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Education Maintenance Allowances

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how (a) participation rates and (b) attainment levels (i) of pupils and (ii) of areas benefiting from education maintenance allowances compare with those not so benefiting; [18620]

(2) if she proposes to publish evidence on the educational benefits of education maintenance allowances before taking a decision about roll-out; and when that will be. [18621]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) pilots are being evaluated over a three-year period, and we will be basing our decisions about any national roll-out on the evaluation evidence. From the beginning, we have made clear our commitment to publishing reports which set out the independent evaluators' main conclusions. The first reports were published in March this year and the next report is due for publication early in 2002. The quantitative analysis which is being carried out compares performance in the areas where we are piloting EMAs against "control areas" where EMA is not available.

Early findings from the evaluation show that EMA appears to have raised participation in education. The statistical analysis estimates an average gain in participation in pilot areas compared to control areas, among EMA eligible young people, of around five percentage points.

Although we do not yet have figures on attainment, the qualitative aspect of the evaluation has found some evidence of a positive effect on young people's performance and commitment to study.

Connexions Service

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what are her quantitive targets for the Connexions service. [18622]

28 Nov 2001 : Column: 925W

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Connexions service has published the following targets in its Planning Guidance for 2002–03:

Cross cutting targets Connexions partnerships will contribute to the following local targets set by Government Departments and agencies:

to increase the proportion of 16-year-olds obtaining five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (or equivalent) by four percentage points between 2002 and 2004 (DfES & LEA target);

92 per cent. of 16-year-olds to obtain five or more GCSEs at grades A*-G (or equivalent), including English and Maths, by 2004 (DfES & LEA target);

the number of 19-year-olds achieving a qualification equivalent to NVQ level 2 to increase by three percentage points between 2002 and 2004 (LSC target);

80 per cent. of 16–18-year-olds to be in structured learning by 2004 (LSC target);

to reduce school truancies by a further 10 per cent. between 2002 and 2004 (DfES target);

to reduce by 50 per cent. the under-18 conception rate by 2010, and to establish a firm downward trend in the conception rates for the under 16s (cross Government target).

Partnership targets

Connexions partnerships will lead in setting and achieving the following local targets in their area:

A reduction in the percentage of young people leaving education and training to become NEET (not in employment, education or training);

The percentage of those young people who were looked after at the age of 16, who are engaged in employment, education and training at the age of 19. Levels for this group should be at least 75 per cent. of those for all young people of the same age in the area by 2004;

The percentage of 16–19-year-old teenage mothers in employment, education and training;

The proportion of 13–18-year-olds, supervised by Youth Offending Teams who are in employment, education and training by March 2004;

The proportion of 13–18-year-olds with a drug related problem who are identified and referred to an appropriate specialist service by Connexions;

A local target, to improve levels of participation among a local priority group. This might be a particular minority ethnic group, travellers, or young people whose whereabouts are not currently known.

28 Nov 2001 : Column: 926W

A further target, for young people with disabilities, is being considered in conjunction with the Department of Health.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many formal notices her Department has received in the last year from the Parliamentary Ombudsman expressing an intention to carry out an investigation; and in respect of each notice how long it took to respond. [18771]

Estelle Morris [holding answer 27 November 2001]: Information on the outcome of statutory investigations which were concluded during 2000–01 are set out in the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2000–01, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, or on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website at www.ombudsman.org.uk/pca/document/par01/index.htm.

Between 1 April 2001 and 31 October 2001 my Department received five new statutory statements of complaint from the Parliamentary Ombudsman. So far, my Department has responded to all of these cases, and the average time taken to respond overall is 21 days.

Departmental Spending Limits

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to change the departmental expenditure limit and administration cost limits for 2001–02. [19511]

Estelle Morris: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Department for Education and Skills' DEL will be decreased by £1,358,837,000 from £21,582,664,000 to £20,223,827,000 and the administration costs limits will be changed as follows.

