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6 Jun 2005 : Column 342W—continued
Leading Edge Schools Programme
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the future of the Leading Edge Schools programme. [1449]
Jacqui Smith: In the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners, published in July last year, we set out our proposals for high performing specialist schools to be able to take on leading roles. Details about the future of the Leading Edge Partnership Programme in the context of this Five Year Strategy will be published in due course.
Looked-after Children
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many looked-after children there are, broken down by local authority; and how many and what proportion of looked-after children experienced three or more placement moves in each year for which figures are available, broken down by local authority. [2274]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is published by the Department in tables 1 and 11 of Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2004 Volume 2: Local Authority Tables". This is available on the internet at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000569/vweb01–2005_2.pdf
Popular Schools Expansion Programme
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools have applied for funding under the Popular Schools Expansion Programme, indicating in each case (a) whether this application has been successful, (b) the amount granted, (c) the number of additional places provided and (d) the cost of an additional place in each case. [1378]
Jacqui Smith: The following table shows, for each school which has applied for funding under the Successful and Popular Schools Programme, (a) whether the application has been successful, (b) the amount granted, and (c) the number of additional places provided. The cost of an additional place in each case is not held centrally, as funding is not analysed between the direct costs of an extra place and the costs of improving facilities used by the school as a whole.
(31)The total amount includes sums granted by the Department up to £500,000, and any further sum due from the local authority in respect of extra places. Further sums due from the local authority may also include major building work which is part of a wider project.
(32)The number of additional places is calculated by subtracting numbers on roll from the proposed new capacity. The large increase for Fairfield High School includes additional pupils resulting from the reorganisation of several schools.
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School Advisers
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for link advisers to schools. [1625]
Jacqui Smith: Most local authorities that maintain schools engage education specialists to work with those schools. For the portion of these specialists' time when they are helping authorities hold schools to account, they are commonly termed 'link advisers'. The introduction of the School Improvement Partner function means that the accountability role will pass to School Improvement Partners. This means that a portion of the work of local authorities' current education specialists will no longer be needed.
What it does not mean is that the individual education professionals will all have to cease employment on school improvement work. There will be opportunities for some of them to become School Improvement Partners for all kinds of school, but particularly for primary schools, where we envisage that the majority of School Improvement Partners will come from local authority backgrounds. And there is a range of school improvement work beyond the School Improvement Partner function, some that schools commission and some that local authorities commission to support weak, failing and underperforming schools. The arrival of the School Improvement Partner function does not alter the need for this other work.
School Closures
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will give (a) the name, (b) the reason for closure and (c) the local education authority for every school closed in each year since 1997. [759]
Jacqui Smith:
Details of the 1,807 school closures since 1997, as notified to the Department, have been placed in the House Library. The Department does not record detailed information on the reasons for a school's closure except to record whether the closure is part of a local reorganisation or amalgamation of schools, is necessary for the establishment of a new school or is a
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straight school closure. 75 per cent. of the closures listed flow from an amalgamation of two schools, a local reorganisation or the establishment of other school(s).
Since 1999 decisions on changes to school organisation have been taken locally by the School Organisation Committee (SOC), or the schools adjudicator if the SOC could not reach a unanimous decision. The Secretary of State has no role in the process.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school closures due to falling rolls there were in each of the last five years, broken down by education authority. [1256]
Jacqui Smith: The Department does not record detailed information on the reasons for a school's closure and we therefore cannot provide information on the number of school closures due to falling rolls. The following table contains the numbers of school closures for each year including those flowing from local reorganisations of schools, amalgamations of two or more schools and school closures where no new school was established.
| Primary | Secondary | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 171 | 74 | 245 |
| 2001 | 225 | 39 | 264 |
| 2002 | 216 | 22 | 238 |
| 2003 | 196 | 23 | 219 |
| 2004 | 222 | 33 | 255 |
| 2005(33) | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Total | 1,047 | 191 | 1,238 |
(33)To date.
Note:
Middle Deemed Primary Schools are included in Primary column, Middle Deemed Secondary are included in the Secondary column.
Since 1999 decisions on changes to school organisation have been taken locally by the School Organisation Committee (SOC), or the schools adjudicator if the SOC could not reach a unanimous decision. The Secretary of State has no role in the process.
School Funding
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many responses she has
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received to her consultation on new school funding arrangements from 2006–07; and if she will place a summary of the responses in the Library. [1014]
Jacqui Smith: My Department has received just over 770 detailed responses to the consultation on our proposals for new school funding arrangements to be introduced from April 2006, together with around 1,650 letters as part of a campaign initiated by the F40 group of local authorities.
The consultation period ended on 13 May. A consultation report will be published when our analysis of all the responses is complete, and copies will be placed in the Library. We will consider all the views expressed very carefully as we consider the way forward on school funding in the light of the consultation, and expect to announce our final decisions on the new arrangements over the summer.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much central Government funding will be allocated to each local education authority in England per (a) primary pupil and (b) secondary pupil in 2005–06; and what the total allocation for England is in each case. [1169]
Jacqui Smith: Funding figures for 2005–06 are not available as not all grant figures for 2005–06 are yet to hand.
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