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30 Oct 2002 : Column 804W—continued

Standards Fund

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list for each initiative funded through the Standards Fund the (a) budget for 2001–02, (b) outturn for 2001–02 and (c) budget for 2002–03. [76598]

Mr. Miliband: The tables show the grant allocated for each initiative funded through the Standards Fund, and the amounts finally accepted by local education authorities, for 2001–02 and 2002–203. Expenditure figures are not available for 2001–02.

Standards Fund Grants 2001–02

Initiative	Original Grant Allocation #	Final Grant Allocation #
Truancy buster awards	406,000	406,000
School improvement	116,519,051	116,481,951
Social inclusion: pupil support	86,311,859	85,803,112
Social educational needs	38,703,686	38,682,375
Children in public care	3,710,003	3,710,003
Sick children	2,000,000	2,000,000
Teenage pregnancies	5,001,700	5,001,700
Drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention	9,677,087	9,662,712
Youth service	1,059,105	1,053,805
Study support	41,458,609	41,046,276
Adult ethnic minority achievement	753,825	742,107
Child protection co-ordinators	990,000	990,000
National literacy and numeracy strategies	112,763,910	112,761,235
Key Stage 3 strategy	38,336,093	38,212,677
Literacy and numeracy scummer schools	12,078,700	11,499,940
Year 9 booster classes	13,320,000	13,320,000
Ethnic minority achievement	81, 603,966	81,603,966
Traveller children achievement	8,291,488	8,291,488
Family literacy and numeracy	3,677,511	3,640,689
Booster classes	46,000,100	46,000,100
National curriculum: implementation	1,624,495	1,618,508
National curriculum: personal social and health education/citizenship	7,829,484	7,829,484
Education health partnerships	5,700,000	5,700,000
Qualifications	1,545,158	1,545,158
LEA music services	50,060,500	50,060,500
Playing for success	2,152,883	2,152,883
Early years training and development	7,154,995	7,154,995
Early excellence centres	9,245,175	9,245,175
Adult: pupil ratios in reception classes	14,853,526	14,421,322
School achievement awards	63,893,453	63,893,453
Maintained nursery school service	8,975,004	8,975,004
Children of asylum seekers	2,377,000	2,377,000
Excellence in cities	149,752,000	149,752,000
Excellence challenges	9,185,600	9,185,000
City learning centres	80,651,002	80,651,002
Small education zones	20,987,342	20,987,342
Gifted and talented children	3,825,000	3,825,000
Specialist schools	86,526,340	86,526,340
Beacon schools	30,685,830	30,685,830
Pupil support allowance	11,671,845	11,671,845
Pupil learning credits	14,499,999	14,499,999
Grammer/non-selective school partnerships	505,616	505,616
Diversity pathfinders	323,500	323,500
Induction of newly qualified teachers	34,223,840	34,223,840
Teacher recruitment measures (golden hellos)	2,565,954	2,565,954
Training schools	4,355,000	4,355,000
Advanced skills teachers	18,487,787	16,510,981
National professional qualification for headship	16,381,368	16,381,368
Leadership programme for serving heads	5,227,653	5,180,402
Performance management	28,000,002	28,000,002
Teaching assistants	104,652,809	104,345,784
Small schools fund	42,332,042	41,487,354
Supported early retirement scheme for heads	5,178,100	4,801,800
Recruitment and retention fund	33,000,000	33,000,000
Teachers sabbaticals	4,884,000	4,884,000
Early professional development	4,651,150	4,651,150
Welcome back bonus	454,033	454,033
National grid for learning	132,265,063	132,121,881
Key Stage 1 class size	177,455,982	177,455,982
Key Stage 2 class size recurrent funding	17,461,558	17,461,558
Devolved formula capital	409,009,065	409,009,065
Seed capital challenge	34,999,998	34,999,998
School laboratories	43,494,238	43,494,238
Learning support units	25,232,370	25,232,370
School security	11,650,857	11,416,297
Fresh start	25,519,748	25,519,748
New models for LEA services	1,266,757	1,266,757
NDS condition funding	239,788,348	239,788,348
Information management strategy	29,999,998	29,999,998
NDS capital projects	39,824,146	39,824,146
Classrooms of the future	5,425,000	5,425,000
Total:	2,704,475,306	2,698,354,746

30 Oct 2002 : Column 806W

Standards Fund Grants 2002–03

Initiative	Original Grant Allocation #	Final Grant Allocation #
School improvement	131,562,975	131,562,975
Social inclusion: pupil support	84,683,332	84,549,663
Special educational needs	42,152,297	42,119,994
Sick children and children in public care	5,200,001	5,193,316
Teenage pregnancy	4,999,999	4,999,999
Drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention	9,600,003	9,583,860
Study support	48,119,999	47,637,893
Child protection co-ordinators	1,378,000	1,325,000
Behaviour and improvement programme	50,003,000	50,003,000
National literacy and numeracy strategies	77,744,611	77,744,611
Key Stage 3 strategy	97,126,316	96,464,450
Ethnic minority achievement	81,064,263	81,057,034
Traveller children achievement	8,155,841	8,135,041
Year 6 booster classes	42,000,000	42,000,000
Educational health partnerships	9,819,993	9,819,993
Qualifications	1,540,756	1,521,724
LEA music services	59,633,546	59,633,546
Playing for success	1,813,365	1,813,365
Early years training and development	7,020,009	7,020,009
Early excellence centres: recurrent	9,047,080	0,040,080
Adult: pupil ratios in reception classes	11,375,139	10,985,930
School achievement awards	58,885,040	58,885,040
Nursery school project	4,906,484	4,906,484
Training for educational visits co-ordinators	2,355,600	3,355,600
Excellence in cities	173,556,890	173,556,890
Gifted and talented summer schools	3,816,000	3,816,000
Specialist schools	108,978,953	108,978,953
Specialist schools (capital)	20,550,000	20,550,000
Beacon schools	40,168,850	40,168,850
Pupil support allowances	8,988,000	8,988,000
Pupil learning credits	19,623,621	19,623,621
Partnerships between grammar and non-selective schools	308,477	308,477
Excellence challenge	17,259,656	17,259,656
Small education action zones	26,768,968	26,768,968
Diversity pathfinders	920,150	920,150
Induction of newly qualified teachers	34,835,998	34,831,177
Teacher recruitment incentives	24,779,496	24,779,496
Training schools	4,203,000	4,203,000
Advanced skills teachers	20,058,558	18,926,163
Performance management and threshold assessment	14,560,001	14,474,890
Teaching assistants	103,098,945	102,757,478
Small schools fund	41,600,000	41,082,080
Teacher recruitment and retention fund	44,001,000	44,001,000
Teacher sabbaticals	9,752,000	9,762,000
Early professional development pilot programme	6,056,182	6,056,182
Welcome back bonuses	205,131	205,131
Transforming school workforce pathfinders	3,370,775	3,370,775
Fast track payments	318,000	318,000
National grid for learning	182,000,006	181,524,946
Key Stage 1 class size	144,834,655	144,834,655
Key Stage 2 class size	25,451,573	25,451,573
NDS devolved formula capital	360,254,267	360,254,267
Seed challenge capital	60,000,000	60,000,000
Staff workspaces	11,999,998	11,999,998
Learning support units	9,987,269	9,987,269
New school security projects	9,999,996	9,999,996
Fresh start and new partnerships	17,451,058	17,451,058
NDS condition funding	346,500,441	346,500,441
Information management strategy	7,039,908	7,039,908
Capital funding for nursery education in disadvantaged areas	20,077,716	20,077,716
Capital projects	39,216,362	39,216,362
Laptops for teachers	59,846,307	59,846,307
Electronic registration systems in secondary schools	9,656,820	9,656,820
Electronic registration systems in secondary schools	9,656,820	9,656,820
e-Learning credits	29,929,186	29,929,186
Total:	2,912,221,862	2,907,843,046

30 Oct 2002 : Column 807W

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

UN Convention on Rights of the Child

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings officials have attended to discuss progress towards meeting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (a) with organisations and Government departments within the UK and (b) with organisations in other countries. [78008]

Mr. Denham: The Children and Young People's Unit has lead responsibility for monitoring the UK's implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since March 2001, when the Unit took over responsibility from the Department of Health, officials have held the following formal meetings which include discussion of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

(a) Within the UK

Quarterly meetings with the devolved administrations

Bimonthly meetings of the Children and Young People's Interdepartmental Group

(b) In other countries

Twice yearly meetings of the EU Permanent Intergovernmental Group Xl'Europe

de l'Enfance"

In addition, the Unit holds ad hoc bilateral meetings both at home and abroad with lead policy makers on Convention issues. For example, there was regular contact across Whitehall in the preparation for the UK's second report to the UN Committee. Information about the precise number of such meetings can only be gathered at disproportionate cost.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the UK's contribution towards achieving the goals of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and what representations she has received about the UK contribution. [78011]

Mr. Denham: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) does not require signatories to work towards achieving certain objectives or 'goals', nor does it give enforceable rights to individual children. Rather, it imposes obligations on the State to "respect and ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to each

30 Oct 2002 : Column 808W

child within their jurisdiction". Each signatory, therefore, is responsible for implementing the UNCRC in their own country.

The UK signed the Convention on 19 April 1990 and ratified it on 16 December 1991. It came into force in the UK on 15 January 1992. To allow monitoring of implementation, the CRC requires State Parties to report to the UN on their progress against the Convention 2 years after ratification, and every 5 years subsequently.

The UK's Second Report under the CRC was submitted by the Department of Health in 1999 and, due to backlogs at the UN, was only considered by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in June this year. A UK delegation comprising senior officials from across Government attended an oral examination in Geneva on 19 September. UK NGOs also submitted a report, and gave oral evidence. The Committee published its concluding observations on 4th October and this document, as well as copies of the UK's Second Report and a summary of the UK NGO reports have been placed in both Libraries.

The Government is under no formal obligation from the UN to respond to the report, but lead Departments across Whitehall, together with the Devolved Administrations, are considering how to take the Committee's comments into account. Although there are areas where we expect to take a different view from the Committee over our obligations under the Convention, we will consider its recommendations in developing our overarching strategy for children and young people, a development which the UN Committee welcomed. We will continue to involve the voluntary sector in this work.

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