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Local Education Authorities

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the local education authorities that have not passported 100 per cent. of

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allocated resources to schools for 2003–04 and have failed to give him an explanation for withholding resources that he deems adequate. [120970]

Mr. Miliband: In the analysis of local education authorities' (LEA) budget returns, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State published on 2 May 2003, 19 LEAs were shown as failing to pass on, or passport, the full increase in their schools formula spending share to their schools budgets. The non-passporting LEAs set out their reasons for not doing so in their responses to my Department's letter to them of 2 May 2003. My Department is in discussion with a number of LEAs about the passporting situation.

I have made clear that I expect LEAs that are not passporting this year to make every effort to passport in full next year and over the three years 2003–04 to 2005–06 taken together.

Nannies

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will create a register of people unsuitable to work as nannies; [118622]

(2) if he will make it his policy to give statutory backing to the draft Code of Practice for Nanny Agencies. [118655]

Margaret Hodge: There are no current plans to introduce a registration scheme for nannies or to give statutory backing to a code of practice for nanny agencies. However, my noble friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for Sure Start, has received a number of proposals and representations on this issue. We are in the process of assessing the best way in which the extension to the Home Child Carers' Scheme can be managed. The extension will increase the regulated childcare available within people's homes which is eligible for tax credits. The study will look at how we can achieve this and who will provide the care once the scheme is widened.

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Minister for Higher Education will be introducing new Public Service Agreements. [121001]

Alan Johnson: We have no plans to set any new Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets before the next spending review. The PSA targets which the Department for Education and Skills will be taking over with its new, additional responsibilities for children and families will be published on its website in due course.

Pupil Referral Units

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many SEN registered children there were within pupil referral units in each LEA in each year since 1997. [119425]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

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School Budgets (Leicestershire)

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether schools in Leicestershire that use money from building budgets to maintain teachers in post will be required to repay that money. [121012]

Mr. Miliband [holding answer 23 June 2003]: On 15 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, announced that in response to exceptional pressures this year on some school budgets he has decided to help schools manage their budgets by allowing them, in discussion with their local education authorities (LEAs), to use their devolved capital funding to support their day-to-day running costs. This is to be for this year only and must be a decision taken by the school with the agreement of the LEA.

If schools decide that they wish to take advantage of this flexibility they will not be required to repay any of the funding. However, as the guidance issued by my Department to LEAs on 16 May to enable them immediately to discuss locally where this capital flexibility can be used makes clear, any school which seeks to use this flexibility would irrevocably forego their capital allocation. They would, therefore, lose the benefits over the longer term of the capital investment in their school buildings to pupil standards. This flexibility has an opportunity cost, and should only be used where failure to do so would lead to excessive instability within the school. We did not intend to increase the total funding available to any school.

My Department is working with representatives of local government and schools to consider what changes to the schools funding system are needed from 2004–05 to ensure that every school receives a reasonable per pupil settlement next year.

School Playing Fields

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what area of school playing field space was available in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997; and what area of school playing field space was lost in (i) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (ii) Shropshire in each year since 1997; [120478]

(2) how many school playing fields there were in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997; [120479]

(3) which schools in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire have lost school playing field space in each year since 1997; [120480]

(4) how much was raised from the sale of school playing field space from schools in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997. [120481]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: There are no central records that show (i) the area of school playing field space that was available or (ii) how many school playing fields there were in either (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham or (b) Shropshire in any particular year.

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Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was introduced in October 1998 to stop the indiscriminate selling of school playing fields that had occurred in the 1980s and early to mid 1990s. Before then, there were no central records of how many playing fields had been lost. Local authorities and schools now need the Secretary of State's consent before they can sell any part of a school's playing field. Applications to sell school playing fields are only approved where it is clear that they meet published criteria and, in particular, that any proceeds will be used to improve school sports provision or education facilities.

Since October 1998 we have approved only one application in Shropshire that resulted in the net loss of school playing field that was capable of forming at least a small sports pitch. In October 2001 the Secretary of State gave consent to the sale of the surplus lower school site at the Grove School in Market Drayton to help the School to amalgamate onto its main site. The sale of this site raised approximately £1,000,000 which contributed towards the cost of providing a brand new building on the School's main site.

We have not approved any applications where there would be a net loss of sports pitches in Shrewsbury and Atcham.

Schools (Extensions)

Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage on-cost is allowed in his Department's calculations for school extensions for (a) architects and (b) other administration and consultation fees. [120452]

Mr. Miliband: The Department does not set fixed levels for architects and other administration and consultation fees. For grant aided projects, we would expect overall fee levels to fall within the range 13–15 per cent. of the building cost, although this would be dependent on the size and complexity of the project.

Schools Curricula

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will assess the effectiveness of (a) competence-led curricula and (b) separate-subject curricula. [121258]

Mr. Miliband: It is important that children learn a range of skills as well as covering a broad and rich curriculum in terms of content. But these two things are complementary and not in competition. Our primary strategy sets out how we will be developing a framework for learning and teaching which will focus on skills development across the whole curriculum. Our forthcoming skills strategy will set out proposals for ensuring that generic skills are developed throughout the education system. It is also important to remember that schools can choose how they teach the National Curriculum, including whether to do it in separate subject lessons or not. They can choose to focus on learning skills without abandoning the breadth and richness of content that is guaranteed by the National Curriculum.

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Schools Procurement

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish the risk assessment of the procurement process for new schools introduced by Building Schools for the Future. [121000]

Mr. Miliband: The Department is currently developing the commercial propositions involved in the Building Schools for the Future programme. Risk assessments have been undertaken in accordance with OGC best practice guidance. As is customary in such cases, the risk assessments are treated as commercial in confidence as the Department's position in subsequent negotiations with prospective partners would be seriously weakened by their release.

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