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Timber (Departmental Refurbishment)
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library certificates showing that timber used for the doors, doorframes and window frames in the refurbishment of her Department's buildings came from a certified, sustainable source. [55260]
Clare Short: Timber for the doors and doorframes (no wooden window frames were fitted) were supplied by Shadbolt and Sons. Shadbolts are founder members of the WWF 1995+ group, which is one of the groups listed under the current DEFRA guidance "Greening
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Government Operations—Green Guide for Buyers, Action Sheet on Wood". The group has the target to source all its timbers from sources with certified sustainable management, and works closely with the Forest Stewardship Council. DFID's requirement followed the BREEAM guidelines at the time, that softwood and temperate hardwoods were to be from sustainable sources, but certificates were not requested. The Sapele veneers used in this project were not certified as they came from existing stocks obtained in 1983, and were supplied with the consent of WWF.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Census Information
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, (1) pursuant to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on 23 April 2002, Official Report, column 207W, what her estimate is of the number of History National Curriculum (Key Stages 2 to 5) schools with internet access to the website at http://www.learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/ FocusOn/census/; [55911]
- (2) pursuant to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on 23 April 2002, Official Report, column 207W, on census information, what action she has taken to protect the interests of History National Curriculum (Key Stages 2 to 5) pupils and teachers, following the provision of inaccurate information on the website at http://www.learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/ FocusOn/census/; and what action has been taken to ensure that recent amendments to the website meet the schools' requirements for information from the Public Record Office. [55912]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have supported £657 million of expenditure on ICT by schools between 1998 and 2002, with a further £710 million to follow between 2002 and 2004. This funding is intended to help schools to achieve the objectives agreed with their local education authority and set out in their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development plan. We would expect these plans to address measures for connecting to the internet, so that schools can access the wealth of cultural, scientific and intellectual material to be found on the internet. The percentage of schools with internet connection was published in the Statistics of Education—Survey of Information and Communications Technology in Schools 2001; 97 per cent. of schools are connected to the internet.
Producers of educational content are encouraged to link their resources to the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) portal. The sites on the NGfL portal are required to conform to a set of ground rules and a code of conduct. However, it is the responsibility of the site developers to ensure that their content is accurate. As with other forms of information media, the decision on which sites to use lies with schools.
Deaf Young People (Education)
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many deaf children were taught
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(a) with British sign language and (b) without access to British sign language in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [56493]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect this information centrally. However, an interim report from the National Evaluation of Support Options for Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Children in 1999 suggests the following percentages of deaf children, with average hearing loss, born between 1980 and 1994 used British sign language within their education programmes:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Children with moderate deafness | 2 |
| Children with severe deafness | 5 |
| Children with profound deafness | |
| Without a cochlear implant | 20 |
| With a cochlear implant | 5 |
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of profoundly deaf young people achieved (a) five A to C GCSE grades and (b) five A to G GCSE grades, broken down by local authority in the last four years. [56492]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department currently does not collect this information centrally, though we shall shortly be consulting on whether and how data on different types of special educational needs could be collected. Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the data requested might be collected from January 2004.
Learning Partnerships
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the future of learning partnerships. [57610]
Margaret Hodge: In November 2001 the Government launched a consultation on the future role of learning partnerships. In the light of that consultation, I wrote to chairs of learning partnerships on 29 April 2002 setting out our future vision for partnerships and new funding and support arrangements. The Government believe learning partnerships have a key role in promoting provider collaboration to deliver better lifelong learning in local areas, and in working with a wide range of partners to maximise the contribution of learning to local regeneration. The Government also wish to see better links between learning partnerships and the Learning and Skills Council. From April 2003 funding for learning partnerships, currently channelled through Government Offices, will be directed through the Learning and Skills Council. I have placed a copy of my letter to chairs in the Libraries.
Teachers (Buckinghamshire)
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers were in service in Buckinghamshire in (a) January 2001 and (b) January 2002. [55690]
Mr. Timms: There were 4,020 full-time equivalent 1 teachers in service in the maintained schools sector in Buckinghamshire in January 2001.
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Data for January 2002 are not yet available at local education authority level. The number of all-time equivalent teachers in England increased by 9,400 between January 2001 and January 2002, the largest increase since the 1970s.
Information on teachers in service in January 2002 by local education authority will be published in the Teachers in England statistical volume in December 2002.
- 1 Part-time teachers have been converted to an estimate of their full-time equivalence and added to full-time numbers.
Ministerial Training
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent by her Department on training by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years. [52739]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 26 April 2002]: This Department has not delivered training by RADA.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent by his Department on training in leadership skills for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years. [52713]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 26 April 2002]: The Department for Education and Skills are only able to provide information for the last three years. During that period the Learning Academy spent the following amounts on leadership training for officials:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 40,900 |
| 2000–01 | 42,346 |
| 2001–02 | 75,000 |
Training was also provided by parts of the Department but we are unable to identify the costs for leadership.
Ministers are also able to take advantage of the programme for Ministers organised by the Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS) in the Cabinet Office.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent by her Department on voice coaching for Ministers and officials in each of the last five years. [52700]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 26 April 2002]: Ministers in this Department are able to take advantage of the programmes for Ministers organised by the Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS) in the Cabinet Office.
In addition the Department has provided presentation skills training for officials if their job requires it but not voice training. We are unable to provide figures as our records are not broken down into that amount of detail.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to make education maintenance allowances available to young people in Warrington, North; and if she will make a statement. [56679]
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: We will be taking decisions on any future extension of the scheme on the basis of the rigorous evaluation currently being conducted.
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