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5 Nov 2002 : Column 189W—continued
Newcastle Local Education Authority
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Standards and Effectiveness Unit were satisfied by 1 October that the City of Newcastle Local Education Authority had a strategy for closing the gap between its GCSE target and the aggregated schools GCSE target; and if he will place the plans for targeting challenge and support for schools in the Library. [78766]
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Mr. Miliband: Newcastle local education authority (LEA) has submitted information about their strategy for meeting the LEA's targets for pupil attainment in GCSE/GNVQ. Education advisers from the Department's Standards and Effectiveness Unit are meeting all local education authorities during the course of November and December to take stock of progress towards their 2004 targets. The authority's strategy for meeting its GCSE targets will be one of the issues discussed at the meeting with Newcastle.
School Governors
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place the guidance on (a) the conduct of school governor elections and (b) handling complaints about such elections in the Library. [78764]
Mr. Miliband: School governor election procedures and associated complaints are determined locally by the appropriate authority, as set out in the Education (School Government) (England) Regulations 1999, Schedule 4, a copy of which is held in the Library.
In relation to a community, community special or voluntary controlled school, the local education authority is the appropriate authority. In relation to a voluntary aided, foundation or foundation special school, the governing body is the appropriate authority.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) number and (b) percentage of school governor vacancies in each category of governor there were in each local education authority in Tyne and Wear in the last three years. [78769]
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Mr. Miliband: Information on the number and percentage of governor vacancies in LEAs is not routinely collected by the Department. Individual LEAs may collect their own information.
Schools (Newcastle upon Tyne)
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the schools in Newcastle upon Tyne that benefited from a special DfES grant in January 2002 for extra (a) classroom assistants and (b) headteacher support. [78765]
Mr. Miliband: On 4 January 2002 my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced the Transforming the School Workforce Pathfinder Project—which is working with 32 schools to explore new ways of working to free teachers to teach and raise standards in the classroom. The project includes funding for additional support staff and training for headteachers.
No school from Newcastle upon Tyne is participating in the project, although Forest Hall Primary School in neighbouring North Tyneside is one of the pathfinder schools.
The project runs until July 2003 and the lessons learnt will be shared nationally.
Schools (Stoke-on-Trent)
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funds were made available for (a) new school building and (b) schools refurbishment in Stoke-on-Trent in each year since 1992. [79091]
Mr. Miliband: We do not hold information on the amount of capital investment for new school buildings. The following table provides information on capital allocations for new pupil places, and New Deal for Schools (NDS) funding to address the needs of school buildings in Stoke-on-Trent, since 1997–98, the earliest year for which data is readily available.
| Of which | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All capital | New pupil places(8) | New deal for schools (NDS)(9) | |
| 1997–98 | 1,631 | 196 | 900 |
| 1998–99 | 4,629 | 335 | 2,799 |
| 1999–2000 | (10) 97,773 | 552 | 1,753 |
| 2000–01 | 9,054 | 1,806 | 4,908 |
| 2001–02 | 10,323 | 1,751 | 3,418 |
| 2002–03 | 11,433 | 1,552 | 6,470 |
(8) Funding to Stoke-on Trent LEA for Basic Need
(9) NDS windfall tax funding (1997–98 to 2000–01), NDS Condition (2001–02 and 2002–03), Modernisation (2002–03) and Devolved formula capital grant (2000–01 to 2002–03) allocated to LEA and Voluntary Aided schools
(10) Includes #93million PFI contract involving all schools in Stoke-on-Trent, work to be completed in 2005.
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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Civil Service Secondments
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many individuals have been seconded to senior civil servant positions in her Department, in each case listing (a) from which organisation, (b) the duration to date and planned duration of conference and (c) source of current salary in secondment post. [78980]
Dr. Howells: There are currently no individuals seconded to senior civil servant positions in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many senior civil servants are seconded from her Department, broken down by (a) location, (b) duration to date and planned duration of secondment and (c) source of current salary in secondment post. [78983]
Dr. Howells: There are current two senior civil servants seconded from the Department and their details are in the following table:
| Location | Duration to date months | Planned duration months | Source of current salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Arts | 10 | 15 | London Arts |
| Broadcasting Standards Commission | 16 | 18 |
Cornish Language
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will recognise the Cornish language under the European Charter for Minority and Regional Languages. [77398]
Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Local Government and the Regions today (UIN 79871).
European City of Culture
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the decision will be made on the choice of European City of Culture; and if she will make a statement on the method by which it will be chosen. [78360]
Dr. Howells: The UK's nomination of European Capital of Culture 2008 will be announced in Spring 2003.
Twelve UK cities submitted bids and on 30 October my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a shortlist of six to go forward for further consideration. This shortlist was recommended to me by the independent Advisory Panel, chaired by Sir Jeremy Isaacs, which my right hon. Friend appointed earlier this to assess the bids against the criteria laid down by the EU and the Government.
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The Advisory Panel will undertake a further and more intensive programme of assessment of the remaining bids over the coming months, to identify an overall recommendation for the UK's nomination.
Interdepartmental Group on Sport
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the membership is of the Interdepartmental Group on Sport; what actions have arisen out of the meetings of the group; and if she will place a copy of the minutes in the Library. [79222]
Dr. Howells: The Interdepartmental Group on Sport brings together the Minister for Sport and Ministers and officials from other Departments and related bodies with an interest in sporting issues. The last meeting included representatives from:
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Department for Education and Skills
- Department of Health
- Department for Transport
- Sport England
- New Opportunities Fund
- Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
- Policy and Innovation Unit
- Home Office
- BBC.
As I said in my written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Mr. Gardiner) of 18 June 2002, Official Report, column 275W, the group was set up with the intention that those attending could discuss issues and ideas in an informal way, and in the knowledge that any contributions would remain confidential. It would not therefore be appropriate to reveal details of the discussions or to publish the minutes.
Lottery (Scottish ex-servicemen)
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many awards have been made by the National Lottery to ex-servicemen's organisations in Scotland, in each of the last five years; and what the total amount awarded was in each of those years. [78739]
Dr. Howells: The Community Fund awarded 17 grants totalling #41,150 to ex-servicemen's organisations in Scotland over the past five years. The following2 table lists the number of grants and amount awarded for each of the five years.
| Year | Number of grants made | Amount awarded (#) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2 | 3,513 |
| 1999 | 5 | 6,143 |
| 2000 | 6 | 14,164 |
| 2001 | 2 | 9,110 |
| Total | 17 | 41,150 |
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