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18 Mar 2004 : Column 469W—continued
Building Schools for the Future Initiative
James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Building for the Future programme places requirements on the schools it will benefit to open up their facilities to the wider community. [162389]
Mr. Miliband: It is a requirement for projects being funded through Building Schools for the Future to open up school facilities to the wider community, wherever appropriate.
Learning and Skills Council
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with business on the work of the Learning and Skills Council. [162304]
Alan Johnson: I have regular contact with business representatives to discuss the work of the LSC and skills related issues.
To ensure that business needs are at the heart of the LSC arrangements, and that they are customer-driven, at least 40 per cent. of the members of the LSC, both nationally and locally, and the national Chair and the majority of local Chairs, continue to be people with substantial recent business or commercial experience.
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Central London Learning and Skills Council on the future of the Battersea Park Road building of Westminster Kingsway College. [162102]
Alan Johnson: The planning and funding of education and training in the post-16 learning and skills sector is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I am aware that the London Central LSC, having carefully considered the proposal, supports the decision by Westminster Kingsway College to close its site in Wandsworth. It considered that the college's plan make the most effective use of public funds and there is a wide range of other centres in that area providing learning opportunities for the local community.
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding he has made available to the Central London Learning and Skills Council for each year since its establishment; and how many centres of learning were funded through the Council for each of those years. [162103]
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Alan Johnson: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I have asked Mark Haysom, the LSC's Chief Executive, to reply to you direct, copying his reply to me.
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to make the Learning and Skills Councils accountable to the public through the Parliamentary Ombudsman. [162105]
Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council has been brought under the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman). This came into effect from 16 December 2003 by virtue of Parliamentary Commissioner Order 2003.
Legal Judgments
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received following the judgement of the House of Lords in the cases R v. London borough of Barnet ex parte G, R v London borough of Lambeth ex parte W and R v. London borough of Lambeth ex parte A; and if he will make a statement. [156098]
Margaret Hodge: A representation has been received from the Director of Shelter.
The judgment of the House of Lords is consistent with the Government's understanding that councils with social services responsibilities, in discharging their duties under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, have the power to provide support towards accommodation for children in need and their families. While councils with social services responsibility do not have a specific duty in relation to the children of families who have been deemed intentionally homeless, this is consistent with the fact that they do not have such duties towards the child of any other family. The service response of a local authority will depend, in every situation, on its assessment of the needs of the child, in the context of the wider family, with assessments being carried out under the terms of the "Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families".
Literacy Rates
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the literacy rates for the populations of (a) Wales and (b) England were in each year since 1997. [161010]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on adult literacy skills has not been collected on a regular basis, and annual data since 1997 are not available. However, in October 2003 the Department for Education and Skills published the Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. This survey assessed the literacy and numeracy skills of around 8,000 adults aged 16 and above in England.
The literacy findings are shown in the following table. The assessment levels correspond to the new literacy and numeracy core curriculum and National Standards: Level 1 is broadly equivalent to a lower grade GCSE (grade D–G) and Level 2 to a higher grade GCSE (A*–C). Overall around 16 per cent. of adults had literacy skills below Level 1.
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As education is a devolved matter, the Department does not have data covering the rest of the United Kingdom.
| Percentage of 16 to 65-year-olds | Number of 16 to 65-year-olds | |
|---|---|---|
| million | ||
| Entry level 1 or below | 3 | 1.1 |
| Entry level 2 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Entry level 3 | 11 | 3.5 |
| (All Entry level or below) | (16) | (5.2) |
| Level 1 | 40 | 12.6 |
| Level 2 or above | 44 | 14.1 |
| 100 | 31.9 |
Source:
For population figures: Census 01
New Opportunities Bursaries
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Buckingham have benefited from New Opportunities Bursaries. [161572]
Alan Johnson: Students on designated courses at the University of Buckingham are not eligible for Opportunity Bursaries.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Chorley have benefited from the New Opportunities Bursaries. [161603]
Alan Johnson: Information about Opportunity Bursaries is held at the level of institutions that provide higher education provision. Apart from that, it is not possible to extract from the data the number of awards for students in any given area. The only further education college in Chorley with higher education provision, Runshaw College, is not participating in the Opportunity Bursaries pilot; and nor have any students with an Opportunity Bursary transferred to Runshaw College.
Nurseries
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many new nurseries have been established in Buckingham since 1997; [161312]
- (2) how many (a) Sure Start and (b) Early Excellence Centres have been created in Buckinghamshire. [161313]
Margaret Hodge: Since 1997, five new nurseries have been established in the constituency of Buckingham creating 150 additional places. There is a Sure Start local programme in the High Wycombe area providing Sure Start services for around 869 children and their families. A Neighbourhood Nursery attached to the Sure Start Centre is set to open in April 2004 and will deliver 50 new full daycare places. There are no Early Excellence Centres in Buckinghamshire.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 3 and 4-year-olds attended part-time nurseries on the latest date for which figures are available. [161654]
Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.
18 Mar 2004 : Column 472W
In January 2003, 1,024,000 free nursery education places were taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds in maintained nursery and primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers in England.
The latest figures on provision for 3 and 4-year-olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin 'Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
By April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all 3-year-olds in England whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will answer the Question tabled by the hon. Member for Winchester on 14 January, ref 147904, in relation to security passes. [162390]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: A reply has been issued today.
Pathfinder Schools (Additional Staff)
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to provide security of tenure after 2005–06 for additional staff taken on in pathfinder schools to meet the requirement of the workload agreement pilot; and if he will make a statement. [161906]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 17 March 2004]: As part of the Pathfinder project, funding was made available for those schools that employed additional support staff. It was made clear to schools that this funding was provided for the financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04 only and that they would need to consider how to mainstream posts within their base budgets after the programme came to an end.
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