House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 Feb 2002 (pt 40)

European Investment Bank

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the timetable and process will be for deciding on the UK's contribution to the next replenishment of the European investment bank. [37804]

Ruth Kelly: Capital increases to the European investment bank have to be agreed by the bank's board of governors, acting unanimously. There are 15 such governors, representing the 15 member state shareholders of the bank. The UK governor is the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The EIB is currently nearing its maximum permitted level of exposure (for 100 billion euros of subscribed capital, 6 per cent. of which is paid in, it may have up to 250 billion euros of outstanding liabilities, ie a gearing ratio of 1:2.5). Unless the bank dramatically curtails its lending activities, there will therefore need to be a capital increase agreed this year, to take effect from 1 January 2003. Proposals put forward by the bank's staff and management committee envisage a capital increase paid for from the bank's own funds. There will therefore be no requirement for any further paid in contribution from the UK or other shareholders. This principle (that capital increases should be met from reserves) will be entrenched for future capital increases too. Nevertheless, there are implications for the UK's contingent liability, the volume of which increases in proportion to the size of the bank's exposure.

The decision on the capital increase will be taken at the annual board of governors meeting, which takes place this year on 4 June. Proposals are currently being considered by the board of directors, which has three UK members.

26 Feb 2002 : Column 1219W

Parliamentary Questions

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer the question of 18 January 2002 from the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell concerning the distribution of benefits from personal allowances; and if he will make a statement. [38298]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has no record of the question to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer the question of 2 February 2002 from the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell concerning fees; and if he will make a statement. [38300]

Ruth Kelly: I assume the hon. Gentleman is referring to his questions 33457 and 33464, which the Chief Secretary answered on 7 February 2002, Official Report, columns 1148–52W, along with other related questions.

Special Advisers

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 31 October 2001, Official Report, column 741W, on special advisers, for what reason such records of contacts with the media are for internal purposes only. [38309]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) on 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 766.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Sure Start

Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many full-time day-care places are available through the Sure Start initiative; and how many children are within reach of the programme. [33014]

Yvette Cooper: The first 260 Sure Start programmes will have created 10,000 new full-time child care places by 2003–2004, including full-time daycare, full-time child minder places and wraparound care places.

Sure Start will reach approximately 400,000 children under four living in areas of disadvantage by 2003–04. There are 190,000 children under four living in the 252 Sure Start programmes currently operational.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was budgeted and what was the (a) outturn and (b) planned outturn for Sure Start in (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–2000, (iii) 2000–01 and (iv) 2001–02. [36018]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 13 February 2002]: Sure Start was launched in 1998 with a budget of £84 million for 1999–2000, £184 million for 2000–01 and £184 million for 2001–02, with £100 million for end year flexibility also available in 2001–02. Final outturn information is available for 1999–2000 when the outturn was £7 million and for 2000–01 when the outturn was £43 million.

26 Feb 2002 : Column 1220W

Mobile Telephones

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list, for 1997–98 and for each subsequent financial year, the amount spent (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) abroad by (i) her Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies on (1) providing mobile telephone equipment, including handsets and other associated equipment, (2) telephone calls made using such equipment and (3) telephone calls made using privately owned mobile telephones but subsequently reclaimed by (x) Ministers and (y) staff. [34410]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The available information, as contained in the following table, cannot be broken down by amount spent in the UK and abroad, as our payments systems do not enable this. Information on agencies and NDPBs is not collected centrally.

£

Year Line rental/ Other expenditure Calls Total

1997–98 117,693.37 52,352.41 170,045.78

1998–99 117,339.61 50,959.11 168,298.72

1999–2000 160,410.62 58,478.47 218,889.09

2000–01 237,861.51 91,335.48 329,196.99

Year	Line rental/ Other expenditure	Calls	Total
1997–98	117,693.37	52,352.41	170,045.78
1998–99	117,339.61	50,959.11	168,298.72
1999–2000	160,410.62	58,478.47	218,889.09
2000–01	237,861.51	91,335.48	329,196.99

The "Other" expenditure includes the purchase of new handsets, personal hands-free kits, carry cases etc, but it is not possible to provide separate totals for line rental and hardware costs.

Information on calls made from privately owned phones by Ministers and staff could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Government Initiatives

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for (a) Sure Start and (b) employment zones (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative. [35281]

Yvette Cooper: For Sure Start, the budgeted expenditure for 1999–2000 to 2003–04 is as follows:

£ million

Budget

1999–2000 84

2000–01 184

2001–02 ⁽³³⁾184

2002–03 449

2003–04 499

	Budget
1999–2000	84
2000–01	184
2001–02	⁽³³⁾184
2002–03	449
2003–04	499

⁽³³⁾ £100 million of end year flexibility also available

Sure Start's budget for 2004–05 and beyond is currently under consideration as part of Spending Review 2002. Final outturn figures are available for 1999–2000, when the total outturn was £7 million and for 2000–01, when the total outturn was £43 million. Employment Zones are the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions; I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 November 2001, Official Report, column 538W.

