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25 Apr 2006 : Column 997W—continued
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy toexclude counselling for abortion and abortifacient birth control to school pupils; and if she will make a statement. [64251]
Beverley Hughes: The Government support the provision of school-based health services where the school identifies a need. The decision to provide such services, and the content of that service, is for the individual school governing body in consultation with pupils, parent and the wider school community.
Capital Expenditure
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total capital expenditure has been for each school in the 100 (a) primary and (b) secondary schools with the (i) highest and (ii) lowest percentage of children receiving free school meals in the past 10 years. [66087]
Jacqui Smith:
Capital allocations are made on a local authority basis, and information is not held centrally on
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individual schools. Expenditure on individual schools is determined by each local authority in accordance with priorities set out in its asset management plan, utilising funding allocated by the Department for Education and Skills and other sources available to the local authority.
Capital allocations from the Department to local authorities in England have increased from less than £700 million in 1996–97 to a planned £6.3 billion in 2007–08, rising to £8 billion by 2010–11.
Class Sizes
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State forEducation and Skills what the average (a) class size and (b) pupil to teacher ratio was in (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools in (A) Taunton constituency, (B) Somerset and (C) England in each year since 1992. [64346]
Jacqui Smith: The following table provides the average class size and pupil-teacher ratios in maintained primary and secondary schools in Taunton constituency, Somerset local authority and in England, January 1992 to 2005, the latest information available.
Pupil-teacher ratio information prior to 1997 is not available at constituency level.
(2)Classes taught during the one selected period in each school on the day of census in January.
(3)The within-school PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools.
(4)Includes middle schools as deemed.
n/a=Not available.
Source:
Annual School Census
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Early-years Education
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) whether the levels of guaranteed unit of funding per child for free nursery education places in 2006–07 will take into account the increased entitlement for nursery education to 38 weeks per year; [65284]
(2) what criteria the Department used to allocate guaranteed unit of funding per child for free nursery education places in 2005–06; [65286]
(3) what the guaranteed unit of funding per child was for free nursery education places in Nottinghamshire for (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07. [65287]
Jacqui Smith: For 2005–06, the Schools Formula Spending Share (FSS) system was used to distribute resources for nursery education between local authorities. The formula for under 5s used pupil numbers, weighted for deprivation, area costs and sparsity to divide up the overall total of resources for under 5s. That resulted in a unit of funding for under 5s of £2,980 for Nottinghamshire. For 2006–07, the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) replaced Schools FSS, and £82 million was added to the total of DSG to fund the increased entitlement for nursery education from 33 weeks to 38 weeks per year. DSG has a single unit of funding for all pupils from 3 to 15: the baseline figure for Nottinghamshire for 2005–06 was £3,246 per pupil; and the figure for 2006–07 is £3,457 per pupil, which takes account of the additional funding for the increased entitlement for nursery education.
Examinations (Permitted Languages)
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what languages other than English examinations may be taken; and how many students took examinations in a language other than English in each of the last eight years. [64816]
Jacqui Smith:
Examinations leading to general qualifications offered by the three England-based unitary awarding bodies must normally be taken in the medium of English, except where competency in another language is being examined, for example, in the case of modern foreign languages. A very small number of students also take some examinations with those
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awarding bodies in the medium of Welsh or Irish (Gaeilge), but information about the numbers is not collected centrally.
List 99
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts), of 20 January 2006, Official Report, column 1622W, on List 99, on what basis her Department's policy not to identify anyone below Secretary of State level was formulated; and if she will make a statement. [47952]
Ruth Kelly: The powers under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 (whether or not to make a direction that an individual should be added to List 99) are exercisable by, and expressed in terms of, the Secretary of State. Responsibility lies with and was accepted by the Secretary of State and was confirmed in her statement of 12 January 2006. The case of Carltona, Ltd v Commissioners of Works and Others, [1943] All ER 2, recognised the principle of delegation but stated that,
The Minister is responsible. It is he who must answer before Parliament for anything that his officials [and junior Ministers] have done under his authority."
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