29 per cent.) eligible pupils did not achieve a Level 4 or above in the 2001 mathematics test.
Basic Skills
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults have inadequate basic skills. [16415]
John Healey: 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. These adults have a wide range of needs, varying from those who cannot read and write or perform the simplest calculations, to those who simply need to brush up rusty skills. We are commissioning a new survey next year to provide an up-to-date assessment of the scale of basic skills need in England.
The Government have recognised the vital importance to individuals and the economy of improving adult basic skills. The national strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy skills, "Skills for Life", was launched in March this year by the Prime Minister. Our target is to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of 750,000 adults by 2004.
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