| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2338W—continued
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Adult Education
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the level of funding for adult education was in each London borough in each of the last five years; and what funding is estimated to be for 2005–06. [43452]
Bill Rammell:
The Department does not hold figures for adult education funding at local or regional levels. The Department allocates funds for the post-16 education and training sector to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) working through 47 local offices. Some of the information you require is available on the LSC's website. The LSC was established in 2001 bringing the planning and funding of post-16 education together under one body within a framework set by Government. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2339W
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 14 February 2006:
I write in response to your request for information from the Secretary of State for Education about the level of funding for adult education in London. I attach a breakdown of Adult Community Learning (ACL) expenditure for the academic years 2001/2 to 2004/5 and the forecast expenditure for 2005/6 by London Borough.
The LSC took over responsibility for funding ACL from April 2001 when it was established. The funding for 2001/02, the transition year, was set by the Department for Education & Skills. Data for years prior to 2001 is held by the Department.
Finally, it should be noted that this data relates to Adult Community Learning and does not include adult learners attending training courses at Further Education Colleges.
(32) Forecast.
Assistive Technology
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what transfer of resources she proposes to make in respect of the transfer from April 2006 of responsibility from her Department to local education authorities for the provision of assistive technology to pupils with complex physical, learning and communication disabilities who are presently supported under the Communication Aids Project. [58300]
Maria Eagle:
None. We have always made it clear that the Communication Aids Project, which ends in
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2341W
March 2006, was created to supplement, not replace, provision made locally for school-age children with significant communication difficulties.
Local service providers have a central role in meeting needs, including the needs of individuals with severely impaired communication. Where children are concerned, we would be looking to children's services, through children's trusts, to provide appropriate support and equipment to all disabled children.
Autism
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what steps her Department is taking to promote the publication Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Good Practice Guidance; [58268]
(2) how many copies of Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Good Practice Guidance have been distributed to (a) schools and (b) local education authorities; and what assessment she has made of the implementation of its recommendations. [58269]
Maria Eagle: Since it was launched in 2002, almost 30,500 copies of the Department for Education and Skills and Department of Health's Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs): Good Practice Guidance have been distributed on request and free of charge. It is not possible to say how many of these sent to private addresses were ordered on behalf of schools and local authorities, however at least 8,500 have gone to schools and at least 3,700 have gone to local authorities. The guidance has also been available on the Department's website since 2002. Three conferences were held in 2003 in London, Nottingham and Leeds to promote the guidance.
Through the work of the Department-funded Special Educational Needs Regional Partnerships the Guidance is being used to audit and develop provision. For example, the West Midlands has developed an early interventions framework for children with ASDs based on the Guidance, the North West is using the guidance to undertake peer supported self-reviews of support services across the region and the South West produced Aiming High", a video to illustrate the implementation of the guidance in schools. Individual authorities, such as Bolton and Worcestershire, have also worked with the guidance to develop provision in their areas.
The Department will, with the Autism Working Group which developed the Good Practice Guidance, look at how use of the Good Practice Guidance and its effectiveness can be evaluated and what can be done to build on it to encourage more good practice throughout the country.
Counselling
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to provide counselling services to young people. [56422]
Maria Eagle:
Access to counselling services is available locally through a number of the Department's programmes including the Connexions Service and the Behaviour and Education Support Teams, Learning
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2342W
Support Units and Learning Mentors established as part of the Behaviour Improvement Programme. Schools and colleges also provide or buy in counselling services for their students. Through the Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme, multi-agency support teams—some incorporating both generalist and more specialist counselling and therapeutic skills—are also developing across local areas. We have provided further encouragement to these developments through our Green Paper, Youth Matters, and the recent establishment of 14 Targeted Youth Support Pathfinders.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on counselling services in schools in each of the last 10 years. [56423]
Maria Eagle: Information on the total sums spent on counselling in schools is not available. Counselling services are decided upon and funded locally from a variety of sources.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |