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EMA

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in Leicester, South are receiving education maintenance allowance. [217980]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: On 1 February 2005, the number of students who had received one or more EMA payments for the academic year 2004/05 in the Leicestershire area was 6,232. This is the total figure, comprised of 3,984 students in the Leicester City local education authority area and 2,248 students in the Leicestershire local education authority area. We do not break this data down further into constituency and ward areas.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for the implementation of the programme establishing a single financing and programming instrument for cultural co-operation (Culture 2000) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [217246]

Mr. Caborn: I have been asked to reply.

Between 1 July 2003 and 31 December 2004, the Culture 2000 Management Committee met in Brussels on: 7 July 2003, 17 November 2003 (Italian presidency), 29 March 2004 (Irish presidency) and 9 November 2004 (Dutch presidency). DCMS officials attended all the meetings.
 
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Learndirect

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total costs of promotion of the learndirect scheme have been since the scheme's inception. [217482]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Since its launch in 2000 learndirect has enrolled over 1.5 million learners and handled over 21 million inquiries through its National Advice Line. On the basis of information provided by Ufi, learndirect has spent £93.74 million to 31 July 2004 promoting these services.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have completed learndirect courses. [217596]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: In just five years learndirect has firmly established itself as one of the biggest e-learning networks in the world, and is successfully making learning more accessible to individuals and businesses. On the basis of information provided by Ufi, over 1.5 million learners have enrolled on learndirect courses and over 920,000 of these learners have completed their course.

National Curriculum

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how her Department will tailor the curriculum to stretch academically able pupils. [217440]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Our White Paper published on 23 February includes a range of proposals for ensuring stretch for all pupils across the 11 to 19 phase of secondary education. These include freeing up time at Key Stage 3 to introduce scope for greater breadth, depth and pace for gifted and talented pupils; the opportunity to provide some higher education courses in maintained schools; and building on the strengths of the existing GCSE and A-level qualifications in order to increase stretch and challenge for all pupils.

Plater College, Oxford

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice the Learning and Skills Council gave Plater College, Oxford, following the report on the College of 20 October 2004 by the Adult Learning Inspectorate. [217944]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether (a) her Department and (b) the Learning and Skills Council have a claim on any part of the assets of Plater College, Oxford, should its closure go ahead. [217945]

 
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: Plater College, Oxford, is a Roman Catholic College operating in the FE sector. The college trustees have taken the decision to close the college in July 2005. It is not known, at this stage, whether the Department or the LSC will have any claim on the college's assets. This will be one of the issues to resolve as the college nears closure and will be dependent upon the terms of its memorandum and articles of association and its contractual arrangements with the LSC, which funds some of its activities.

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the future of Plater College, Oxford. [217946]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Plater College, Oxford, is a Roman Catholic college operating in the FE sector. The College Trustees have decided to close the college in July 2005. The LSC is working closely with the college to ensure that the interests of current students and other learners in the area are safeguarded.

Pupil Referral Units

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost is of setting up a new pupil referral unit; and what the average running costs were for pupil referral units in the last year for which figures are available. [216864]

Derek Twigg: We do not hold information on the cost of setting up new pupil referral units (PRUs). The cost will depend on the size of the accommodation required, the number of pupils and the particular needs to be met.

All PRUs are very different, and as a result the average running cost will vary widely depending on the individual characteristics of the PRU. However dividing the total planned expenditure on the provision of education at PRUs in England in 2004–05 (as recorded on local authorities 2004–05 section 52 budget statement) by the total number of PRUs in England as at January 2004 gives an estimated average planned running cost of around £466,000.

School Playground Schemes

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support the Government are giving to school playground schemes. [218004]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Government support for capital investment in schools has risen to £4.9 billion this year, will be £5.5 billion next year, £5.8 billion in 2006–07 and will reach £6.3 billion by 2007–08. All schools and local authorities will benefit from this programme, which includes flexibility for local authorities and schools to prioritise expenditure on the areas they consider most important, including playgrounds.

The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) is providing around £81 million, through the New Opportunities for Physical Education and Sport programme, towards playground improvements in England. This includes playground markings, improvements to drainage and refurbishing existing facilities. We are also working with the BLF to ensure that these facilities will fully complement the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. This programme aims to renew the secondary school estate (including playgrounds) in
 
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15 waves starting from 2005–06. Schools, local authorities and their partners are encouraged to look as widely as possible at all educational needs, both inside and outside the classroom.

Furthermore, the Sporting Playgrounds programme is supporting £10 million of capital investment between April 2003 and March 2005. This will enhance around 600 primary school playgrounds to increase physical/sporting activities and improve behaviour.

For the past three years the Department has also provided £250,000 a year to Learning through Landscape, which has encouraged schools to improve and develop their grounds for curriculum-related use.

Truancy

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children played truant in the last year for which figures are available. [217633]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: In the school year 2003/04, 567,503 primary pupils and 696,600 secondary pupils recorded at least one half day's unauthorised absence. Unauthorised absence includes absence due to lateness or family holidays taken during term time without the school's permission, as well as truancy. Recent research in to pupil absence suggests that around 2 per cent. of secondary school pupils are persistent truants, responsible for almost half of all unauthorised absence in secondary schools.

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