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Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the cases of (a) suspected fraud and (b) misuse of public funds notified to her Department involving training and enterprise councils, and in each case the sums involved, for each financial year up to 31 March 2001; which ones have been the subject of investigation by her Department; how many cases have been referred by her Department to the police; how many of the investigations (i) have been terminated, and for each of those cases the grounds on which that decision was taken, (ii) have resulted in a criminal prosecution and
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(iii) continue, and what sums have been recovered as a result; what controls were put in place for training and enterprise councils to minimise the possibility of fraud and misuse of public funds; what lessons her Department drew from the cases; and how these were applied in relation to individual learning accounts. [33785]
John Healey: Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) were required to notify Government Offices (GOs) of instances of suspected fraud or financial irregularity in accordance with their contracts with the Department. Details of cases notified to the Department are as follows:
Number of Cases Notified | Number of Cases Investigated by DfES | Number of Cases Referred to the Police | Number of Cases Terminated | Number of Cases Still Ongoing | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
199495 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
199596 | 41 | 41 | 10 | 40 | 1 |
199697 | 24 | 24 | 9 | 24 | |
199798 | 44 | 44 | 14 | 44 | |
199899 | 35 | 35 | 10 | 35 | |
19992000 | 20 | 20 | 9 | 18 | 2 |
200001 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 6 |
Total | 182 | 182 | 55 | 173 | 9 |
The reasons for terminating cases are shown in the following table:
Reason For Closure | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of Cases Terminated | Criminal Prosecution | Malpractice | No Evidence to Substantiate | Poor Administration | |
199495 | 3 | 1 | | 2 | |
199596 | 40 | | 13 | 19 | 8 |
199697 | 24 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 8 |
199798 | 44 | 1 | 25 | 8 | 10 |
199899 | 35 | | 22 | 2 | 11 |
19992000 | 18 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 4 |
200001 | 9 | | 4 | 5 | |
Total | 173 | 4 | 87 | 41 | 41 |
In total, the amount involved and identified as recoverable was £18,167,000. The amounts identified as recoverable from TECs were notified to GOs in order to initiate recovery action. Details of actual recoveries are not held centrally.
The Department's financial control mechanisms applied to TECs developed and improved, drawing on the experience gained from managing the contracts with TECs and lessons learned from investigating cases of fraud and misuse of public funds. Key elements of the controls were:
(a) A detailed legal contract for the provision of the public funds, legally binding. The contract and supporting material reflected input from specialist professional financial control staff, spelling out the specifics of what was being paid for, evidence requirements and other specific conditions on the provider. It was a requirement on TECs to notify the Secretary of State immediately if it had reason to suspect that a fraud had or was occurring;
(b) Legal contractual remedies that could be followed quickly if any of the contractual conditions were not met;
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
(c) Visits from Government Office Financial Assurance and Management Teams to TECs and providers to ensure that public sector standards of regularity and propriety were maintained and that public funds were properly spent, well managed and safeguarded;
(e) A Special Investigations Unit (SIU) based in the Department with a national remit to investigate serious cases of fraud; and
The Department drew a range of lessons from the TEC experiences applicable in relation to Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) and other Departmental business, including for example: retaining expertise in
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the DfES Special Investigations Unit. The SIU was involved in investigations of alleged ILA fraud and abuse at the earliest opportunity working closely with ILA policy team. They are currently involved in investigations into the activities of 97 ILA learning providers.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will make it her policy to turn the Computers Within Reach pilot scheme into a permanent scheme; [39110]
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John Healey: The Computers Within Reach pilot scheme closed on 31 October 2001, having delivered over 24,000 computers into 22 pilot areas. We are currently evaluating the scheme and considering options for the bet way of using the remaining funding available.
Information on the number of unsuccessful applications could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the ratio of teachers to pupils was in (a) all schools, (b) primary schools and (c) secondary schools for each year since 1996 in (i) East Sussex Local Education Authority, (ii) the South-East region and (iii) England. [37911]
Mr. Timms: The available information is shown in the table:
East Sussex Local Education Authority1 | Brighton and Hove Local Education Authority | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary schools | Secondary schools | All schools | Primary schools | Secondary schools | All schools | |
2001 | 22.7 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 21.6 | 16.5 | 15.4 |
2000 | 22.4 | 17.1 | 16.5 | 22.6 | 16.5 | 16.1 |
1999 | 23.8 | 16.9 | 17.0 | 23.4 | 16.4 | 16.5 |
1998 | 23.3 | 16.6 | 16.8 | 23.3 | 16.3 | 16.5 |
1997 | 22.8 | 16.2 | 16.5 | | | |
1996 | 22.7 | 16.0 | 16.3 | | | |
Source: Annual Schools' Census
Not applicable.
1 Data for 1996 and 1997 include Brighton and Hove LEA.
In April 1997 East Sussex Local Education Authority was subject to Local Government Re-organisation and was split into Brighton and Hove Local Education Authority and East Sussex Local Education Authority.
South East Region | England | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary schools | Secondary schools | All schools | Primary schools | Secondary schools | All schools | |
2001 | 22.9 | 17.4 | 17.2 | 22.9 | 17.1 | 18.1 |
2000 | 23.2 | 17.3 | 17.3 | 23.3 | 17.2 | 18.3 |
1999 | 23.6 | 17.1 | 17.5 | 23.5 | 17.0 | 18.4 |
1998 | 23.6 | 16.9 | 17.4 | 23.7 | 16.9 | 18.5 |
1997 | 23.2 | 16.7 | 17.3 | 23.4 | 16.7 | 18.3 |
1996 | | | | 23.2 | 16.6 | 18.2 |
Source: Annual Schools' Census
Not applicable
In 1997 Government Office Region definitions altered and data for previous years are therefore not comparable.
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) five, (b) six and (c) seven-year-olds in North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire were in class sizes over 30 in each year from 1990 to 2001. [37752]
Mr. Timms: The available information is shown in the table.
North East Lincolnshire ClassesPupils | North Lincolnshire ClassesPupils | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | 71 | 2,393 | 53 | 1,738 |
1998 | 73 | 2,467 | 66 | 2,229 |
1999 | 53 | 1,767 | 0 | 0 |
2000 | 20 | 633 | 0 | 0 |
2001 | 3 | 98 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Annual Schools' Census
Prior to 1997 North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire were part of Humberside Local Education Authority which was subject to Local Government Re-organisation in April 1996.
Information on Key Stage 1 classes and pupils was not collected prior to 1996.
Job No: 715993 Folios: 000-000Operator: Operator No 3. Date: 08/03/02
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