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Standard Spending Assessment
(Cambridgeshire)
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for Cambridgeshire (a) the difference between the education department budget and that county's education service block SSA in each year from 1992–93 to 2002–03 and (b) that sum divided by the total number of full-time equivalent pupils financed by that education department. [27627]
Mr. Timms: The following table provides the latest available information:
| Difference between education budget and SSA (£ million) | Difference per pupil (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | 7.1 | 70 |
| 1994–95 | 16.3 | 160 |
| 1995–96 | 17.5 | 170 |
| 1996–97 | 7.7 | 74 |
| 1997–98 | 14.4 | 138 |
| 1998–99 | 10.8 | 142 |
| 1999–2000 | 3.9 | 51 |
| 2000–01 | 4.1 | 53 |
| 2001–02 | 11.1 | 144 |
Notes:
1. Information is taken from data published in the 2001 and previous years Departmental Annual Reports. Budget figures up to 1999–2000 were taken from local authorities' latest Revenue Account returns submitted to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and for 2000–01 and 2001–02, from LEAs s52 Budget statements.
2. The authority's budgeted spend was more than the SSA.
3. Cambridgeshire was re-organised in 1998–99. All pupil numbers but those for 2001–02 are financial year averages, based on January Annual Census returns. The figures for 2001–02 reflect the January 2001 returns. Figures for 1990–91 to 1998–99 include grant maintained schools. Figures for 1999–2000 to 2001–02 include ex-GM schools. The total figures include pre-primary, primary, secondary and special schools.
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White Hart Lane School, Tottenham
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants she has made to the White Hart Lane school in Tottenham to teach pupils in languages other than English; and if she will make a statement. [28108]
Mr. Timms: None. We understand that the school is seeking sponsorship for this proposed pilot project from a range of sources, including the local Turkish business community.
Modern Apprenticeships
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the development of Modern Apprenticeships. [28150]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Modern Apprenticeships are an important component of the Government's strategy to boost participation and attainment in learning by young people and to meet the skills needs of employers. They provide high quality vocational pathways for young people to progress from GCSEs or A levels to their chosen profession.
On 29 November 2001, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced the new generation of Modern Apprenticeships and endorsed the main recommendations in the report of Sir John Cassels' Advisory Committee on the development, promotion and delivery of Modern Apprenticeships. These included:
- an expansion in employer places so that more than a quarter of young people can enter Modern Apprenticeships before they are 22-years-old, by 2004–05;
an entitlement to a Modern Apprenticeship place for all 16 and 17-year-olds with five or more GCSE passes, from September 2004;
a national framework for apprenticeship which defines basic standards and strengthens the relationship between the employer and apprentice. Technical certificates will reflect the broader knowledge and understanding acquired through off-the-job learning; and
a £16 million marketing campaign, over three years, to promote Modern Apprenticeships and boost take-up among employers and young people.
Copies of the report of the Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee (September 2001) and the Government's Consultation Response (March 2001) have been placed in the Library in the House of Commons.
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LEA Grants
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will provide additional 100 per cent. funded grants to local education authorities within the F40 Groups. [28373]
Mr. Timms: We have no plans to do so.
Special Education Needs
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make additional funds available to compensate for the costs of supplying services to special needs children in sparsely populated rural areas. [28433]
Mr. Timms: The overall settlement for 2002–03 is a good one: over £1.3 billion extra in Education Standard Spending Assessments; a further increase in Standards Fund grant of almost £160 million; and an increase in the direct grant for schools of 2.75 per cent. We believe that this settlement provides sufficient resources to cover the costs of supplying services to special needs children in sparsely populated rural areas.
However, we are currently working up a new funding system for introduction in 2003–04. As part of that work we are taking account of the costs associated with sparsely populated areas.
Specialist Schools
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have been granted specialist status on the basis of their first application for such status (a) in total and (b) in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [29201]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 23 January 2002]: Of the 685 specialist schools currently operational 315 (46 per cent.) have been granted specialist status on the basis of their first application. The number of schools granted specialist status on the basis of their first application in each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
| Year | Number of specialist school designations | Number of designations based on first application | Percentage of designations based on first application |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 74 | 35 | 47 |
| 1997–98 | 83 | 46 | 55 |
| 1998–99 | 80 | 46 | 58 |
| 1999–2000 | 140 | 103 | 74 |
| 2000–01 | 152 | 64 | 42 |
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) joint and (b) associated applications for specialist school status have been received since May 1997; and how many of these have been successful. [29203]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 23 January 2002]: There have been 48 joint applications for specialist school status since May 1997, of which 19 have been successful. A
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further 12 joint applications have been received under the current competition which are currently being assessed. Two applications we would identify as 'associated applications' are being considered in the October 2001 competition, the results of which will be announced in February.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many bids for specialist school status have been received from each local education authority area since May 1997; what proportion of such bids has been
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accepted in each case; if she will break down these figures for each year from 1997–98 to 2001–02; and if she will make a statement. [29213]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 23 January 2002]: The total number of bids for specialist school status received from each local education authority each year from 1997–98 to 2000–01 and the number of those applications which were successful is provided in the table. Information for 2001–02 is not yet available as the result of the October 2001 competition has not yet been announced.
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