£000

	Original	Change	Revised
DfES and ES(11)	1,074,874	-855,829	219,045
Sure Start(12)	3,449	—	3,449
Children and Young People's Unit(13)	1,575	1,091	2,666

⁽¹¹⁾ RfR1 and RfR2

⁽¹²⁾ RfR3

⁽¹³⁾ RfR4

Within the DEL change, the impact on the resources element and the capital element are as set out in the following table:

£000

	RfR 1	RfR 2	RfR 3	RfR 4	Total change
Resources
Change	-198,384	-1,410,305	0	-384	-1,609,073
New DEL	16,961,222	0	122,345	99,616	—
Of which:
Voted	6,551,606	0	122,345	99,616	—
Non-voted	10,409,616	0	0	0	—
Capital
Change	267,888	-17,652	0	0	250,236
New DEL	2,876,419	0	1,025	0	—
Of which:
Voted	1,913,981	0	0	0	—
Non-voted	962,438	0	0	0	—

28 Nov 2001 : Column: 927W

The reduction in the voted resource element of the DEL for RfR1, (£242,549,000) arises from the take up of £320,860,000 of End Year Flexibility provision; the increase in receipts of £40,000,000 resulting from the winding up of the Training and Enterprise Councils; the transfer of £25,478,000 to the Cabinet Office to support Government offices, recruitment of Fast Streamers and Millennium Volunteers; the transfer of £9,414,000 from the Home Office for the education of adult and juvenile offenders, Adult Basic Skills projects and Community Champions; the transfer of £4,097,000 from the Department of Health for Health Education Partnerships and the Education Projects Implementation Programme; the transfer of £1,072,000 to the Welsh Executive for the National Training Organisation and for Hardship and Opportunity Bursaries; the transfer of £1,000,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions to support Lone Parents; an increase to the Standards Fund of £710,000; the transfer of £473,000 to the Scottish Executive for Hardship Bursaries and Fee Remission for Open University Students; the take up of £123,000 from the Evidence Based Policy Fund for research projects; the transfer of £100,000 from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for the Property Service Agency costs transferred to DfES; the transfer of £70,000 to the Department of Trade and Industry for Work Life Balance secondees; and the transfer of £496,349,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions, £8,207,000 to the Department of Trade and Industry, £4,590,000 to the Home Office and £614,000 to the Cabinet Office as part of the machinery of Government changes announced by the Prime Minister on 8 June 2001.

The reduction in the voted resource element of the DEL for RfR2, (£1,410,305,000) arises from the transfer of the Employment Service to the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the machinery of Government changes.

The reduction in the voted resource element of DEL for RfR4 arises from the transfer of £384,000 to the Cabinet Office to support Children's Fund partnerships work in Government offices.

The increase in the voted capital element of the DEL for RfR1, (£270,290,000) arises from the take up of £235,000,000 of End Year Flexibility provision; the transfer of £30,000,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions being the refund of CMF provision from the Employment Service and; the take up of £6,000,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) for the Cybrarian, Advanced and Enterprise Specialist Schools and SEN Communication Aids; and an increase of £710,000 in former grant maintained school loan repayments.

The reduction in the voted capital element of the DEL for RfR2, (£17,652,000) arises from the transfer of the Employment Service to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The increase in the non-voted resource element of the DEL, (£69,877,000) arises from the take up of £68,467,000 of End Year Flexibility provision; an increase of £40,000,000 to the grant in aid to the Learning and Skills Council; the transfer of £13,735,000 to the Scottish Executive for Open University Students; the transfer of £3,250,000 from the Home Office for Higher Education Active Community Fund projects; the transfer of £1,200,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions for provision the Adult Learning Inspectorate;

28 Nov 2001 : Column: 928W

the transfer of £1,100,000 to the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to support the Maritime Training Scheme; and the transfer of £19,600,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions and £8,605,000 to the Cabinet Office as part of the machinery of Government changes.

The decrease in the non-voted capital element of the DEL arises from the transfer of £1,402,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the machinery of Government changes.

The non-voted DEL has also been reduced by £25,712,000 (resource) and by £1,000,000 (capital) as a result of the transfer of the European Regional Development Fund provision to the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the machinery of Government changes. Whilst this provision is in our DEL it is not in our estimate.

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