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3 Nov 2004 : Column 278W—continued
Tourism
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the views expressed by the London Development Agency regarding the accessibility of London's hotels, shops and attractions to people with disabilities; and if she will assess the impact of such a lack of accessibility on the £100 billion target value for the tourism industry by 2010. [195210]
Mr. Caborn: Tourism in London is the responsibility of the Mayor of London, and accessibility is embedded in the London Development Agency's (LDA's) Action Plan for tourism. I welcome the commitment of the Mayor and the LDA to making London as accessible as possible for all visitors, including those with disabilities, the elderly and families with young children. This can only work for the benefit of the tourism industry and the achievement of the Government's target for 2010.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support is available from her Department to assist (a) small hotels, (b) guest houses and (c) other tourism businesses to enhance the skills of employees. [195225]
Mr. Caborn: Support for skills training for the tourism sector is one of the key priority work areas set out in Tomorrow's Tourism Today, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched in July.
DCMS does not directly fund skills training, which is an issue for regional and local institutions, but we are the sponsoring department for People 1st, the new sector skills council for the tourism and hospitality industries. People 1st received its charter earlier this year and I am pleased to note the excellent progress it is making in forging regional skills alliances to map
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training provision and need. It will have a strategic role in tracking all the funding schemes for skills training and ensuring that provision responds to employer demand.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support is available from her Department to assist (a) small hotels, (b) guest houses and (c) other tourism businesses to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [195262]
Mr. Caborn: Visit Britain's National Accessible Scheme (NAS) was established in 1999 to help hotels, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation to improve access and quality for those with hearing, mobility and visual impairment. It includes a self-assessment pack, which businesses can complete to see where improvements should be made to improve access.
The Department has also agreed to pay a grant of £15,000 to Tourism for All for their Holiday Care information service in 2004–05. Tourism for All provides an important service to disabled people and helps the tourism industry to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
A-level Mathematics
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what discussions he has had with the Royal Society of Chemistry concerning the adequacy of A-level mathematics for undergraduate chemists; [195636]
(2) what plans he has to review the A-level mathematics syllabus to place greater emphasis on the needs of future science undergraduates; [195637]
(3) what discussions he has had with the Royal Society regarding the adequacy of the mathematics A-level for undergraduate scientists; and if he will make a statement; [195638]
(4) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the mathematics A-level for students undertaking undergraduate chemistry; and if he will make a statement. [195639]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is not responsible for reviewing the adequacy or otherwise of the content of an A-level specification. It is for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to determine content in discussion with interested parties including HE institutions, subject and professional associations, employers, awarding bodies and providers.
Access Agreements
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills further to the answer of 27 October 2004, Official Report, column 1271W, on guidance on access agreements, whether he expects the Director of Fair Access to publish the guidance to institutions on access agreements; and if he will put a copy of such guidance in the Library. [195383]
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Dr. Howells: I expect the Director's guidance to institutions on access agreements to be available publicly and I will place a copy in the Library when it is available.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what factors he expects the Director for Fair Access to take account of in evaluating the milestones of individual universities; and whether the Director will make public his policy on (a) the milestones he will expect universities to include in their access agreement and (b) how he will ascertain whether milestones are stretching enough under paragraph 6.6.2 of the guidance given by the Secretary of State. [194836]
Dr. Howells: It will be for the Director to determine what factors he will take account of in evaluating institutions' own milestones, in the light of the Secretary of State's letter of guidance. The Director will issue guidance to institutions on access agreements in due course.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what data he expects higher education institutions to draw upon in setting milestones for their access agreements under the provisions of paragraph 6.6.1 of his guidance to the Director of the Office for Fair Access. [194832]
Dr. Howells: The milestones will be the institutions' own. They may draw on a range of data.
Capital Funding
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department paid to Capita in respect of (a) outsourcing and (b) consultancy work in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 (iii) 2003–04 and (iv) 2004–05. [195048]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 1 November 2004]: Records of major individual service contracts show the following expenditure with Capita in financial years 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 to date.
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 41,725 |
| 2002–03 | 24,679 |
| 2003–04 | 30,477 |
| 2004–05 | 17,346 |
My Department does not hold a central record of individual agreements, and information relating to consultancy work could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Class Sizes (West Suffolk)
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average (a) middle school and (b) upper school class size in the West Suffolk constituency was in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) 2003–04. [194988]
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Mr. Miliband: The information requested is given in the table.
(1) Classes taught by ore teacher during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January.
(2) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.
Source:
Annual Schools Census.
Compulsory Testing (Wales)
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will assess the merits of introducing in England the changes to compulsory testing in schools in Wales made by the Welsh Assembly. [195581]
Mr. Miliband: We are aware of the recent consultation by the Welsh Assembly on changes to assessment arrangements in Wales. In England we have listened to sensible concerns about testing at the end of Key Stage 1 and have introduced reforms this year so that the results of standard tasks and tests are combined with the teacher's assessment in one comprehensive judgment. But we continue to believe that national curriculum tests at the end of Key Stages 2 and 3 provide an effective and objective means of assessing all pupils in England on a consistent basis against national standards. They assure the accountability of schools to parents and taxpayers and help inform parents and teachers about each child's progress.
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