You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page
18 May 2004 : Column 923W—continued

LSC-funded Provision

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what monitoring of (a) geographical distribution of funding and (b) equal opportunity the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) carries out in order to ensure that it provides potential students with equal and fair access to LSC-funded provision. [174034]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department allocates funds for education and training in the post-16 learning and skills sector to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The LSC decides on allocations at individual college and regional level. Information about these allocations is not collected by the Department. This is a matter for the LSC. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

The LSC's equal opportunities remit was established by the Learning and Skills Act 2000. The Council is required to publish an annual report on the arrangements it has made during the year, how effective they were and the plans for the following year. A copy of the report must be sent to the Secretary of State. The last such report was published in November 2003 and a copy of the Department's response is available via the Department's website.

Maths and English Tests

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of 11-year-old pupils in Wirral, South reached level four in (a) mathematics and (b) English in each of the last seven years. [173631]

Mr. Miliband: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 10 May 2004, Official Report, column 34W.

Modern Apprenticeships

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets he has set for the number of small and medium-sized enterprises engaged with the Modern Apprenticeship scheme in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; what measures he has developed for assessing employer engagement in Modern Apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement. [169470]


 
18 May 2004 : Column 924W
 

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 14 May 2004]: We have not set any targets for the number of SMEs to be engaged in Apprenticeships. The "Learning and Training at Work" survey assesses employer involvement in apprenticeships by firm size and sector. The last survey in 2002 revealed that 5 per cent. of employers were involved in Advanced Modern Apprenticeships and 4 per cent. were involved in Foundation Modern Apprenticeships. This equates to around 36,000 employers of which two-thirds are SMEs. The Department and Learning and Skills Council are considering the most effective way to collect data on employer involvement in the future.

It is crucial, however, to the success of Apprenticeships and in meeting the high demand from young people, that more employers, including SMEs, are involved. Therefore on 10 May 2004, a television advertising campaign started directed at engaging with more employers and there will be direct marketing to employers of all sizes. The Modern Apprenticeship Task Force, chaired by Sir Roy Gardner, has increasing employer engagement as its primary function and good progress is being made. The taskforce is due to report in autumn 2004.

New Deal for Schools

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how much funding each school in Wirral, South has received from the New Deal for Schools; [173628]

(2) how much public funding has been spent on repairing schools in Wirral, South in each year since 1997. [173626]

Mr. Miliband: Table A shows the schools in the Wirral, South constituency which benefited from investment through the New Deal for Schools programme, which ran between 1997–98 and 2000–01.

The majority of capital support is now allocated to schools and local education authorities by formula, and they decide how to invest it in line with their asset management plans. The Department does not, therefore, have complete information about capital investment at constituency level; this should be held at local authority level.

Table B sets out the capital support provided by the to the Wirral local education authority and its schools since 1997–98, in total and by programme (including all allocations through NDS listed in table A).
Table A: NDS Allocations to schools in the Wirral, South constituency

SchoolProjectPackageFunding (£)
1997/98Barnston Primary SchoolContinuation of roofing and structural repairsLEA-wide grant(40)375,000
Bebington High SchoolContinuation of roofing and structural repairsLEA-wide grant(40)375,000
1998/99Church Drive Primary SchoolChimney stack repairs, bay window repairs/replace28,600
Wirral Grammar School for GirlsReplacement of fume cupboards etc, external guttering, structural repairs to two room, fire precautions104,500
Barnston Primary SchoolRemove lagging (asbestos) boiler house2,200
Brookhurst Primary SchoolFrame renewal and repair66,000
Millfields Primary SchoolFrame renewal, boundary fence provision66,000
1999/2000Higher Bebington Junior SchoolHeating boiler plant repairsProject including 13 schools(41)340,900
Higher Bebington Junior SchoolRepair element structureProject including 15 schools(41)1,289,200
Grove Street Primary SchoolRepair element roofingProject including 17 schools(41)950,300
Grove Street Primary SchoolRepair element structureProject including 15 schools(41)1,289,200
Mendell Primary SchoolRepair element roofingProject including 17 schools(41)950,300
Raeburn Primary SchoolRepair element structureProject including 15 schools(41)1,289,200
South Wirral High SchoolRepair element roofingProject including 17 schools(41)950,300
2000/01Mendell Primary SchoolTemporary mobile accommodation to be replaced by permanent new buildProject including nine schools(41)1,955,856
Raeburn Primary SchoolTemporary mobile accommodation to be replaced by permanent new buildProject including nine schools(41)1,955,856
Barnston Primary SchoolTemporary mobile accommodation to be replaced by permanent new buildProject including nine schools(41)1,955,856


(40) NDS one grant was allocated for Wirral LEA wide projects, part of which was used for work at each of two schools in the Wirral, South constituency. The LEA will be able to say how much was allocated to each school.
(41) Allocations shown are the totals for packages of projects within Wirral LEA which included the schools shown that are in the Wirral, South constituency. The LEA will be able to say how much was allocated to each school.



 
18 May 2004 : Column 925W
 

Table B: Capital allocations: Wirral LEA
Figures in £000

1997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–022002–032003–04
Assistance with AMPs42
Basic L C Vap61348453
Basic Need1,4686321,7931,068344110251
City Learning Centres102,200
Class Size initiative2118996516691
Condition2,0763,1084,009
Devolved Formula2,3361,9222,9064,590
Early Excellence Centre19566
Energy104
Modernisation LEA1,3322,291
Modernisation VA235620
NDS1375
NDS21,902
NDS32,712
NDS43,956
Nursery Provision70
Outside Toilets369
Private Finance Initiative58,500
School Labs224224
School Security831031091087665
Schools Access Initiative3070150210349493726
Seed Challenge217247424421
Specialist Schools100200200
Staff Workspace84176
Supplementary Credit Approvals55684
Supplementary NDS for VA Schools146
Targeted Capital Funding6001,316
Targeted Capital Funding -VA3,921
Voluntary Aided School Grant399682937341352763
Total2,4104,6196,71767,9378,71710,15918,774

Next Section Index Home Page