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Headteachers (Age)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average age is of a head teacher in England. [66740]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 27 April 2006]: Provisional estimates show that in March 2003, the latest information available, the average age of full-time head teachers in maintained schools in England was 49.8 years.

Learning and Skills Council

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the funding for the Learning and Skills Council for adult learning was in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2006–07; and what factors she took into account when allocating funds. [51570]

Bill Rammell: The total overall spend on all adult programmes for 2004–05 was reported in the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Annual Report and Accounts as £2,999 million. Our planned funding for the LSC's major programmes only for adults for 2005–06 is £2,942 million and for 2006–07 is £2,946 million. Estimated spend on smaller programmes and experience of the previous two years suggests final funding for adults will be in the order of £3.2 billion each year. On 1 October 2005 the Government set out their priorities for post-16 education and training. This established our priorities for the learning and skills sector and the impact on funding in 2006–07 and 2007–08. While overall spend on adult learning will remain broadly constant the pattern of that learning will change. To meet our national priorities, we need to shift the pattern so that we provide a greater number of longer and more expensive courses for adults, to equip them with the range of skills they need for employability and further progression to higher levels of training. We have consistently said that public funding alone cannot and should not pay for all the training necessary in a competitive economy. To support this shift, there has to
 
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be a new balance of responsibilities between Government, employers and learners so we do not accept that withdrawal of LSC funding means that courses automatically have to close. Where provision is valued by learners, where it is high quality, and where learners and employers are prepared to pay more, we expect colleges to consider providing courses on a full-cost recovery basis.

The Department's guidance to the LSC on the deployment of its funding allocations is outlined in the Secretary of State's annual grant letter to the LSC Chairman and for 2006 to 2008 in Priorities for Success the document that sets out our funding strategy for the next two years. This document is available on the LSC's website.

List 99

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people (a) are on List 99 and (b) have been added to the List in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [44414]

Ruth Kelly: There were 4,045 people on list 99 when I made my first statement about arrangements for vetting those working with children on 19 January 2006. List 99 is continuously updated and the Department does not collect this data on an annual basis. The number added to the list in each of the last 5 years is as follows:

	Number added to List 99
2001	169
2002	135
2003	219
2004	321
2005	525

Newly Qualified Teachers

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average starting salary was for newly qualified teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Essex in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [64986]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available below Government office region level.

The following table provides the average salary of newly qualified teachers in maintained nursery and primary and secondary schools in the East of England, 1995 to 2004, the latest information available.
The average salary for newly qualified teachers⁽⁴⁾ to full-time teaching in maintained nursery and primary and secondary schools in the East of England, March 1995 to 2004

Average salary (£)
	Nursery/Primary		Secondary
	Actual	Adjusted(5)	Actual	Adjusted(5)
1995	13,140	16,560	13,300	16,770
1996	13,660	16,740	13,930	17,070
1997	14,210	16,830	14,600	17,280
1998	14,680	16,880	15,010	17,260
1999	15,290	17,130	15,600	17,490
2000	15,800	17,360	16.170	17,770
2001	16,310	17,690	16,710	18,130
2002	17.570	18,600	17,980	19,040
2003(6)	18,100	18,570	18,870	19,370
2004(6)	18,630	18,630	19,490	19,490

⁽⁴⁾ Includes new entrants to maintained schools in England, gaining qualified teacher status (QTS) in England and Wales during the calendar year before the year they are included. Those gaining QTS via employment based routes are excluded.
⁽⁵⁾ Figures adjusted to 2004 prices are based on Her Majesty's Treasury GDP deflators.
⁽⁶⁾ Provisional estimates.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Database of Teacher Records





 
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Official Visits

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the towns in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) the European Union that she has visited in an official capacity in each month since 1997; what the purpose was in each case; what the (i) date, (ii) time, (iii) location and (iv) duration was of each meeting; if she will place in the Library the text of any speech made; and if she will make a statement. [65003]

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.

All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the 'Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers'. The Government publish on an annual basis, lists of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500 which will include visits to the European Union. Lists covering 1997 to 2005 are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2005–06 is currently being compiled and will be published when it is ready.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy when placing material in the Library in response to a parliamentary question to supply a copy of the material to the hon. Member who tabled the question; and if she will make a statement. [64202]

Maria Eagle: Government best practice is that departments should supply a copy of material placed in the Library in response to a parliamentary question to the hon. Member who tabled it.

School Visits

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have visited in each month since 1997; for what purposes in each case; if she will list the (i) date, (ii) time, (iii) location and (iv) duration of each meeting; and if she will make a statement. [64987]

 
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Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.

Special Needs (Funding)

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out the funding for (a) special schools and (b) children with special needs for each of the past five years and the forecast allocations for each of the next five years. [65937]

Maria Eagle [holding answer 27 April 2006]: Planned expenditure by local authorities in England on the provision of education for children with special educational needs and the funding available for delegation to special schools after provision has been made for retained items is included in the attached table. Forecast future allocations for special schools or for children with special educational needs are not available.
The Education (Budget Statements) (England) Regulations; Budgeted net expenditure on the provision of education for children with special educational^{(7)(5509140008)} needs since 2001–02; as reported by local authorities⁽⁹⁾ as at 24 April 2006.

Cash terms(9)(£)
	Budgeted net expenditure on the provision of education for children with special educational needs(7)(5509140008)	Of which: Individual schools budget (ISB) for special schools(10)
2001–02	2,908,380,000	939,548,000
2002–03	3,038,661,000	1,006,662,000
2003–04	3,466,180,000	1,086,666,000
2004–05	3,774,757,000	1,159,564,000
2005–06	4,120,549,000	1,243,204,000

⁽⁷⁾ Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, local authority functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as notional SEN" and the individual schools budget (ISB) for special schools.
⁽⁸⁾ Funding delegated to LA maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools are only indicative of the amount that might be spent by schools on SEN.
⁽⁹⁾ Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000.
⁽¹⁰⁾ Within the schools budget, the amount available for delegation to special schools after provision has been made for retained items is known as the Individual Schools Budget (ISB). Consequently the ISB for special schools does not include any expenditure on special schools which is planned to be retained centrally by the local authority. The ISB for special schools will also include some general education costs for pupils with SEN in addition to those costs specifically for SEN.

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