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Schools Revenue Budget
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportions of her Department's Schools Revenue Budget for 2002–03 are (a) special grant, (b) standards fund and (c) formula- funded allocations. [22744]
Mr. Timms: The Department does not hold a single Schools Recurrent Budget. Recurrent funding for schools is made up of Education Standard Spending, the Standards Fund and Special Grants. For 2002–03, these three elements break down as follows:
| Funding source | Amount (£ million) | Proportion (Percentage) |
|---|---|---|
| Education Standard Spending (ESS) | 23,858 | 89.2 |
| Standards Fund | 1,711 | 6.4 |
| Special Grants | 1,168 | 4.4 |
Education Standard Spending is the amount the Government consider appropriate for local authorities to spend on education from their total budgets. Local authorities receive about three quarters of their funding from central Government, through the Revenue Support Grant and business rates, and about a quarter through council tax. The figure for the Standards Fund includes Government grant only as the local authority contributions are included in the ESS figure.
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Teachers' Superannuation Scheme
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what contributions local education authorities have been required to make to the Teachers' Superannuation Scheme in each of the last three years; and what contributions they will be required to make in 2002–03. [22745]
Mr. Timms: The rate of contribution payable by all employers to the teachers' pension scheme is determined through actuarial valuations. The percentages of salary payable for the years 1999–2000 through to 2002–03 are:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 7.2 |
| 2001–03 | 7.4 |
| 2001–04 | 7.4 |
| 2002–03 | 8.35 |
Children's Fund Budget
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Children's Fund budget for 2001–02 will be spent on, broken down into categories. [22493]
Mr. Denham: The Children's Fund consists of two distinct elements: local partnerships of public agencies and the voluntary sector to provide preventive services for children at risk aged 5–13; and the Local Network Fund which provides small grants to local voluntary organisations to address child poverty at all ages, 0–19.
The Children's Fund budget of £100 million for 2001–02 has been allocated as follows:
- Preventive services through local partnerships, including evaluation costs: £80 million
Local Network Fund, including evaluation: £10 million
National support, including partnership support and development, initiatives for children and young people and the costs of the Children and Young People's Unit: £10 million.
Landscape Contracting
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with the British Association of Landscape Industries about training and certification of qualifications; and if she will make a statement. [22906]
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John Healey: No discussions have been held with the British Association of Landscape Industries about training and certification of qualifications.
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the arrangements for training in the landscape contracting sector. [22907]
John Healey: Arrangements for training in the landscape contracting sector are a matter for the employers in that sector, as in any other. A network of national training organisations (NTOs), set up by employers and formally recognised by the Government, provides strategic leadership and practical guidance about the learning, skills and qualification needs for a defined sector.
The Construction Industry Training Board is the NTO for the building and civil engineering sector, which includes "hard" landscaping, that is laying driveways; constructing walls; constructing or repairing swimming pools, playing fields and grounds for sporting or recreational purposes.
Lantra is the NTO for land-based industries, including "soft" landscaping, that is horticultural activities such as the landscaping of gardens and parks.
The Government recently announced plans to build a stronger sector network that will engage employers more fully in the planning and delivery of learning and skills. Sector skills councils will be set up which build on the achievements secured by NTOs.
Construction Industry Training Board
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what responsibility the Construction Industry Training Board has for the landscape contracting sector; and if she will make a statement. [22908]
John Healey: The Construction Industry Training Board is responsible for the provision of practical guidance on the learning, skills and qualification needs related to the following landscaping activities:
- Laying driveways.
Constructing walls.
Constructing or repairing swimming pools; playing fields; grounds for sporting or recreational purposes.
Restoring land affected by the working of coal by opencast operations.
Site preparation in connection with all of these.
John Healey: Employers fall within the scope of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) if their main activity is one of the following:
- Laying driveways.
Constructing walls.
Constructing or repairing swimming pools; playing fields; grounds for sporting or recreational purposes.
Restoring land affected by the working of coal by opencast operations.
Site preparation in connection with all of these.
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Employers whose main activity is "soft" landscaping do not fall within the CITB's scope.
Local Education Authorities (West Midlands)
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local education authorities in the West Midlands have access to sources of European funding to supplement the grants they receive from the Government. [22980]
Margaret Hodge: All local education authorities have access to the European Commission's education, training and youth programmes, as well as the European social fund. Funding under each of these programmes is awarded on a competitive basis following a bidding round. Local authorities are well placed to encourage institutions and schools in their areas to take advantage of the opportunities the programmes offer, and can also apply for project funding themselves.
The Socrates programme aims to promote the European dimension in the field of education, and covers all phases of education from primary schools to higher education, including activities focused on adult education and ICT and distance learning; the Leonardo da Vinci programme funds vocational training, and the youth programme focuses on non-formal learning. The European social fund supports the development education and training systems as part of lifelong learning policy in the wider context of strengthening economic and social cohesion.
Further details of the bidding procedures and activities covered can be found at the Commission website http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/educationculture/ and on the ESF at http://www.dti.gov.uk/europe/mf1.htm.
Pupil Funding
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the per pupil standard spending assessment is for (a) secondary and (b) primary pupils of (i) shire counties, (ii) other local education authorities and (iii) the average English education authority for (A) 2000–01, (B) 2001–02 and (C) 2002–3. [23082]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is in the following table:
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03(16) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary (pupils aged 11–15) | |||
| Shire | 3,024 | 3,157 | 3,310 |
| Non-shire | 3,304 | 3,447 | 3,620 |
| National | 3,175 | 3,313 | 3,476 |
| Primary (pupils aged 5–10) | |||
| Shire | 2,348 | 2,456 | 2,587 |
| Non-shire | 2,577 | 2,697 | 2,846 |
| National | 2,474 | 2,588 | 2,728 |
(16) The amounts for 2002–03 are provisional
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