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All Our Futures:
Creativity, Culture and Education
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations of the report, "All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education"; and if she will make a statement. [67157]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 8 July 2002]: The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education reported jointly to the Secretaries of State for Education and Employment and Culture, Media and Sport in 1999 via the report "All our Futures". The report contained 59 detailed recommendations for action by a range of bodies including Government, schools and higher education institutions. My Department has worked closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and external partners, to implement the recommendations.
Some of the main steps taken so far include funding of £270 million for the introduction of the Music Standards Fund to protect and expand LEA Music Services; the establishment of Artsmark, a national awards scheme now in its second year which recognises schools which offer
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a wide range of arts provision; and the recent joint announcement of £130 million for the Space for Sport and Arts programme which will fund almost 300 primary schools nationwide to modernise or build new multi-use halls and sports facilities and new music and arts studios.
Other major initiatives in progress include the development of 16 Creative Partnerships Pilots, with the aim of building long-term, sustainable relationships between creative professionals and schools. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is undertaking a project focusing on pupils' creativity across the curriculum which will produce guidance for schools on ways to promote pupils' creativity.
Our White Paper, "Schools: achieving success", repeats our commitment that all pupils should have access to a broad and rich education with a variety of extra-curricula activities and that, over time, all primary school pupils who want to should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
Nursery Centres of Excellence
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many nursery centres of excellence have been designated; how many centres there are in each local education authority area; and what total additional resource has been allocated to nursery centres of excellence. [67628]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 8 July 2002]: I announced, on 5 July, the designation of 33 new Early Excellence Centres (EECs) offering high quality integrated education and day care for young children, and services and opportunities for parents and the wider community. This brings the total number of EECs across the country to 91, taking us to within nine of reaching our manifesto commitment of 100 by 2004.
A table listing all the current EECs by local education authority area has been placed in the Library.
Jacques Delors Professorship
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the cost to (a) United Kingdom and (b) Communities funds of the Jacques Delors Professorship of Community Law, Oxford; and to which budget line it falls. [68333]
Margaret Hodge: My Department does not hold statistics about the costs to the UK nor to the European Union (EU) of individual Professorships, including those which are part funded by the EU. The funding of this particular Professorship is a matter for Oxford University and for the European Commission.
Examination Papers
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list by (a) year, (b) date and (c) examining body, each mistake in external examination papers at (i) GCSE, (ii) AS and (iii) A Level that has been reported to her since 1997. [67476]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 9 July 2002]: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) advise that the data for 2002 is as follows.
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AQA
January: 5 A level;
May/June: 6 GCSE, 2 A level, 2 GNVQ.
Edexcel
January: 4 A level, 1 GNVQ;
May/June: 2 GNVQ.
OCR
January: 1 A level, 1 AS, 1 GNVQ, 4 VCE;
May/June: 4 A level, 5 GCSE.
Education Spending
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total budget across all Government Departments was for spending on statutory education for 11 to 18-year-olds in schools and sixth form colleges in England in the last year for which figures are available. [68085]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 9 July 2002]: The total budget or Local Schools Budget (LSB) for secondary schools for 2002–03 is £11,829.5 million. This is the amount appropriated by the authorities for meeting all secondary expenditure by them in that year, including expenditure on central functions such as transport, as well as schools' delegated budgets.
The Learning and Skills Council has allocated £452.0 million for sixth form colleges for 2002–03.
Further Education
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students continue into further education after their GCSEs; and what efforts the Government have made to encourage pupils to stay on at school after their GCSEs. [66156]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 4 July 2002]: The post-compulsory staying-on rate in all forms of learning is 86.5 per cent. In 2001–02, of the total number of 16-year-olds, 71.2 per cent. continue to participate full-time in schools, sixth-form colleges or other colleges of further education, after the completion of their compulsory education. The latter figure includes some still studying GCSEs, but does not include those in part-time education or in work-based learning.
We want all young people to continue after the age of 16 in high quality learning opportunities which best meet their needs and potential. This will give young people a range of high quality, general mixed and vocational options with the aim of ending the culture of dropping out of learning at 16. In addition to the Connexions Service role the Learning and Skills Council have put in place a number of measures to provide the support and incentives young people need to take up and succeed in learning. We are introducing a range of initiatives to overcome financial obstacles to participation. One of these is the education maintenance allowance, which is available in a
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third of the country. The impact of EMA on participation among eligible young people in the pilot areas has been to raise participation by six percentage points. We are presently considering responses to the 14–19 Green Paper "Extending opportunities, raising standards".
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of (a) colleges of further education and (b) sixth form colleges in
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England and Wales were trading at a deficit in each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02; and if she will make a statement. [68512]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number and proportion of colleges in England with an operating deficit (an excess of total expenditure over total income) in each financial year (1 August to 31 July) for the periods 1997–98 to 2000–01 is given in the table. Information on colleges in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.
| Sixth form colleges | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of colleges with a trading deficit | 37 | 36 | 48 | 18 |
| Percentage of colleges across the total FE sector | 8.33 | 8.14 | 11.27 | 4.30 |
| Percentage of colleges of the same type | 33.94 | 33.64 | 45.28 | 17.65 |
| Other FE sector colleges | ||||
| No. of colleges with a trading deficit | 148 | 141 | 159 | 94 |
| Percentage of colleges across the total FE sector | 33.33 | 31.90 | 37.32 | 22.43 |
| Percentage of colleges of the same type | 44.18 | 42.09 | 49.69 | 29.65 |
Notes:
1. Information for the financial year 2001–02 is not yet available.
2. Other FE sector colleges include general further education colleges, tertiary colleges, agricultural and horticultural colleges, art, design and performing arts colleges and designated colleges.
The further education sector is an important contributor to achieving our goal of a learning society. Further education colleges, including sixth form colleges, have a key role to play and we are continuing to increase our investment in this area. The Learning and Skills Council has procedures in place to identify colleges that have financial difficulties and will, as appropriate, give financial and practical support to enable them to implement effective plans to address these. However, prevention not intervention will be the aim.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of (a) colleges of further education and (b) sixth form colleges in England and Wales were in the Learning and Skills Council's weakest financial category at some point in each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02; and if she will make a statement. [68513]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number and proportion of colleges in England in the weakest financial category at some point during the financial year (1 August to 31 July) for the periods 1997–98 to 2000–01 is given in the table. Information on colleges in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.
| Number in weakest financial category | Percentage of colleges across the total FE sector | Percentage of colleges of the same type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sixth form colleges | |||
| 1997–98 | 11 | 2.48 | 10.09 |
| 1998–99 | 8 | 1.81 | 7.48 |
| 1999–2000 | 8 | 1.88 | 7.55 |
| 2000–01 | 10 | 2.39 | 9.80 |
| Other FE sector colleges | |||
| 1997–98 | 84 | 18.92 | 25.07 |
| 1998–99 | 63 | 14.25 | 18.81 |
| 1999–2000 | 60 | 14.08 | 18.75 |
| 2000–01 | 70 | 16.71 | 22.08 |
Notes:
1. Data for the financial year 2001–02 is not yet available.
2. Other FE sector colleges include general further education colleges, tertiary colleges, agricultural and horticultural colleges, art, design and performing arts colleges and designated colleges.
The further education sector is an important contributor to achieving our goal of a learning society. Further education colleges, including sixth form colleges, have a key role to play and we are continuing to increase our investment in this area. The Learning and Skills Council has procedures in place to identify colleges that have financial difficulties and will, as appropriate, give financial and practical support to enable them to implement effective plans to address these. However, prevention not intervention will be the aim.
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