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Departmental Expenditure (Publications)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her estimate is of the expenditure of her Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in each of the last four years. [30090]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The following figures cover the purchase of books as well as newspapers, magazines and periodicals. It is not possible to separate these costs further without disproportionate expense.

Financial year	£000
1997–98	209
1998–99	173
1999–2000	274
2000–01	269

Assaults on Teachers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 402W, how many assaults there were on teachers in each LEA in each year since 1997. [30125]

Mr. Timms: The Department does not collect this information from local education authorities.

Education Spending (Portsmouth)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the Portsmouth local education authority spending on education (a) above SSA per pupil for the primary and secondary sectors, (b) in total for 1990–91 to 2001–02 and (c) projected for the financial year 2002–03, adjusted for inflation at current values; and if she will make a statement. [30279]

Mr. Timms: Portsmouth local education authority did not exist as an LEA until 1997–98. The information for Portsmouth LEA is as follows:

Real terms figures⁽³³⁾

	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000
NCE per pupil
Pre-pri/Primary	2,180	2,290	2,460
Secondary	2,820	2,860	3,030
Total	2,410	2,500	2,680
SSA per pupil
Pre-pri/Primary	2,110	2,340	2,460
Secondary	3,070	3,120	3,120
Total	2,460	2,630	2,710

⁽³³⁾ Rounded to the nearest £10

Notes:

1. Figures for 1997–98 and 1998–99 include grant maintained schools. Figures for 1999–2000 include ex-GM schools

2. All figures are in real terms at 2000–01 prices, and rounded to the nearest £10.

3. Portsmouth came into being as a result of an LEA reorganisation in 1997–98. It did not exist as a separate LEA but was part of Hampshire LEA prior to 1997–98.

4. Expenditure is given by Net Current Expenditure (NCE) after recharges.

5. Expenditure data for 1990–2000 is taken from section 52 outturn statements completed by local education authorities and returned to the DfES. Data for all previous years is taken from DTLR's Revenue Outturn returns.

6. SSA figures implicitly cover funding for special schools, and there is no split available for special schools. The NCE figures provided here are for pre-primary and secondary only. Hence the two sets of figures are not comparable.

7. Pupil numbers used in calculating per pupil figures are financial year averages, based on January Annual School Census returns.

28 Jan 2002 : Column 130W

Information for 2000–01 and 2001–02 is not yet available and as a result it is not possible to arrive at a projection for 2002–03.

Teachers (Returners' Bonus)

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money has been allocated for returners' bonuses for people returning to the teaching profession. [30280]

Mr. Timms: The allocation for the current financial year is £4.034 million.

Standard Spending Assessment (Swindon)

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what Swindon's SSA per pupil for (i) post-16 and (ii) four-year-olds was for 1997–98 to 2002–03; and what the average figures for England were for those years. [30292]

Mr. Timms: The post-16 SSA and four-year-old SSA cannot be expressed meaningfully as a per pupil amount because education for those groups is not compulsory and a large part of the SSA for these sub-blocks is determined on factors other than pupil numbers.

Student Financing

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will compensate students and former students who started their degrees in the years 1998 to 2002, if the review of student financing results in a significantly decreased debt burden for students starting their courses after 2003. [30368]

Margaret Hodge: No decision has been taken on the outcome of the student funding review. It is not usual practice, however, for the Government to apply any policy changes retrospectively.

School Transport

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the study of post-16 school transport arrangements was completed; what indications it gave as to the number of education authorities which charge for transport to school for 16 to 19-year-olds; and what action she has taken as a result of the study. [30392]

28 Jan 2002 : Column 131W

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The fieldwork for the study into post-16 transport support was completed in November 2001. We are awaiting the consultants' report. Their initial findings suggest that most LEAs charge for transport for students aged 16 and over, although free transport remains available to some, e.g. students assessed as disabled. Charges for transport vary between LEAs.

In order to make improvements to transport support for students aged 16 to 19, we have introduced a clause in the current Education Bill to revise section 509 of the 1996 Education Act and clarify the duty on LEAs so that they work with the local LSCs, colleges and others, in developing and delivering policies for support.

We are also making £9 million available to LEAs in 2002–03 to help them to develop and test the best approaches to transport support. Information about these developments will reach LEAs in February 2002.

Deregulation

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what deregulatory measures have been taken by the DFEE and the DFES in each of the last five years. [30441]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 25 January 2002]: The information required is not held centrally, and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Government will very shortly be publishing their Regulatory Reform Action Plan, which includes some deregulatory measures as well as proposals for better regulation and reform.

Coalfield Areas

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to extend education maintenance allowances to each English coalfield area. [30526]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have no such plans at present. We will be taking decisions on any future extension of the scheme on the basis of the rigorous evaluation, which is currently being conducted.

Golden Jubilee

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans there are to give school children a commemorative mug to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. [30753]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have no plans to give school children a commemorative Jubilee mug. However, as I have commented in previous answers to such questions, the Department is involved in a range of projects to mark Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee. Last October, we announced jointly with Buckingham Palace a national poetry competition and in December, my colleague the Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced that the National Training Awards 2002 would include a special Jubilee category to mark exceptionally effective contributions to the community by individuals and organisations.

28 Jan 2002 : Column 132W

My Department will shortly be posting information for schools and others about its various Jubilee activities on its website.

School Closures

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have closed since 1997. [31063]

Mr. Timms: Schools that closed in England during the period 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001 were as follows:

(a) Primary—924

(b) Secondary—197.

The figures include schools that have closed owing to the amalgamation or merger of two or more schools, and schools that have closed in local education authorities that have moved from a three-tier system to a two-tier system.

School Pupils (Extended Holidays)

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) legislation and (b) guidance requires a head teacher to take off a school's roll pupils taking extended holidays outside the United Kingdom; and what time limits apply to a head teacher keeping open a place for such pupils. [31092]

Mr. Timms: The Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995 outline the circumstances under which a head teacher shall remove a pupil from the school roll. "Social Inclusion: Pupil Support" circular number 10/99 Annexe A provides guidance on holidays during term time.

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