| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
1 Jul 2004 : Column 374W—continued
Playing for Success
16. Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Playing for Success programme. [181610]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Playing for Success is going from strength to strength. 103 clubs have signed up from a wide range of sports, with 83 centres now open. We expect to reach our target of 100 centres open by 2006, a year early. Four successive evaluation studies, undertaken by the National Foundation for Educational Research, found significant improvements in literacy, numeracy, ICT skills and motivation to learn among pupils attending centres.
Reading Attainment
17. Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on reading attainment in primary schools. [181611]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The National Literacy Strategy has transformed the teaching of reading in our primary schools. In 2003, 81 per cent. of 11-year-olds achieved the expected standard for their age compared to 67 per cent. in 1997. The report last year from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study found that England's 10-year-olds achieved the third highest standards of reading of all the participating countries.
Children's Diets
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had with organisations representing school governors on improving children's diets. [181602]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with organisations representing school governors on improving children's diets. However, the Food Standards Agency is working closely with the National Governors' Council to encourage school governors' promotion of food and nutrition issues within their schools.
1 Jul 2004 : Column 375W
In addition, we are currently working across government on a Healthy Living Action Plan. It will bring together all the elements that contribute to a whole school approach to food and nutrition: the curriculum; food/meals available; pupil views; the role of heads, governors and other staff; and partnership working.
Infant Class Sizes
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average infant class size was in the (a) Jarrow constituency and (b) north-east in each year since 1997. [173384]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: A table giving the requested class size information for all parliamentary constituencies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Class size information for the north-east region is shown in the following table.
| Average size of Key Stage 1 classes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parliamentary constituency | North-east region | |
| 1997 | 25.8 | 26.7 |
| 1998 | 26.7 | 26.9 |
| 1999 | 25.0 | 25.8 |
| 2000 | 24.5 | 25.0 |
| 2001 | 23.6 | 24.4 |
| 2002 | 24.3 | 24.4 |
| 2003 | 24.9 | 24.6 |
| 2004(6) | 24.9 | 24.6 |
(5) Classes taught by one teacher
(6) Provisional
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Mathematics Teaching
Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to help improve the teaching of mathematics following the publication of the Adrian Smith Report. [181596]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I set out the government's initial response to Professor Adrian Smith's report in a written ministerial statement on 28 June.
In that statement, I announced measures to:
Recruit and retain more highly skilled Maths teachers;
Set up a National Centre of Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics;
Develop local school networks with access to mathematics expertise;
Develop strong links across all sectors and strengthen National Strategies at Key Stage 2 and 3.
These proposals will provide an effective answer to the challenges ahead and represent a fair balance between the needs of mathematics as a subject, what is reasonable in the context of other subjects and what is affordable.
Ministerial Visits
David Davis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will list the travel costs
1 Jul 2004 : Column 376W
incurred (a) by his Department and its predecessors and (b) by each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years; [175649]
(2) how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case. [175729]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These reports include information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course. In respect of domestic travel, the information requested is not held centrally and to collect it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department does not collect information on journeys made by helicopter. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
PFI/PPP
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) book value of the stakeholding, (b) onward sale price and (c) arrangements for sharing any windfall gain from subsequent refinancing and arrangements are for each of the private finance initiative and public-private partnership schemes his Department has supported for (i) schools, (ii) universities and (iii) learning and skills councils where there has been an onward sale of the private sector stakeholding into secondary market. [181499]
Mr. Miliband: As far as schools PFI projects are concerned the Department does not collect or collate such information as to do so would involve disproportionate cost. These matters are part of the commercial contractual arrangements between local authorities and private sector providers. The standard schools PFI contract provides for any re-financing gains subsequent to contract signature to be shared equally between the public and private sectors.
Neither the Department nor its NDPBs have a direct interest in PFI projects in the HE or FE sector and therefore the information is not collected.
School Playing Fields
Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking to retain school playing fields. [181576]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was introduced on 1 October 1998 to stop the indiscriminate sale of school playing fields that occurred in the 1980s and early to mid 1990s. During this time there was widespread concern at the unrestricted sale of school playing fields. If a local authority wanted to sell a school playing field there was
1 Jul 2004 : Column 377W
nothing to stop it and it could spend the proceeds as it wished. Local authorities and governing bodies of all maintained schools now need the Secretary of State's consent before they can dispose of a playing field or any part of a playing field. Applications to sell school playing fields are only approved where it is clear that they meet the needs of local schools and their communities and that any proceeds are used to improve school sports provision or education facilities.
Specialist Comprehensive Schools
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist comprehensive schools there are, broken down by type. [181605]
Mr. Miliband: Of the 2,782 comprehensive schools in England, 1,724 (62 per cent.) are specialist, including newly designated schools which I announced earlier today and which will start operating in September. Of those 1,724, 278 are Arts Colleges, 135 are Business and Enterprise Colleges, 28 are Engineering Colleges, 15 are Humanities Colleges, 172 are Language Colleges, 129 are Maths and Computing Colleges, three are Music Colleges, 192 are Science Colleges, 252 are Sports Colleges, 486 are Technology Colleges, and 34 have a combined specialism.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |