| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
6 Nov 2002 : Column 417W—continued
Schools (Essex)
Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will adopt policies to ensure that no schools in Essex suffer a cash budget cut in the next financial year. [78477]
Mr. Miliband: In introducing the new system of LEA funding for 2003–04, we will implement the pledge that no local education authority will lose out in real terms in 2003–04. The Education Act 2002 incorporates a reserve power that allows the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to set a minimum budget for an authority's schools, if the budget proposed by an authority is
6 Nov 2002 : Column 418W
seriously inadequate. Changes in the funding of individual schools depend very largely on changes in their pupil numbers. It is open to LEAs, if they wish, to include factors in their school funding formulae which have the effect of protecting individual schools from excessive year-to year reductions in their budget shares.
Pupil Spending
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) the actual revenue spending per child at (i) primary and (ii) secondary level and (b) the standard spending assessments were in each local education authority in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [79334]
Mr. Miliband: Net current expenditure per child is available for years up to 2000–01, so the last five years' figures are from 1996–97 to 2000–01. Standard Spending Assessments are available up to 2002–03, so figures are provided from 1996–97 to 2002–03. This information is contained in tables which have been placed in the Library. The figures are shown by local education authority area and are in cash and real terms.
Pupil Referral Units
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were educated in pupil referral units, and for how many hours on average per week, in (a) the London Borough of Enfield, (b) Greater London and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [78080]
Mr. Miliband: The available information is shown in the following table.
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Solely Registered Pupils(4) | Number of Dually Registered Pupils(4) | Number of Pupils also registered with Other Providers(5) | Number of Solely Registered Pupils(4) | Number of Dually Registered Pupils(4) | Number of Pupils also registered with Other Providers(5) | Number of Solely Registered Pupils(4) | Number of Dually Registered Pupils(4) | Number of Pupils also registered with Other Providers(5) | |
| England | 7,740 | 4,166 | 8,263 | 4,202 | 6,986 | 4,586 | 1,493 | ||
| London | 2,005 | 662 | 2,195 | 628 | 1,740 | 863 | 236 | ||
| Outer London | 999 | 304 | 1,026 | 335 | 807 | 423 | 114 | ||
| Enfield LEA | 115 | 3 | 110 | 30 | 105 | 36 | 0 | ||
Notes:
(4) Solely registered pupils are those pupils who are only on a Pupil Referral Unit's register. Dually registered pupils are those pupils who are on a Pupil Referral Unit's register and on another school's register.
(5) Other providers are FE colleges or a voluntary provider
Not available. This information was not collected prior to 2000.
Source:
Annual Schools Census
6 Nov 2002 : Column 419W
Information is collected on the average amount of contact time which is spent by pupils of different ages in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in a typical week. As the contact times are recorded in bands, the data cannot be readily averaged or aggregated. Nevertheless, the figures indicate that between 40–45 per cent. of the 312 PRUs nationally reported average contact time for solely registered pupils of 20 hours or more per week. Of the 47 PRUs in London, over 50 per cent. had average contact times with pupils of 20 hours or more per week. The 2 PRUs in Enfield LEA generally had average contact time with pupils of between 13 and 19 hours per week.
Equivalent contact times for dually registered pupils will generally be less than those for solely registered pupils.
The pupils in PRUs have varying needs and are enrolled there for a variety of reasons and this will include pupils who have been permanently excluded. From September 2002 all LEAs are required to provide full time education for all permanently excluded pupils.
I refer the hon. Member to the Welsh Assembly for information on pupils in Wales.
PRIME MINISTER
Focus Group Research
Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister what use he and his Department has made of focus group research since June 2001; if he will identify for each research project the topics covered, the person or organisation carrying out the research, and the total cost; and if he will publish the research on his Department's website. [74996]
The Prime Minister: My office has not commissioned any focus group research since June 2001.
E-Mail
Sue Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister what e-mail address members of the public may use to contact him. [79661]
The Prime Minister: At present there is no e-mail address by which members of the public can contact me. However an address will be made available in the new year.
6 Nov 2002 : Column 420W
Policy Advisers
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will make a statement on the protocols covering discussions between policy advisers in 10 Downing Street and ministers; [79047]
- (2) Under what circumstances policy advisers within 10 Downing Street are able to direct (a) Ministers and (b) officials within other Departments. [79046]
The Prime Minister: Discussions between policy advisers in 10 Downing Street and Ministers and civil servants in other Departments are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Policy advisers do not have powers of direction.
Iraq
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder on military invasion of Iraq without fresh UN authorisation. [79563]
The Prime Minister: I regularly discuss Iraq with my EU colleagues, most recently during the European Council at Brussels on 24–25 October. I reported the outcome to the House in my statement of 28 October 2002.
Deaths (Soldiers)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will call an independent public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of soldiers in army barracks in the UK since 1990. [79129]
The Prime Minister: It would be inappropriate to undertake any such inquiry whilst the current police investigations into the deaths at Deepcut continue. In the meantime, I am fully aware of the concerns that have been raised about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of soldiers in Army barracks in the United Kingdom.
There are a number of issues being taken forward by the Ministry of Defence in response to the concerns that have been raised about deaths of soldiers in army barracks in the UK. This work includes an appraisal of initial training of non-Officer recruits in all three services. The Defence Committee has also indicated its intention to conduct an inquiry into the general conditions at Deepcut. Following the conclusion of the
6 Nov 2002 : Column 421W
police investigations into the deaths at Deepcut, the Army will also convene internal Boards of Inquiry into the deaths of Privates Geoff Gray and James Collinson.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Fire Services
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire appliances dedicated for training purposes there are in England and Wales, broken down by (a) fire brigade area and (b) local authority. [79675]
Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold information centrally on the number of fire appliances dedicated for training purposes; however, this information is published by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) who provide a statistical information service. The information can be found broken down by fire authority, but not fire brigade, at page 10 of their publication entitled Fire Service Statistics 2001 (SIS reference 01.02). A copy is available in the Libraries of the House.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire stations there are in North East London; how many fire engines are located in them; how many Green Goddesses would be expected to cover the area in the event of these fire engines not being deemed to be available due to a national strike of firefighters; and if he will make a statement. [78463]
Mr. Raynsford: The London Fire Brigade has forty-one fire engines at twenty-six fire stations in the London Boroughs of Havering, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets.
Emergency cover in Greater London is currently planned to consist of a number of elements including 90 Green Goddess crews, 20 breathing apparatus teams (BARTs), a rescue team equipped with specialist equipment (a REST) and the police. Of these, sixteen Green Goddesses and four BARTs would be located in the above boroughs, with a further seven Green Goddesses and two BARTs located just outside those boundaries.
The provision of MoD emergency fire cover has been planned in consultation with the Chief Fire Officer to minimise call-out times and maximise the availability of a range of firefighting capabilities.
The command and operational structure for emergency fire cover has been designed to enable maximum flexibility and use of available resources, whether from within a county or from assets deployed nearby in neighbouring counties. The deployment of firefighters will be based on the assessment of how best to respond to an emergency in the quickest time possible. The deployment will be kept under review.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |