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5 Dec 2005 : Column 942W—continued
Departmental Staff
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) who the Director of Human Resources is in her Department; what relevant specialist qualifications he or she holds; and what the details are of his or her career to date; [26324]
(2) who is responsible for managing the Estate of her Department; what relevant specialist qualification he or she holds; and what the details are of his or her career to date; [26325]
(3) who the Director General of Finance and Analytical Services is in her Department; what specialist finance qualifications he or she holds; and what the details are of his or her career to date; [26326]
(4) when she will answer questions (a) 26324, (b) 26325 and (c) 26326 tabled by the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon on 3 November 2005. [33010]
Maria Eagle: In response to the hon. Members question 33010 the replies are as follows:
The Director General: Finance, Analysis and Strategy is Peter Makeham, who holds a BA(Hons) in Economics and Economic History and an MA in Labour Economics. His experience in the civil service includes spells in the treasury and the Department for Trade and Industry, and a secondment during the early part of his career to Unilever.
The Director General: Corporate Services and Development is Susan Thomas, who holds a BA(Hons) in Political Science and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. Her background is in local government and the further education sector. The remit of her post includes overall responsibility for both human resources and facilities management.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff in her Department have been relocated into London and the South East in each of the last five years for which records are available. [31774]
Maria Eagle: My Department and sponsored organisations are implementing the Lyons Review recommendations to relocate around 800 posts from the Department and its non-departmental public bodies out of London and the South East by 2010.
There have been no relocations of posts in my Department into London and the South East since we began to implement the Lyons Review in 2004. There are no figures available for relocations before that time.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to relocate staff in her Department and related agencies into London and the south-east. [31775]
Maria Eagle:
My Department and sponsored organisations have no plans to relocate staff into London and the south-east.
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Direct Grants
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the voluntary and private organisations which have received (a) up to £5,000 and (b) over £5,000 in direct grants from her Department in the 2005–06 financial year; and if she will make a statement. [33146]
Bill Rammell: The Department's accounting system does not separately identify private organisations who receive grant and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A list of bodies identified as in the voluntary sector which have received (a) under £5,000 and (b) over £5,000 in direct grants to date in 2005–06 are as follows.
Voluntary organisations receiving under £5,000 to date in 2005–06
Voluntary organisations receiving over £5,000 to date in 2005–06
Extended Services
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of schools in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) Kettering constituency that will be delivering extended services in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008; and to how many children and parents she expects such provision will be available. [34108]
Beverley Hughes: This Government wants all schools to provide access to a core offer of extended services by 2010, with half of all primary and a third of all secondary schools doing so by 2008. We want to see at least 2,500 schools providing access to the core offer by September 2006. The core offer, which should be available to all parents and pupils of the school, comprises: high quality childcare; a varied menu of study support activities; parenting support programmes; swift and easy referral to a wide range of specialised support services; and wider community access. It will be for individual local authorities, in discussion with all schools in their area, to take a strategic approach to developing access to the core offer through schools. This will include determining how many primary and secondary schools develop access to the core offer in each year. On 29 September 2005 my Department published its report on the baseline survey of extended services in schools which it commissioned earlier in the year. The survey showed that nationally the vast majority of schools were providing access to some form of extended activity. The survey did not provide figures at local authority level.
Further Education
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, columns 817–8W, on further education, how the categories and figures given relate to the categories and figures in Annex B of the Learning and Skills Council Grant letter for funded institutions. [31267]
Bill Rammell: In the LSC Grant letter for 2006–07 the resources for (i) the Learner Support Fund, (ii) Care to Learn, (iii) Dance and Drama Awards, (iv) Adult Learning Grant and (v) Career Development Loans areall included in the Learner Support Funds line of Block B. The education maintenance allowance resources make up Block E.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans her Department has to review the levels of funding allocated to further education against demand for places in (a) Lancashire and (b) England. [34124]
Bill Rammell:
Our 14–19 and Skills White Papers clearly articulate our priorities for post-14 education and training. Higher participation among young people must have the highest priority, alongside helping disadvantaged adults gain basic and Level 2 skills for
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employability and progression to Level 3. Starting from these strategic objectives we have reviewed the SR2004 settlement announced in April 2004 and we have agreed a funding strategy with the LSC for the next two years that is driven by policy priorities and the successes of the sector.
On the 21 October, I made an announcement, setting out the Government's strategic direction for the learning and skills sector for the coming period. My main purpose for doing so was to ensure the 2006/07 funding allocations process began with a clear and concise message on the principles that will underpin funding over the next two years.
In addition, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) published 'Priorities for Success'-a document that sets out the funding strategy for the next two years in more detail. This document is available on the LSC's website.
Although more funding will be going into the sector, we will focus funding even more strongly on key priorities of raising participation and achievement 14–19 and driving down the skills deficit in the adult workforce. This will mean that less provision outside these priority areas can be supported at previous levels, and that there has to be a new balance of responsibilities between government, employers and learners to achieve this.
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We confirmed our overall funding to the LSC for 2006–07 in our grant letter of 30 October 2005 and the LSC published its annual statement of priorities in November. The LSC as part of its business cycle conducts an annual stock-take of learning and skills in England and at regional level, working with Regional Skills Partnerships, identifies regional skills needs. Building on this national and regional activity, local LSC teams analyse anticipated demand and prepare local plans which are then reviewed at regional and national level before budgets are confirmed.
These processes ensure that within our available funding we address the needs of learners, employers and partners in a framework that meets our strategic objectives.
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