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4 Feb 2005 : Column 1134W—continued
Child Care
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how much money per head has been provided for (a) nursery and (b) pre-school education in England in each of the last seven years; [207253]
(2) how much money per head has been provided for (a) nursery and (b) pre-school education within the North Somerset local education authority in each of the last seven years. [207254]
Margaret Hodge: There have been underlying changes to the provision for and the funding of under fives which mean it is not meaningful to give per pupil funding over time. These include the abolition of flat rate nursery vouchers and changes from a nursery formula based on the number of eligible pupils in an area, to a formula based on the number of nursery places made available in an area. Additionally, authorities have been increasing provision to meet the commitment to universal nursery education for all three and four-year-olds and in recent years LEAs have been funded for extra pupils to allow them to reach universal provision.
However, the following figures show the education expenditure by both central and local government for under fives in real terms. These figures do not include expenditure on child care nor on Sure Start:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2,029 |
| 1998–99 | 2,063 |
| 1999–2000 | 2,292 |
| 2000–01 | 2,569 |
| 2001–02 | 3,090 |
| 2002–03 | 3,138 |
| 2003–04 | 3,541 |
Details of the annual expenditure just by "central" Government since 1997 on nursery education but including Sure Start and child care, are published in Table 2.2 of the annual Department for Education and
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Skills' Departmental Report, as follows. Services for young children and families have been increasingly integrated with nursery education and Sure Start since 2003–04 and the following table reflects this:
Note:
The scale of spending identified in 1997–98 was due to a major injection of Nursery Education Grant funding to support the establishment of substantial free provision in the private and voluntary sectors.
4 Feb 2005 : Column 1136W
Children's Centres
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list children's centres which are (a) open and (b) planned for the Islington North constituency; what the total cost of each is estimated to be; and what the funding source for each is. [210711]
Margaret Hodge: There will be five children's centres in my hon. Friend's constituency by March 2006 and three of these have opened already. The authority is working with its partners on how resources will be allocated to these children's centres. Each centre will be developed by adding services to an existing setting, using children's centre funding alongside funding for other related or relevant programmes. Children's centre funding allocated to Islington is a total of £4,182,898 to fund the development of the 10 children's centres planned in the local authority by March 2006. It is for the local authority to determine how to allocate these resources. The following table sets out our understanding of the local authority's current planning in respect of the children's centres in Islington North (these are broad estimates and are subject to change).
We will be writing to authorities in early February with details about the second phase of children's centre planning, including funding allocations. These new resources will enable authorities to sustain existing centres and start planning further centres to open between 2006–08. This will help towards meeting our target of 3,500 children centres by 2010—so every family has easy access to high quality integrated services in their community.
Exclusions
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many expulsions and exclusions of (a) children in foster care, (b) adopted children and (c) children in children's homes there were in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [212138]
Margaret Hodge: The table shows the number of children looked after at 30 September 2003 who had been looked after for at least 12 months, and the number and percentage of permanent exclusions from school. It is not possible to disaggregate this information by placement type. Information on the exclusion of adopted children is not collected centrally.
(11) Expressed as a percentage of the total number of children looked after at 30 September who had been looked after for at least 12 months.
(12) If a child was permanently excluded more than once in the previous school year, each occasion has been counted.
Source:
DfES
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Foster Care
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many days' care was provided by foster carers in each year between 2000 and 2004. [212052]
Margaret Hodge: The number of days of care provided by foster placements in the year ending 31 March from 2000 to 2003 is shown. These are the latest available data. Detailed figures for 2003–04 are expected to be published in March 2005.
| England | Number of foster care days (Thousand) |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 13,500 |
| 2001 | 13,600 |
| 2002 | 13,800 |
| 2003 | 14,500 |
Source:
Children Looked After by Local Authorities, year ending 31 March 2003
Learning and Skills Council
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ensure that the Learning and Skills Council is informed of its overall level of funding in sufficient time for it to be able to inform further education colleges of their budgets for the next financial year; and if she will make a statement. [211579]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) received its Grant Letter for 2005–06 from the then Secretary of State on 15 November 2004. This was some three weeks earlier than in previous years.
The Government are continuing to invest significantly in further education. The investment we are making means that our commitment to increase FE funding rates by 5 per cent. and to fund growth in provision for young people is secured.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what length of contract was originally agreed with John Harwood as Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council; whether he resigned early from the post; and what the terms of his departure from the organisation were. [214070]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. I have asked Chris Banks the Council's Chairman to write to the hon. Gentleman with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the severance terms of the former Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council. [214167]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The former Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) left the Learning and Skills Council on 30 September 2003 after three years in post. The severance terms took account of the remaining term of the original contract. Details are recorded in the LSC's Annual report for 2003–04.
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