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Departmental Computer Security

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been (a) budgeted and (b) spent by his Department since April 2002 on (i) combating computer fraud, (ii) preventing theft of computers and (iii) safeguarding the security of information held on computer; and if he will make a statement. [128772]

Mr. Charles Clarke: This Department manages the security of its information, including information held on its computer systems, in accordance with the guidance given in the Manual of Protective Security; a comprehensive body of policy and interdepartmentally agreed security standards that is issued by the Cabinet Office.

The Department has an experienced IT security officer and deputy who advise how IT systems should be designed to minimise risk.

Portable IT equipment In London, at particular risk, is electronically tagged to prevent unauthorised removal and this has contributed to a reduction in the level of theft. The maintenance cost of the tagging system is £15,000 a year.

All external links to the Department are protected against unauthorised access by firewalls. Anti-virus software protects the Department's systems against malicious software at an annual cost of £45,000.

Deprivation

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are being taken to raise the aspirations of young pupils in deprived areas; and what progress has been made in encouraging them to attain higher standards. [129091]

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Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are currently investing over £500 million pounds a year in revenue funding to raise the aspirations and achievements of young pupils in deprived areas through the Excellence in Cities programme. The programme covers 58 authorities as well as Excellence Clusters which tackle smaller pockets of deprivation. It includes some 1,000 secondary schools and over 1,000 primaries. In addition to providing Learning Mentors Learning Support Units enhanced opportunities for Gifted and Talented pupils and EiC Action Zones and City Learning Centres, the funding also provides for the delivery of Behaviour Improvement Plans, Leadership Incentive Grant and Aim Higher which is specifically designed to raise aspirations and widen access to Higher Education.

OFSTED's recent report on Excellence In Cities found that: schools and teachers had been helped to meet the needs of disaffected and vulnerable pupils more effectively; exclusions are being reduced; attendance is improving at a faster rate in the schools involved in the programme; and the introduction of the programme has been associated with a faster rise in standards in secondary schools in EiC areas than nationally .

As well as the additional support provided through the Governments targeted initiatives we are aiming to raise the aspirations and educational performance of pupils in deprived areas through mainstream programmes. The mainstream Primary and KS3 National Strategies are built on the principle that all children are capable of attaining high standards.

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what circumstances children in deprived areas are paid to attend (a) school, (b) sixth form college, (c) further education colleges; and what guidance he has issued on how much is granted on a weekly basis. [129092]

Mr. Ivan Lewis : Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is currently running as a pilot scheme in 56 Local Education Authority (LEA) areas in England. The pilots have tested eight variants of payment arrangements for EMA, two of which concentrate on the costs of transport. The maximum weekly payments vary from £20 to £40 assessed on income levels up to £30,000. Guidance on the pilot arrangements is made available through the LEAs.

From September 2004 EMAs will be made available across England, offering a weekly payment of up to £30, paid directly to young people who stay on in further education after they reach statutory leaving age. Young people may also receive bonuses if they remain on their course and make good progress with their learning. A leaflet explaining the national EMA scheme was published in August this year and copies are available in the House of Commons Library.

For young people with specific needs there is financial support available through the Learner Support Funds, providing help towards transport costs, books and equipment, residential allowances and help with childcare.

The support arrangements for school leavers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.

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Gifted Pupils

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attended the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth in 2003; how many places were available; and what proportion of the pupils attended non-specialist, non-selective maintained schools. [129166]

Mr. Miliband: 522 students took part in the 2003 summer schools provided by the Academy, against a planning assumption of 900 places. 82 per cent. were from non-selective, maintained schools. Data was not collected on numbers from specialist schools.

The Academy provides a range of services and support to its members in addition to the summer schools, including on-line communities, research material and outreach events. 621 Academy members took part in such outreach events during the pilot year. In the 2003–04 academic year, the Academy is planning over 200 events reaching a potential 6,000 participants. Membership of the Academy currently stands at 2,022 with applications arriving at a rate of 75 each week.

Gurkhas (Children's Education)

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the children of Gurkha soldiers, stationed in this country attending British schools are classified as (a) home and (b) overseas students for the purposes of university fees. [130178]

Alan Johnson: Universities and higher education colleges decide whether to classify students as "home" or "overseas" for tuition fee purposes using the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997, as amended. To qualify for home fee status under these regulations, students at higher education institutions normally need to have been resident in the UK for three years before the start of their course, and have "settled status" under the Immigration Act 1971.

Implementation Review Unit

Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role school governors will play in (a) the new Implementation Review Unit and (b) the Monitoring Group; and if he will make a statement. [125427]

Mr. Miliband [holding answer 14 July 2003]: We are proposing to set up termly meetings between the panel of the new Implementation Review Unit (IRU) and governor organisations The IRU is also keen to hear from individual school governors on particular workload burdens they would most like tackled and any constructive time-saving examples from their school that could be used more widely. Governors will be notified of IRU contact details in the September "Governors" newsletter.

Earlier this year I met with representatives of the National Governors' Council and the National Association of Governors and Managers to discuss how best to ensure that school governing bodies are fully involved in the implementation of the National Agreement and the work of the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (WAMG).

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Following these discussions, my Department has set up a regular forum between governors' representatives and the WAMG. The first took place on 27 June; a further one-day seminar was held on 21 July. One of the outcomes will be the development and distribution of specific materials for school governors to help them contribute to workforce reform.

Learning and Skills Council

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on redundancies likely to be involved in restructuring of the Learning and Skills Council and its local councils. [129703]

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council is undertaking a reshaping exercise which is designed to build on its existing strengths, to enhance its capacity to work with partners to develop and to implement the strategies necessary to achieve national targets for skills and learning, while streamlining routine administrative arrangements. At the end of its reshaping the LSC will have significantly fewer staff. The LSC intends to manage these reductions through a process of voluntary severance as far as possible.

John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with more information about the reshaping exercise and place a copy of his reply in the Library.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget of the Learning and Skills Council was for each of the last three years; and what the predicted budget is in each of the next three years. [129792]

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) assumed many of its responsibilities under the Learning and Skills Act 2000 from 1 April 2001 and for funding of school sixth forms from 1 April 2002. The amounts of its budgets for each financial year from 2001–02, as notified in the relevant Grant Letters to the LSC are as follows:

	£ million
2001–02	5,536.000
2002–03	7,310.890
2003–04	8,095.374
2004–05	8,618.254
2005–06	9,200.308

The LSC's budget for 2006–07 is dependent on the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review.

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