| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Teaching Vacancies
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching vacancies in Surrey are unfilled; and how many were unfilled 12 months ago. [72397]
Mr. Miliband: There were 104 vacancies for full-time teachers in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in Surrey in January 2001. This is the most recent date for which these data are available.
There were 39 vacancies for full-time teachers in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in Surrey in January 2000.
Teachers' Pensions
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the proportion of the rise in Government liabilities resulting from unfunded teacher pension schemes in England and Wales in the last five years owing to (a) wage inflation, (b) longevity, (c) extension of the rights of part-time workers and (d) other factors; and if she will make a statement. [67024]
Mr. Miliband: The Teachers' Pension Scheme is subject to regular actuarial reviews by the Government Actuary. A review of the position as at 31 March 2001 is underway and the report is due to be published at the end of the year. Actuarial reviews include full allowance for the effects on the scheme liabilities of such factors as price inflation, salary growth, membership changes and pensioner mortality. Intermediate valuations are produced to provide updated liability figures for the purposes of Resource Accounting, and are generally based on the assumptions adopted for the latest full review.
Information is not readily available in the form requested. The liabilities of the scheme were calculated to be £76 billion for the actuarial review as at 31 March 1996, and were estimated to be £98 billion for the Resource Accounts as at 31 March 2001. Changes in price inflation, real wage inflation and in the membership are the main factors underlying the higher liabilities. The increase in liabilities caused by the extension of the rights of part-time workers was not significant over the period.
24 Jul 2002 : Column 1345W
Head Teachers
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of serving head teachers have participated in the leadership and management programme for new head teachers. [72824]
Mr. Miliband: 10,243 headteachers have registered since 1995 for the Leadership and Management Programme for New Headteachers (HEADLAMP), which represents 43 per cent. of serving headteachers.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of teachers have achieved the National Professional Qualification for Headship. [72823]
Mr. Miliband: 6,340 teachers have achieved the National Professional Qualification for Headship since 1997, which represents 1.4 per cent. of all full-time and part-time teachers in nursery, primary and secondary schools in the maintained sector in January 2002 (provisional). In addition, 4,500 teachers are currently working towards the qualification.
24 Jul 2002 : Column 1346W
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of serving head teachers have achieved the (a) Leadership Programme for Serving Head Teachers and (b) National Professional Qualification for Headship. [72822]
Mr. Miliband: 9,391 serving headteachers have participated in the Leadership and Management Programme for Serving Heads, which represents 39 per cent. of serving headteachers.
Serving headteachers are not eligible to undertake the National Professional Qualification for Headship. However, since its inception in 1997, 6,340 teachers have achieved the qualification and over 4,500 are currently working towards it.
Education (St Helens)
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children received education (a) in pupil referral units and (b) at home in (i) St Helens, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the Northwest and (iv) England in each year since 1996. [71739]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The information requested is set out in the tables below.
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Helens | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
| Merseyside | 283 | 418 | 442 | 428 | 470 | 385 |
| North West(excluding Merseyside) | 177 | 247 | 378 | 274 | 360 | 1,033 |
| England | 6,872 | 7,530 | 7,740 | 8,263 | 8,479 | 9,289 |
(66) Excludes pupils who are also registered at a mainstream or special school.
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Helens | 23 | 47 | 48 | 84 | 70 | 81 |
| Merseyside | 329 | 300 | 305 | 362 | — | — |
| North West | 1,521 | 1,564 | 1,849 | 2,100 | 2,616 | 2,061 |
| England | 10,553 | 12,295 | 13,594 | 14,005 | 15,670 | 16,307 |
(67) Includes pupils not in school, e.g. pupils taught at home, Traveller children, asylum seekers at FE colleges or with voluntary sector providers
— not applicable (Merseyside is incorporated into North West region).
We do not require Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to report separately on the numbers of children educated in the home by the LEA and this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
We do not require LEAs to report on the numbers of children whose parents choose to home educate them and this figure also could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacant teaching positions there were (a) by subject and (b) as a percentage of all teaching positions in (i) St Helens, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the North West and (iv) England in (A) 1996, (B) 1997, (C) 1998, (D) 1999, (E) 2000 and (F) 2001. [70863]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 23 July 2002]: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the adult literacy rate was in (a) St Helens, (b) Merseyside, (c) the North West and (d) England in each year since 1996. [71288]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 23 July 2002] The table below shows the estimated level of poor literacy skills in the areas concerned. The data are from a series of surveys undertaken for the Basic Skills Agency in 1996–97. There are no data available for the subsequent years, although we are now conducting a large survey of literacy, language and numeracy needs in England as part of the Skills for Life strategy to improve adult basic skills. This will provide a more current assessment of literacy need.
24 Jul 2002 : Column 1347W
| Area | Percentage of population aged 16–60 with poor literacy skills |
|---|---|
| St Helens | 26 |
| Merseyside | 27 |
| North West average | 25 |
| England average | 24 |
Education Initiatives
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils in each
24 Jul 2002 : Column 1348W
local education authority took part in each of her Department's initiatives which have not yet been subject to nationwide roll-out. [71814]
Mr. Miliband: The following pilot/Pathfinder initiatives were in operation during the school year 2001–02. These will not necessarily roll-out nationally though, as a result of the Spending Review, Education Maintenance Allowances will be available throughout England from September 2004. Information on numbers of pupils taking part is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
24 Jul 2002 : Column 1349W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |