Previous Section Index Home Page

7 Jun 2004 : Column 116W—continued

Pupil Spending (Elmet)

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the spending was per pupil (a) in the primary sector and (b) in the secondary sector for schools in the Elmet constituency in each year since 1996. [173931]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested is submitted to the Department according to local education authority areas rather than districts within an area. Elmet is a district of Leeds local education authority. The information for Leeds LEA is as follows.
 
7 Jun 2004 : Column 117W
 

Net current expenditure per pupil
£

Primary educationPre-primary and primarySecondary education
1996–97n/a1,9332,542
1997–98n/a1,8702,601
1998–99n/a2,0922,727
1999–20002,2782,2992,773
2000–012,5372,5773,047
2001–022,7392,8073,588
2002–033,0053,0363,680




Notes:
1. The financial data are taken from Leeds LEA's section 52 Outturn Statement submitted to the DfES from 1999–2000 onwards and the ODPM's RO1 statement previously. Expenditure was not distinguished between pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of the section 52 outturn statement in 1999–2000. Leeds LEA does not have any pre-primary pupils for the years 1999–2000 onwards so there is no pre-primary split to show. 1999–2000 figures reflect the return of GM schools to local authority maintenance.
2. The outturn 2002–03 tables captured the data in a fundamentally different way to the previous years. Categories were aligned with the Consistent Financial Reporting framework and the spending by LEAs was no longer split by school sector. Consequently the unit costs per pupil in 2002–03 are not strictly comparable with earlier years as they include an apportionment of LEA expenditure based on pupil numbers. 2002–03 data are subject to change by the LEA. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.
3. Net current expenditure (NCE) includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by the LEAs.
4. The NCE per pupil figures for pre-primary and primary relate the net current expenditure (after recharges) in the pre-primary sector and maintained primary schools to the total number of financial year pupils who are educated in the maintained nursery and primary schools sector.
5. The NCE per pupil figures for secondary relate the net current expenditure (after recharges) in maintained secondary schools to the total number of financial year pupils who are educated in the maintained secondary schools sector.
6. The NCE per pupil figures for special schools relate the net current expenditure (after recharges) in maintained special schools to the total number of financial year pupils who are educated in the maintained special schools sector.
7. Pupil data are drawn from the Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis.



Schools (Fire Prevention)

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to extend the use of (a) cavity barriers in roofs and (b) non-combustible panels in compartmentation when (i) refurbishing existing school buildings and (ii) constructing new school buildings. [176563]

Mr. Miliband: New construction at schools is now covered by the Buildings Regulations. The use of cavity barriers in roofs and non-combustible panels in compartmentation will continue to be needed when refurbishing existing school buildings and constructing new school buildings to counter spread of fire and facilitate means of escape in case of fire in accordance with current Building Regulations, specifically Approved Document Part B, Fire Safety.
 
7 Jun 2004 : Column 118W
 

Schools (Support Staff)

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his latest estimate is of the number of support staff working in schools; and if he will make a statement. [176036]

Mr. Miliband: In January 2004 there were 241,700 full-time equivalent support staff employed in maintained schools in England—an increase of over 100,000 since 1997. Further information was published on 29 April in the School Workforce in England statistical first release, a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library and can be accessed from the following URL: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000462/index.shtml

Teacher numbers rose by 4,000 over the past year. This is excellent news for schools as they remodel their workforce and creates new capacity to raise standards.

Secondary Schools

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the lowest number of secondary school students in a Staffordshire school is. [174566]

Mr. Miliband: Provisional January 2004 figures show that the lowest number of pupils in a maintained secondary school within Staffordshire Local Education Authority was 310.

Social Sciences

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of state-funded PhD students studied social sciences in the last year for which figures are available. [174134]

Alan Johnson: The latest available information for these students enrolled on PhD courses in the UK shows that 8 per cent. were studying within social sciences.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 712W, on special educational needs, how much funding has been made available for professional development of teachers in relation to special educational needs for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each of the last five years; [176054]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 712W, on special educational needs, how many teachers have received professional development training in relation to special educational needs in each of the past five years; and what elements this training comprised. [176055]

Margaret Hodge: Schools have the autonomy within their overall school budgets to determine how much they make available for training purposes in the light of their own priorities and needs. It is therefore not possible to disaggregate funding for professional development in relation to special educational needs.
 
7 Jun 2004 : Column 119W
 

For the last five years, the SEN component of the Department's Standard Fund, which local authorities and primary and secondary schools could use to support training and development of teachers and other staff, was:
£ million
2000–0155
2001–0282
2002–0391
2003–0481
2004–05(19)84


(19) SEN element of the new School Development Grant.


Information on actual take-up of professional development by teachers is not collected centrally.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what monitoring takes place of Special Education Needs Tribunal (SENDIST) panels; and what statistics are kept of judgments by individual SENDISTs of (a) findings in favour of parents and (b) dismissals of appeals. [176081]

Margaret Hodge: The President of the Tribunal observes a sample of hearings in order to monitor the performance of chairmen. She also reviews panels' decisions and pursues vigorously all complaints about the conduct of hearings. SENDIST plans in the coming year to introduce a more formal appraisal system for tribunal chairs and members.

Detailed statistics of the outcomes of appeals are published annually in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Annual Report. This sets out numbers of appeals upheld and dismissed in terms of type of appeal, type of special educational need and type of school. It also sets out the number of appeals registered for each local authority and the number of appeals per 10,000 of the school population.

Sports Facilities (Blackpool, North and Fleetwood)

Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money has been invested in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood to build long-term school sports facilities. [176397]

Mr. Miliband: The majority of capital funding is now allocated to schools and local education authorities by needs related formulae. They decide how to target this investment in line with local asset management plans.

The Department does not, therefore, have complete information about the amount and type of capital investment at constituency level. This should be held by the local authorities concerned. The following tables set out the total capital support made by the Department to both Blackpool and Lancashire local education authorities (LEAs) and its schools since 1997–98.
 
7 Jun 2004 : Column 120W
 

Capital allocations: Blackpool LEA and schools

Total (£000)
1998–992,571
1999–20003,955
2000–016,930
2001–028,302
2002–036,632
2003–0417,035




Note:
Blackpool LEA was established in 1998–99 following local government re-organisation.




Capital allocations: Lancashire LEA and schools

Total (£000)
1997–9813,288
1998–9916,957
1999–200035,179
2000–0138,021
2001–0229,778
2002–0346,470
2003–0462,607

To date we have allocated a further £20.2 million for Blackpool LEA in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a further £53.8 million for Lancashire LEA for 2004–05 and 2005–06.

Furthermore, the New Opportunities Fund has provided schools in the Blackpool and Lancashire LEA areas with over £14 million specifically to enhance PE and school sport facilities.


Next Section Index Home Page