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13 Mar 2003 : Column 406W—continued
Primary Schools
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to extend the Excellence in Cities programme to primary schools; and if he will make a statement. [102696]
Mr. Miliband: We extended the Excellence in Cities programme to primary schools in the 24 Phase 1 authorities in September 2000. We plan to roll out the programme to primary schools in the remaining 34 Phase 2 and 3 authorities from April 2004. We are currently considering with headteachers, partnership co-ordinators and Ofsted how best this might be done—learning from the experience in the phase 1 schools, primary schools in Education Action Zones and Excellence Clusters.
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Pupil Mobility
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has conducted to assess the impact of increased pupil mobility on discipline in schools. [101366]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Pupil mobility is a permanent feature of our school system. There is no evidence that it is increasing. However, there is evidence that very high rates of mobility at particular schools can have detrimental effects on levels of attainment. The Department is therefore supporting a project at 50 schools with very high rates of mobility to help them develop and implement action plans to tackle problems related to behaviour and attendance as well as attainment. This work will also lead to good practice guidelines to help other schools with high mobility.
School Circulars
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the circulars that have been sent by his Department to (a) primary school, (b) secondary schools and (c) local education authorities since 1 March 2002; and how many pages each circular contained. [99488]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
School Federations
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 4 March 2003, ref 100049, what the purpose is of publishing exam results for federations of schools. [102155]
Mr. Miliband: The purpose is to enable participating schools and other interested parties to measure the impact of federating on the overall attainment of schools within the Federation and to recognise the joint efforts of schools in a federation to raise standards. Exam results will continue to be published for individual schools as well.
School Funding
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on schools in Somerset, in each year from 1990–91 to 2002–03, at 2001–02 prices, broken down to show (a) local government spending, (b) central government credit approval and (c) central government expenditure by each available category; and if he will make a statement. [99823]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested for parts (a) and (b) is contained in the table. However the Department does not hold data that would answer part (c) of the question.
(17) NCE includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by LEAs.
Sources:
(18) Schools Capital Database. NB Figures prior to 1996–97 not readily available. Capital grant figures include NGfL
(19) Up to 1998–99 Revenue Outturn Statements which LEAs submitted to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. From 1999–2000 Section 52 Outturn statements which LEAs submitted to the DfES. Data as reported by LEA.
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Social Care
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the grants funded by his Department for social care for which organisations may apply; how much funding was made in the last financial year; how many awards were made; and what their administrative costs were. [99947]
Mr. Charles Clarke: My Department does not fund any specific grants for the purpose of providing social care.
Sure Start
Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding has been allocated to the Harwich constituency under the Sure Start scheme. [96912]
Maria Eagle [holding answer 10 February 2003]: Pursuant to my reply on 4 March 2003, Official Report, columns 965–66W, there is one Sure Start Local Programme operating in the Harwich constituency—a Round 3 programme in West Clacton and Jaywick that was approved in June 2001. It has revenue funding of £601,996 for 2002–03. Funding for capital projects of £400,000 has been approved to date, including funding for a toddler playground and the purchase and refurbishment of a property for a Sure Start Centre. The programme can apply for approval of capital funding up to £1 million. Essex county council is the accountable body.
Plans for a 'mini' Sure Start programme are currently being considered by the Sure Start Unit. The Harwich 'mini' Sure Start, if approved, will receive up to £100,000 each year for revenue expenditure and funding for capital expenditure of up to £250,000 in total.
Teachers (Performance Management)
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of
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the effectiveness of the Performance Management System for the teaching profession; and if he will make a statement. [102695]
Mr. Miliband: Following the introduction of the new performance management arrangements in 2000–01 the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) looked at how they were being implemented in a sample of schools. They found that even at such an early stage performance management had been introduced in all the schools surveyed and that it had been adopted satisfactorily or better in four fifths of those schools. Ofsted also found that headteachers, other senior managers, teachers and governors were positive about the contribution that performance management could make to school improvement. However we recognise that more needs to be done before performance management can fulfil its potential in supporting school and teacher improvement. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of a speech I gave on 27 January this year on this subject.
University Funding
Mr. Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the capital needs of UK universities. [102708]
Margaret Hodge: Reports commissioned from JM Consulting by the Higher Education Funding Council for England into the capital requirements of higher education institutions in the UK concluded that there was a total shortfall of some £8 billion of investment, consisting of a research infrastructure backlog of £3.2 billion, and a teaching infrastructure backlog of £4.6 billion, plus a need to double expenditure on maintenance. The Secretary of State announced in January 2003 that capital funding for higher education institutions in England will increase by 77 per cent. for research and by 185 per cent. for teaching and learning in cash terms between 2002–03 and 2005–06.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
US Administration (Representations)
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the British Government made the representations to the US administration to which the President of the Council referred in his oral answer to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 454. [102484]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, the United States has accepted the continuous monitoring of the destruction of its chemical weapons (CW) stockpiles, as well as regular OPCW inspections of its former CW production facilities. Inspections at US industrial facilities only began in May 2000, as a result of a delay in putting in place the necessary domestic enabling legislation. During that time the United Kingdom regularly urged the US to remedy this deficiency at the earliest opportunity. To date the United States has in fact hosted more CW inspections than any other State
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Party, and the bulk of the inspector-person days expended by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have been in the United States.
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