26 Feb 2002 : Column 1221W

Teachers' Pay

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the teachers' pay initiative is distributed among teaching staff; and which guidelines direct this distribution. [36134]

Margaret Hodge: Each college receives a teaching pay initiative allocation calculated each year in proportion to its main funding allocation from the Learning and Skills Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Allocations to individual teaching staff are based on the national principles and criteria set out in "The Teaching Pay Initiative Guidance", for general further education colleges, and "The Professional Standards Payment Guidance" for sixth form colleges. This guidance was produced by the Association of Colleges and the Sixth Form Colleges' Employers' Forum, respectively, in consultation with college practitioners, college representative bodies and the Department for Education and Skills. A copy of the guidance will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

26 Feb 2002 : Column 1222W

Children's Day Care Facilities

(Lincolnshire)

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many day care providers, broken down by type of provider, there were in (a) north-east Lincolnshire and (b) north Lincolnshire in each year from 1997 to 2001; [35317]

(a)

(b)

Margaret Hodge: The available information is shown in the tables.

Latest figures on day care facilities in England were published by my Department in the Statistical Bulletin "Children's Day Care facilities at 31 March 2001 (08/01)" in October 2001, a copy of which is available from the Library. An electronic copy of this publication is also available on my Department's website (www.dfes.gov.uk/ statistics).

Numbers of day care facilities and places for children, by category of provider, in North East Lincolnshire local authority: 1997–2001

Day nurseries⁽³⁴⁾ Child minders⁽³⁴⁾ Playgroups and pre-schools⁽³⁴⁾ Out of school clubs⁽³⁵⁾ Holiday schemes⁽³⁵⁾^,⁽³⁶⁾

Position as at 31 March Providers Places Providers Places Providers Places Providers Places Providers Places

2001 14 488 84 311 34 720 13 297 5 215

2000 11 361 82 300 36 811 8 186 5 215

1999 10 327 91 339 42 965 10 210 ⁽³⁷⁾— ⁽³⁷⁾—

1998 9 300 92 341 45 1,028 7 166 5 161

1997 10 187 107 473 48 912 2 40 0 0

	Day nurseries⁽³⁴⁾	Child minders⁽³⁴⁾	Playgroups and pre-schools⁽³⁴⁾	Out of school clubs⁽³⁵⁾	Holiday schemes⁽³⁵⁾^,⁽³⁶⁾
Position as at 31 March	Providers	Places	Providers	Places	Providers	Places	Providers	Places	Providers	Places
2001	14	488	84	311	34	720	13	297	5	215
2000	11	361	82	300	36	811	8	186	5	215
1999	10	327	91	339	42	965	10	210	⁽³⁷⁾—	⁽³⁷⁾—
1998	9	300	92	341	45	1,028	7	166	5	161
1997	10	187	107	473	48	912	2	40	0	0

⁽³⁴⁾ Provision for children under eight.

⁽³⁵⁾ Provision for children aged five to seven years.

⁽³⁶⁾ Additional guidelines were given to providers in 1999.

⁽³⁷⁾ The information supplied by the local authority was incomplete and is therefore excluded from the time series.

Numbers of day care facilities and places for children, by category of provider, in North Lincolnshire local authority: 1997–2001

Day nurseries⁽³⁸⁾ Child minders⁽³⁸⁾ Playgroups and pre-schools⁽³⁸⁾ Out of school clubs⁽³⁹⁾ Holiday schemes⁽³⁹⁾^,⁽⁴⁰⁾

Position as at 31 March Providers Places Providers Places Providers Places Providers Places Providers Places

2001 14 454 123 493 44 1,097 14 330 414 15,028

2000 12 403 124 491 48 1,174 13 316 451 16,428

1999 12 411 146 756 54 1,259 13 278 405 16,049

1998 11 364 144 562 54 1,259 ⁽⁴¹⁾— ⁽⁴¹⁾— ⁽⁴¹⁾— ⁽⁴¹⁾—

1997 27 872 ⁽⁴¹⁾— 627 64 1,216 8 160 2 60

	Day nurseries⁽³⁸⁾	Child minders⁽³⁸⁾	Playgroups and pre-schools⁽³⁸⁾	Out of school clubs⁽³⁹⁾	Holiday schemes⁽³⁹⁾^,⁽⁴⁰⁾
Position as at 31 March	Providers	Places	Providers	Places	Providers	Places	Providers	Places	Providers	Places
2001	14	454	123	493	44	1,097	14	330	414	15,028
2000	12	403	124	491	48	1,174	13	316	451	16,428
1999	12	411	146	756	54	1,259	13	278	405	16,049
1998	11	364	144	562	54	1,259	⁽⁴¹⁾—	⁽⁴¹⁾—	⁽⁴¹⁾—	⁽⁴¹⁾—
1997	27	872	⁽⁴¹⁾—	627	64	1,216	8	160	2	60

⁽³⁸⁾ Provision for children under eight.

⁽³⁹⁾ Provision for children aged five to seven years.

⁽⁴⁰⁾ Additional guidelines were given to providers in 1999.

⁽⁴¹⁾ Not available.

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