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Standard Spending Assessments
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the 10 lowest education SSAs are per (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil for English education authorities in 2001–02. [37772]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is in the following table. The variations in SSA per pupil have two main causes: authorities in London and the South East receive an area cost adjustment, to compensate for the higher costs they face; and authorities receive funding according to their level of deprivation.
The Government acknowledge that there are disparities in SSA per pupil, which are not justified by the education needs of children. We are working up proposals, in partnership with local government and other education interests, for the introduction of a new funding system in 2003–04.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Primary aged 5–10 | |
| 334 Solihull | 2,340 |
| 356 Stockport | 2,340 |
| 802 North Somerset | 2,340 |
| 872 Wokingham | 2,340 |
| 836 Poole | 2,330 |
| 860 Staffordshire | 2,330 |
| 877 Warrington | 2,330 |
| 800 Bath and North East Somerset | 2,320 |
| 855 Leicestershire | 2,290 |
| 803 South Gloucestershire | 2,270 |
| Secondary aged 11–15 | |
| 875 Cheshire | 3,010 |
| 885 Worcestershire | 3,010 |
| 860 Staffordshire | 3,000 |
| 877 Warrington | 3,000 |
| 836 Poole | 2,990 |
| 334 Solihull | 2,980 |
| 855 Leicestershire | 2,960 |
| 803 South Gloucestershire | 2,940 |
| 800 Bath and North East Somerset | 2,930 |
| 857 Rutland | 2,910 |
Note:
All figures are rounded to the nearest £10.
AS-level Courses
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding arrangements are proposed for pupils taking AS-level courses before age 16; and what the implications will be for the budgets of (a) the local learning and skills councils and (b) the LEAs respectively. [37955]
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Mr. Timms: Funding for pupils of compulsory school age who are not in a sixth form but are taking an AS-level a year or more early continues to be the responsibility of the LEA. In developing future funding arrangements we will take into account responses to the recent Green Paper "14–19—extending opportunities, raising standards".
Playing Fields
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list applications made to her Department in the last three years for consent to allow development on school playing fields giving in each case (a) the outcome of the application, (b) what steps were taken to ascertain whether adequate sports facilities would remain if permission were granted and (c) where consent was given, what assurances were secured as to how proceeds of sale would be used. [33633]
Mr. Timms [pursuant to his reply, 25 February 2002, c. 730–34W]: A column was omitted from the table. The corrected table follows.
Although the Department does not collect information in the form requested, the following table lists applications to dispose of areas equal to, or larger than, a sports pitch, together with their outcome.
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Before October 1998, there was nothing to prevent a local authority selling a school playing field if it wanted to. Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was introduced in October 1998 to stop the indiscriminate sale of school playing fields. Local authorities and governing bodies of all maintained schools are now required to obtain the Secretary of State's consent before disposing of playing fields or any part of a playing field.
Applications to dispose, or change the use, of school playing fields are assessed against the following criteria:
- (a) schools' needs: that playing field provision and curriculum requirements at the school making the disposal, and at other schools in the local area, will be met;
- (b) community needs: that community use of a school's playing fields is taken into account, with alternative facilities made available if necessary;
- (c) finance: that any sale proceeds are re-invested to provide new or improved sports facilities at schools, or are used to help to raise standards by providing better educational facilities.
Only those applications that meet the criteria are approved. Since July 2001, all applications have been scrutinised by the independent School Playing Fields Advisory Panel to make sure that they conform to the published criteria. The Panel comprises representatives from the National Playing Fields Association, the Central Council of Physical Recreation, the education organisation Learning through Landscapes, the National Association of Head Teachers and the Local Government Association.
Notes:
1. 'Sports pitch' means areas of open grassed land which are equal to, or larger than, the Football Association's recommended area for games played by under-10s, that is 2,000 m
(4) , and which have a configuration making them suitable for sports pitches (whether they are so laid out or not).
2. The table excludes applications withdrawn by the applicant and applications where schools would retain the same, or a better, level of access to the same sports pitch or to an equivalent sports pitch.
3. The table includes applications from grant-maintained schools, where the application was made under section 231 of the Education Act 1996 but the decision was made in accordance with the draft criteria and then the criteria published in Circular No. 3/99, The Protection of School Playing Fields. It also includes applications in respect of foundation and voluntary schools considered under Schedule 22 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 since 1 September 1999.
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