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School Sports Provision (Bristol)

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many letters Ministers in her Department and officials have received about the provision of sports facilities at Cotham School, Bristol. [51074]

John Healey [holding answer 18 April 2002]: The Department has received 28 letters concerning PE facilities at Cotham School in Bristol, up to and including 16 April 2002.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the provision of sports in schools in Bristol. [51077]

John Healey [holding answer 18 April 2002]: Bristol city council has received a provisional allocation of just under £4.5 million from the New Opportunities Fund for the provision and enhancement of sports and physical education facilities in the 361 schools in Bristol. The New Opportunities Fund is a National Lottery distribution body, independent of central Government. The Fund has asked local education authorities to consult with other organisations in the area to determine priorities, and assesses applications to ensure that they demonstrate that there is a local need. Case managers work with LEAs to develop applications.

Central Government cannot influence the outcome of local consultation.

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Computer Training (Over-50s)

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government have done to help people over 50 learn how to use computers and to receive training in information technology. [51234]

John Healey: The Department for Education and Skills is committed to enabling people to learn later in life and to widening access to ICT skills. By the end of 2002 there will be over 6,000 UK online centres throughout England with access points in public libraries, colleges, local community centres and elsewhere. Older people are one of the key client groups for this initiative. In addition there are over 1,600 learndirect centres, which along with FE colleges and Adult and Community Learning centres, offer opportunities for older learners to improve their ICT skills.

Learndirect

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what estimate she has made of the number of people resident in the Buckingham constituency who are studying a Learndirect course (a) online and (b) at a Learndirect centre; [51384]

(2) which (a) Learndirect and (b) UK online learning centres are based in the Buckingham constituency; and if she will indicate the date they were established in each case. [51385]

John Healey: Just under 2,000 people in the Buckingham constituency have studied, or are studying, a learndirect course with an element of online learning. A large proportion of these will have used a learndirect centre for some or all their learning. It is, however, not currently possible to gather information on where learners are accessing their learndirect learning.

There is a learndirect centre, a learndirect access point and a UK online centre in the Buckingham constituency:

The Winslow Centre in Winslow, established in November 1999. This is a learndirect and a UK online centre.


Tomorrowclub Ltd. in Aylesbury, established in January 2001. This is a learndirect access point.

Teachers' Pay Regrading

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the cost to local education authorities in England and Wales in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 of her regrading of teachers' pay scales. [51392]

Mr. Timms: In addition to the cost of the general pay award of 3.5 per cent., the 0.1 per cent. cost of the additional allowance of £33 payable to teachers in respect of the fees they are required to pay to the General Teaching Councils for England or Wales, and the cost of pay progression for performance or experience, the cost of shortening the main pay scale to six points is estimated to be 0.4 per cent. of the pay bill in 2002–03 and 1 per cent. in 2003–04.

Complaints

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many complaints were registered against her Department and its predecessor Departments in

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(a) 1990 to 1996 and (b) 1997 to 2002; how many are current; and what proportion were (i) taken up and (ii) upheld by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in those periods. [51224]

Estelle Morris [holding answer 19 April 2002]: The number of complaints received by the Department and its predecessor Departments for the dates stated can be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Any and all complaints referred to the Parliamentary Ombudsman are accounted for in their annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, or on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website www.ombudsman.org.uk/pca/document/par01/index.

The Department's current complaints procedure complies with Standard Five of the Six Service Standards for Central Government. Complaints can be made in writing, by fax, by e-mail, by telephone or in person (by appointment). More information can be found on the DfES website at www.dfes.gov.uk/compl.shtml.

Education (Herefordshire)

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes the Budget of 17 April will make to the provision of education in Herefordshire. [51649]

Mr. Timms: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget an additional £85 million investment in 2002–03 in school and college buildings in England. This means that every maintained school in England, including those in Herefordshire, will receive in 2002–03 an additional allocation of about 20 per cent. of New Deal for Schools Devolved formula capital for schools. Details of changes to funding for education will be announced when the spending review has been completed in the summer.

Asylum Seekers (Education)

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provisions of race relations statutory provision apply to access to school places for children of asylum seekers. [51801]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: There are no specific statutory provisions that apply in respect of the access to school places for children of asylum seekers.

Section 17 of the Race Relations Act 1976 makes it unlawful for school admission authorities to discriminate against a person (a) in the terms that it offers to admit a child to the school, (b) by refusing or deliberately omitting to accept the application for the child's admission to the school as a pupil, or (c) where the child is a pupil at a school (i) in the way that the pupil is granted access to any benefits, facilities or services or by refusing or deliberately not allowing the pupil access to them or (ii) excluding them from the school or subjecting them to other detriment.

Section 18 of the same Act makes it unlawful for an LEA to perform any act which constitutes racial discrimination, not covered by section 17, when carrying out any of its functions under the education legislation.

These apply to all children, including those of asylum seekers.

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Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the availability of places in schools in the vicinity of the proposed sites for accommodation centres. [51660]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: No such assessment has been made. The proposed sites for the accommodation centres have not yet been decided.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether accommodation centres which provide education for asylum seekers will be required to have a governing body. [51663]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The administration and management of accommodation centres will be a matter for contractors who will run the centres. Bids to operate them have not yet been invited but contractors (once appointed) will run the centres within parameters defined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether children seeking asylum have the same right to education as other children in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement. [51176]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 22 April 2002]: Asylum seeking children have the same right to education as all other children in England and Wales.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which bodies have been consulted on removing some refugee children from the application of sections 13 and 14 of the Education Act 1996; and which bodies were in favour. [51782]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 22 April 2002]: The views of a number of chief education officers and interested organisations were sought informally. All those who responded asked for LEA duties in respect of asylum seeker children in accommodation centres to be clarified. The majority were not in favour of any changes to LEA duties.

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