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Angola
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if the Government will increase financial assistance to humanitarian projects to provide basic health care assistance and clean water to internally displaced persons living in Angola. [18192]
Clare Short: We recognise that the situation of many people in Angola is very bad. Since 1999, my Department has provided more than £8.5 million in humanitarian assistance. The absence of peace and a lack of Government commitment to pro-poor policies cause continuing suffering.
Street Children
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial help is being given by her Department to organisations who work with street children. [17885]
Clare Short: We are currently providing financial support of nearly £2 million to a number of organisations, such as CHILDHOPE, Concern Worldwide, GOAL, Save the Children and World Vision who are working directly with street children. We also support many more organisations working to tackle the poverty, deprivation and social exclusion which force children to live on the street.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Ageism
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action her Department has taken to tackle discrimination against older people. [14954]
John Healey: The Department for Education and Skills is committed to tackling age discrimination against older people. Our commitment is demonstrated through raising awareness of age issues throughout the Department and eliminating age discrimination against older people. Age is a key element of the Equal Opportunities Strategy and Policy.
We have recently upgraded our membership with the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) to a 'core member', and have provided access to the EFA website through our intranet. In addition we continuously improve our systems to analyse management information relating to age, which includes information on internal vacancy filling and promotion competitions.
The Department promotes age diversity and tackles age discrimination when translating its commitment to equality of opportunity into effective strategies and
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actions. We supported the Better Government for Older People Programme and contributed to the Performance and Innovation Unit report on Active Aging, "Winning the Generation Game".
Buckingham
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to visit the Buckingham constituency to meet teachers. [16898]
Mr. Timms: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly visits schools and values the opportunity to meet teachers and to hear their ideas and their concerns. At present she has no plans to visit the Buckingham constituency.
New Schools
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provision has been made in
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budgetary planning for new schools in areas of new housing development in south east England in the last three years. [17117]
John Healey: The table shows those local education authorities in south east England, including London, which have benefited from central Government support for new pupil places in the three years from 1999–2000 to 2001–02. This support reflects the need for additional school places in areas of population growth where there is no more capacity in all schools in the surrounding area. It is shown in the context of the total capital support allocated to those authorities in the same period.
Information on whether this capital support is used to build new schools in areas of new housing development, or to expand existing schools, is not kept centrally. Local authorities may supplement the centrally provided support from their own resources, particularly where there is new housing development which can generate developer contributions to building new schools. This information will be held by local authorities.
(5) In addition to the allocations made specifically for new pupil places, some other schools capital programmes, such as PFI, may also be used for this purpose.
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Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) new and (b) replacement (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools were built in (A) 1997, (B) 1998, (C) 1999 and (D) 2000. [17473]
John Healey [holding answer 23 November 2001]: We do not hold information about the number of new and replacement schools that have been built.
We have, however, made significant amounts of funding available to expand, replace and repair school accommodation. Details of the level of central Government support for capital investment made available for schools since 1997 follow:
| Year | £ billion |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 0.7 |
| 1997–98 | 0.8 |
| 1998–99 | 1.0 |
| 1999–2000 | 1.4 |
| 2000–01 | 2.1 |
| 2001–02 | 2.2 |
| 2002–03 | 2.8 |
| 2003–04 | 3.5 |
Classroom Assistants
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations she has received from Ofsted about the use of classroom assistants. [17134]
Mr. Timms: None, but the increasing use of teaching assistants means that they are mentioned in many Ofsted reports, whether thematically or in relation to individual schools.
PPP/PFI
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) local education authorities and (b) individual schools and colleges have applied for PPP/PFI funding in the past three years. [17135]
John Healey: There have been two application rounds since November 1998. In the first round, the Department received a total of 66 applications from 60 local education authorities (with six authorities applying for funding for
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two separate projects). In the second round, a further 46 applications were received from 46 local education authorities, 23 of which had also applied in the first round.
Local authorities receive the benefit of PFI Credits through Revenue Support Grant. All applications to the Department are therefore submitted by local authorities, even if they relate to individual schools.
Further education colleges can apply to the Learning and Skills Council for a contribution to the cost of capital projects, including PPP/PFI projects. Higher education colleges do not need to apply for specific PPP/PFI funding because they have discretion over the use of their total resources.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of capital spending on education will come from PPP/PFI sources (a) in 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) estimated for the next five years. [17136]
John Healey: The table shows the proportion of central Government investment in school buildings from PPP/PFI sources for 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04. For 2004–05 and beyond, the amount of schools capital that will be available, and the proportion of PPP/PFI funding within it, will depend on the outcome of the Spending Review in 2002.
| Total schools capital available (£ million) | PFI/PPP funding (£ million) | PFI/PPP funding as percentage of total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2,200 | 467 | 21.2 |
| 2002–03 | 2,800 | 750 | 26.8 |
| 2003–04 | 3,500 | 850 | 24.3 |
Note:
For 2001–02, £467 million of PFI/PPP funding is made up of £450 million of PFI credits and £17 million of PPP funding from the New Deal for Schools programme. We are not providing specific PPP funding from schools capital in 2002–03 or 2003–04, but it is open to local education authorities and others to use the capital funding we allocate to them for PPP projects.
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