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Education Act 1996

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the operation of sections (a) 510 and (b) 511 of the Education Act 1996 in (i) Essex and (ii) Southend. [29849]

Jacqui Smith: The information you have requested is not collected by the Department for Education and Skills.

Education Funding

Mr. McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the expenditure was per pupil in Wolverhampton in 1996–97; and what the equivalent figure was in 2004–05. [30653]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is contained within the following table:
Combined LEA and school-based expenditure1 per pupil2 in Wolverhampton LEA 1996–97 and 2004–053, 4

	£
1996–97	2,740
2004–05	4,210

⁽⁴⁵⁾ The combined LEA and school-based expenditure includes all expenditure on the education of children in LEA maintained establishments and pupils educated by the LEA other than in maintained establishments. This includes both school-based expenditure and all elements of central LA expenditure except youth and community and capital expenditure from revenue (CERA).
⁽⁴⁶⁾ Pupil figures include all pre-primary pupils, including those under-fives funded by the LEA and being educated in private settings, pupils educated in maintained mainstream schools and other LEA maintained pupils. The pupil data for pupils attending maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools are taken from the DfES Annual Schools census. Private voluntary and independent (PVI) under-5 pupil numbers are taken from the Early Years census but are only available since 1999–2000. Other LEA maintained pupils includes all pupils attending schools not maintained by the authority for whom the authority is paying full tuition fees, or educated otherwise than in schools and pupil referral units under arrangements made by the authority drawn from the form 8b submitted to the DfES. Also included as other LEA maintained pupils are all pupils attending pupil referral units who are not registered at a maintained mainstream school drawn from the DfES Annual Schools census. All pupil numbers are adjusted to be on a financial year basis.
⁽⁴⁷⁾ 1999–2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the RO1 form collected by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to the section 52 form from the DfES. 2002–03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting to schools.
⁽⁴⁸⁾ 2004–05 data is regarded as provisional and is subject to change by the LEA.
Note:
Figures are as reported by Wolverhampton LEA and are rounded to the nearest 10.





 
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Education Maintenance Allowance

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans her Department has for increasing the education maintenance allowance. [29799]

Maria Eagle: There are currently no plans to increase the amount of education maintenance allowance payments.

Education Responsibilities (London)

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the responsibilities in the field of Education and Skills are of (a) the Greater London Authority, (b) the Government Office for London and (c) the London Development Agency. [28557]

Jacqui Smith: The Greater London Authority (GLA) has no statutory role in the provision of education in London.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently reviewing the Mayor's powers and, in preparation for this, the Mayor submitted detailed proposals on subjects including skills to the Government on 20 July. Further details about this are available on the GLA website at: www.london.gov.uk/mayor/powers/index.jsp

The Government Office for London (GOL) works with key stakeholders to support the effective delivery of the Government's education and skills objectives in particular through ensuring proper linkage with regeneration policies and programmes. These stakeholders include the Learning and Skills Councils, local authorities, the London Development Agency, the voluntary and community sector and employer representatives. GOL also contracts with and funds the Connexions Service for young people.

GOL is working with partners to improve educational achievement and attainment and also carrying forward work with the London Skills Commission to improve the skills and employability of Londoners through the implementation of the Framework for Regional
 
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Employment and Skills Action. Currently, a key responsibility is to ensure that the Government's Every Child Matters agenda is implemented effectively so that outcomes for London children are improved.

Further information about GOL's role in Education and Skills can be found at http://www.gos.gov.uk/gol/Education_skills/

Along with the other Regional Development Agencies, the London Development Agency's (LDA) responsibility for education and skills in the region is laid out in the 1998 RDA act as:

(1) to promote employment in it's area

(2) to enhance the development of and application of skills relevant to employment in its area.

To fulfill this role, the LDA acts to co-ordinate the activities of other education and labour market institutions to be in line with the regions economic development strategy—ensuring that the final outcomes of their interventions yield an increase in the employment rate.

To do this the LDA supports and shapes investments being made by the Learning and Skills Councils, Higher Education, Jobcentre Plus, European Funding, the Government Office for London, the local authorities and that delivered through charitable foundations (e.g. lottery).

The LDA are funding approximately £75 million of skills related activity this year, around £16 million over the next three years directly on joining up activity (the 'London Regional Skills Programme') and a planned further £40 million on supporting locally based skills initiatives ('Creating Opportunities Fund'). Much of the funds available for businesses and communities have attracted European additional money nearly doubling initial investment. The London Skills Commission 2005/06 action plan is designed to wrap round and shape the £5 billion (approximately) that is invested in adult skills, education post-14 and business support in London each year, making it more fit for business needs.

Free School Meals

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2005, Official Report, columns 728–9W, on free school meals, what steps she is taking to close the gap between those pupils eligible for free school meals and those taking free school meals (a) in Northamptonshire and (b) in England. [29310]

Jacqui Smith: The Department is aware that there is a gap between eligibility and take up of free school meals, and has funded research, commissioned by the Child Poverty Action Group, into the reasons children fail to take up their free school meal entitlement. The findings were published in a report entitled 'Improving the Take-Up of Free School Meals' in May 2001. The report showed that pupils and parents considered that the quality and choice of food on offer discouraged take up.

In March 2005, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced a package of measures designed to improve significantly the quality of school meals, by, among other things introducing improved school meals
 
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standards and a 'toolkit' for parents to inform them how to work with their schools to improve school meal provision.

Improving the quality of school meals may also improve the take-up of free school meals.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the criteria are for determining access to free school meals; when the definition of eligibility was last changed; and what the basis was for the change. [30467]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 21 November 2005]: Children whose parents are in receipt of income support; income-based jobseekers allowance, support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; child tax credit provided they are not entitled to working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) that from 6 April 2005 does not exceed 13,910; or the guaranteed element of state pension credit are entitled to free school meals. Children who receive income support of income based jobseekers allowance in their own right are also entitled to free school meals.

The definition of eligibility was last changed from 30 April 2005 whereby the guarantee element of state pension credit was introduced as an additional qualifying benefit for free school lunch eligibility purposes. This change was introduced to remove impracticality for LEA's and schools when checking free school meals entitlement for those parents in receipt of the guaranteed pension credit.

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