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National Scrapie Plan
The Earl of Caithness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Given the problem that the current genotype grading in the National Scrapie Plan poses to hill and northern breeds and the potential detriment that will be caused to the pedigree herds, whether they will consider delaying the implementation of category 3 deadlines.[HL3914]
Lord Whitty: The five genotype groupings that are being used for the purposes of the National Scrapie Plan were put in place following extensive consultations with the sheep industry. The third of the groupings covers rams that have little resistance to scrapie and the plan permits them to be sold or used for breeding without restriction until the end of 2004. After that, any ram in this grouping, with the planned exception of a ram with the ARQ/ARQ genotype, on a scheme farm may continue to be used for breeding for a further three years or until the end of its life if that occurs sooner. Given the need to make real progress under the plan, those are long timescales and there are no plans to extend them further. Participation in the National Scrapie Plan is voluntary and it is clearly in the interests of sheep breeders to convert their flock to scrapie-resistant status as rapidly as possible.
Individual Learning Accounts Scheme
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 27 March (WA 67), whether they will publish the findings of the stakeholder consultation exercise relating to the Individual Learning Accounts scheme; and when a successor scheme is to be introduced.[HL3783]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland) We have just received a report from the consultants who conducted the consultation exercise on our behalf and we are currently considering how best to make the findings available. We are not yet in a position to say when a new ILA-style scheme will be available.Rebo
Sector Skills Councils
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the definition of a sector skills council; what is their remit; how, and from what source, they are funded; to whom they are accountable; what geographical area is covered by each council; and in what way they are distinct from learning and skills councils; and [HL3786]
What is the definition of the Sector Skills Development Agency; what is its remit; how, and from what source, it is funded; to whom it is accountable; for how many sector skills councils it is responsible; in what way it is distinct from the National Learning and Skills Council; and who is the head of the Sector Skills Development Agency. [HL3787]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Sector skills councils (SSCs) are UK-wide employer-led industry or business sector-based bodies. They have the task to define the skills and productivity priorities confronting their sectors, develop strategies to deal with them and work with employers, government and relevant agencies such as the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to deliver specific action, including apprenticeships and occupational standards where these are relevant and the innovation of new approaches to identified skills and productivity problems. SSCs will receive up to £1 million each year from my department to fund their core work. We expect that SSCs will attract additional investment from their sectors to deliver further work their sectors require. SSCs are licensed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in conjunction with her ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive. SSCs are accountable to the Secretary of State, through the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), for the use of public funds in meeting their core task. As employer-led bodies, SSCs are also accountable to their sectors for their performance and any services directly delivered for a sector's benefit.
The SSDA is a non-departmental public body grant-funded by my department accountable to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. The SSDA's chair is Margaret Salmon and its chief executive is Christopher Duff. The SSDA's role is to support the development of an effective SSC network, including making recommendations to Government about the award of SSC licences and to promote the network's engagement with government and and other key partners throughout the UK. The SSDA is also
responsible for funding the core work of SSCs through three-year contracts, monitoring SSCs' performance in meeting their priorities, providing skills intelligence to government and other partners for sectors without a SSC and for the co-ordination of cross-cutting sector-related work. The number of SSCs for which the SSDA is responsible will depend on the number of SSCs licensed. SSCs will be licensed for sectors where employers want them and can meet the published SSC Standard.The LSC is the non-departmental public body responsible for the planning and funding of post-16 learning, excluding higher education, in England. shirley
Classroom Assistants
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 25 March (WA 27), what is the definition of "work of teaching nature"; and whether it would be possible for a classroom assistant, as envisaged under Clause 129 of the Education Bill, to carry out "work of a teaching nature" without a qualified teacher being present in the classroom. [HL3829]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Clause 129 provides for there to be regulation where teaching assistants, and others such as further education teachers who are not qualified as school teachers, carry out specified work, which could be described as "work of a teaching nature". The principal teaching duties will be outlined in the regulations following consultation. Regulations will also ensure that teaching assistants always operate under the supervision of a qualified teacher, where supervison may include a qualified teacher being present in the classroom. Any policy developments in relation to teaching assistants taking a full class on their own would first need to be the subject of a public consultation and the requirement that they operate under a qualified teacher's supervision would remain in place.
School Companies
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 25 March (WA 26) which stated that the financial liabilities of school companies which failed would not rest with governors or the head teacher, who will settle any outstanding liabilities. [HL3830]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: If a school company were to fail, the delegated budget of individual member schools would not be at risk. In the case of a purchasing company, the company would be spending member schools' delegated budgets and therefore deemed to be acting as agent of the LEA. The LEA would be liable for the company's debts in the event of company failure, in the same way that the LEA would
be liable for an individual school's debt when the school was acting as the LEA's agent. This would not be the case for service delivery companies, because such a company will not be acting as the LEA's agent. If a service delivery company becomes insolvent, its liabilities will not pass to its members as it will be a limited liability company. If a school company is unable to pay its debts there will be the normal routes which apply to all companies open to it and its creditors of placing the company in administration or winding the company up. shirleyEducation Bill, Chapter 2
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 25 March (WA 27), when they will publish the consultation paper on "flexibilities" under Chapter 2 of the Education Bill; and when the consultation period will end.[HL3831]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: When the Education Bill receives Royal Assent, the department intends to publish a consultation paper on regulations under Chapter 2 after the school summer recess, early in the autumn term. In line with current guidelines, the consultation process should take a minimum of 12 weeks to complete.
Pupil/Teacher Figures
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What were the numbers of:
(a) pupils of statutory age and including school-based sixth forms on roll at January in each year from 1997–2002;
(b) teachers, in whole-time-equivalents, in post in schools in January each year from 1997–2002; and
(c) teachers, in whole-time-equivalents who left teaching between January 1997 and January 2002.[HL3832]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: (a) The numbers of pupils of statutory age and above on roll in England (including those in school-based sixth forms and independent schools) were as follows:
1997: 7,204, 013
1998: 7,270,006
1999: 7,317,047
2000: 7,365,458
2001: 7,399,626.
1. 2002 figures are not yet available on a comparable basis.
(b) The numbers of regular full-time equivalent teachers in the maintained schools sector in England were as follows:
1997: 399,200
1998: 397,700
1999: 401,200
29 Apr 2002 : Column WA80
- 2000: 404,600
- 2001: 410,200
- 2002(p): 419,600.
1. Part-time teachers have been converted to an estimate of their full-time equivalence and added to full-time numbers.
2. Excludes occasional teachers.
3. 2002 figures are provisional.
- 1996–1997: 35,600
- 1997–1998: 39,000
- 1998–1999: 31,600
- 1999–2000(p): 34,900.
1. Many of the teachers leaving the profession in these years will come back into service.
2. Some 10-20 per cent. of part-timers are not recorded on the Teachers' Pension Scheme, from which the data are obtained.
3. Excludes occasional teachers.
4. 1999–2000 figures are provisional.
shirley
Apsley House
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What progress they have made with their plans to set up processes for market testing ideas for the unified management of the building and museum at Apsley House; how many formal expressions of interest they have received from bodies which wish to take on the management of Apsley House; and what is the closing date by which tenders have to be made. [HL3778]
The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): We invited initial expressions of interest on 15 March and had received two by the closing date of 12 April. We will announce shortly how we intend to proceed.
House of Lords Working Practices
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting asked the Leader of the House:
- Further to his Written Answer on 19 July 2001 (WA 511) when the group he set up to consider the working practices of the House will report. [HL4047]
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn): The report of the group that I appointed in July 2001 to consider how the working practices of the House can be improved will be published on Wednesday 1 May.
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