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14 Mar 2005 : Column 15W—continued
Liverpool Local Education Authority
Mr. Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding her Department has provided to the Liverpool local education authorityin each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [221190]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested is contained within the following table:
| Total funding (£) | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 252.9 |
| 1998–99 | 262.7 |
| 1999–2000 | 273.1 |
| 2000–01 | 302.1 |
| 2001–02 | 313.5 |
| 2002–03 | 318.8 |
| 2003–04 | 323.6 |
| 2004–05 | 327.9 |
Notes:
1.Real terms at 2003–04 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30 September 2004.
2.Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of education SSA/EFS settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC in 2003–04 and 2004–05.
3.Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 3–19 and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level.
4.Total funding figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million and funding per pupil figures are rounded to the nearest £10 as reported by the LEA.
5.2003–04 and 2004–05 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.
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London Metropolitan University
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will undertake an inquiry into the management of the London Metropolitan University. [220259]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend will not be undertaking such an inquiry as universities are autonomous, independent bodies that are responsible for determining their own management practice.
However, a condition of funding by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is that institutions must have effective governance and internal control. HEFCE monitors how institutions are meeting these requirements and reviews institutional systems of risk management.
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Any individual who has concerns about an institution's governance and control, can raise these through HEFCE's public interest policy and procedure.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will take-up representations urging her to seek a resolution of the industrial dispute at London Metropolitan University. [220260]
Dr. Howells: As universities are autonomous, independent bodies they are responsible for determining their own academic and administrative affairs, including terms and conditions for their staff. The Government play no part in setting conditions of service for higher education staff, and as such is unable to intervene in this matter. This dispute can only be resolved by the university, as the employer, in negotiation with the relevant trade union body, in this case, NATFHE.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding was provided to support the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography project; at what stage; and through what channels. [220501]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 7 March 2005]: The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography project received £3.7 million in public funding between 1992 and 2004. Funding was in the form of an annual grant from the British Academy, via Oxford University, to the Oxford University Press (OUP), and supplemented OUP's own investment in the project of over £22 million.
Plymouth Local Education Authority
Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total per pupil funding in the Plymouth local education authority area was in (a) 1999 and (b) 2004–05. [221607]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: In Plymouth LEA the total funding per pupil aged 3 to 19 was £3,000 for 1999–2000 and £3,640 for 2004–05.
1.This figure includes funding via Education Formula Spending and grants allocated at an LEA level. It excludes the pensions transfer to EPS and the Learning and Skills Council, and is in real terms. 2.Real terms at 2003–04 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30 September 2004 and rounded to the nearest 10. 3.Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3 to 19 and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level. 4.The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3-year-old maintained pupils and estimated 3 to 4-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
Sex Education
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department issues to schools on the provision of sex and relationship education. [221221]
Derek Twigg:
The Department issues to all maintained schools our sex and relationship guidance which we have provided since July 2000.
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The responsibility for determining a school policy on sex and relationship education rests with governing bodies and head teachers. Copies of the guidance can be downloaded at www.dfes.gov.uk/sreguidance.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department has issued to local education authorities on reporting of expenditure under section 52 on special educational needs. [221212]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department issues detailed instructions and guidance on the reporting of expenditure under section 52 on special educational needs to every local education authority in England. Ihave placed a full copy of those instructions and guidance on section 52 in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department has taken to ensure the (a) descriptors and (b) guidance for the section 52 special educational needs (SEN) lines reflect practice in SEN provision. [221213]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department undertakes an annual consultation with every local education authority on the contents of the section 52 instructions and guidance notes. As part of this process, my Department also consults with practitioners responsible for the development and implementation of the SEN framework.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on interaction between local education authorities and the Learning and Skills Council in funding post-16 education for children with special educational needs. [221272]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: In addition to the normal communications concerning funding matters, I expect the Learning and Skills Council and local education authorities to liaise and to plan their activities to best meet the needs of all learners including those with special educational needs.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has conducted on the accuracy and consistency of reporting by local education authorities, under section 52 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, of expenditure on provision for special educational needs; and if she will make a statement. [221273]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department undertakes a detailed and robust data checking process of all the section 52 data, submitted by local education authorities including that provided for expenditure on special educational needs. In addition, my Department analyses the validated data and discusses any inconsistencies found in the time series with the relevant LEA.
Student Loans
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list companies involved in the collection of student loan repayments. [221243]
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Dr. Howells: Mortgage-style student loans are collected by the Student Loans Company (SLC) on behalf of the Government and the Royal Bank of Scotland (the owner of a portfolio of loans sold in 1998). The SLC advises that it also uses the following companies as agencies for arrears collection, although some work might be further outsourced: Allied International Credit; Financial Trace and Collections; JB Debt Recovery; Lewis Group; Logic Group; NCO Financial Services (UK) Ltd.; and Wescot Credit Services.
A further portfolio of loans, sold to Honours Trustee Limited in 1999, is administered and collected by Ventura (Club 24 Limited), trading as Honours Student Loans. Ventura advises that it also uses the following companies as agents for arrears collection: Clarity Credit Management Solutions Ltd. and Dryden's.
Income-contingent student loans are collected by the Inland Revenue, mainly through deduction at source by employers.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent in 2004 on keeping graduates informed of changes in collection arrangements for student loan repayments. [221244]
Dr. Howells: The Department and the Student Loans Company (SLC) regularly keep students and graduates informed of the latest arrangements for student finance, and these communications have been updated to reflect the rise in the repayment threshold for income contingent student loans, to take effect from April 2005, and the annual change in the repayment threshold for mortgage-style loans. The Department and the SLC incurred no specific additional expenditure in 2004 for these changes to the collection arrangements.
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