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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Non-taught School Activities
Miss Emma Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to what extent areas intended to be used for communal non-taught school activities are taken into account when calculating the adequacy of classroom provision in relation to the number of pupils attending a school. [4056]
Mrs. Gillan: Decisions about the size of individual classrooms and other areas within schools are a matter for local education authorities and grant-maintained school governing bodies.
Hendon School
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils sought to enter Hendon school in September 1996; and what was the figure in September 1987. [3890]
Mr. Robin Squire: I understand that, in 1987, 146 applications were made for a place at Hendon school, and that this year the number was 462.
Grant-maintained Schools
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the change in the number of pupils seeking to attend GM schools since they attained GM status. [3946]
Mr. Robin Squire: This information is not collected centrally.
Dyslexia
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to liaise with employers to enable those with dyslexia to obtain jobs; and if she will make a statement. [4202]
Mr. Forth: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. J. L. Grover to Mr. Barry Jones, dated 15 November 1996:
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me, in the absence of the Chief Executive, to reply to you about proposals to liaise with employers to enable those with Dyslexia to obtain jobs.
15 Nov 1996 : Column: 362
Dr. Hampson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 11 November, Official Report, column 76, on school class sizes, what proportion of primary schools and secondary schools in 1979 had classes of more than 30 pupils.[4390]
Mr. Robin Squire:
Fifty nine per cent. of primary schools and 74 per cent. of secondary schools had at least one class of more than 30 pupils taught by one teacher in January 1979.
Mr. Devlin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what were (a) the initial assessments and (b) the consultations reached by the Department's inspection team which visited Preston school, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees. [4481]
Mr. Robin Squire:
Officials from the Department visited Preston school in September following an invitation from the head of the school. They did not inspect the school--that would be for the Office for Standards in Education. They were accompanied by officers from Stockton local education authority, who explained that the LEA intended to include improvement work at the school in a capital bid, to be made in the autumn of 1997 for the financial year 1998-99. That is a matter for the LEA.
Mr. Pickthall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) when she intends to publish the summary of the first draft report of the primary sweep inspection of teacher education departments; [4375]
15 Nov 1996 : Column: 363
Mr. Forth:
These are matters for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools, who heads the Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Pickthall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she intends to publish her proposals for a national curriculum for teacher education. [4376]
Mr. Forth:
In her announcement on 18 September, my right hon. Friend made it clear that the first stage of the national curriculum would be primary English and mathematics. The proposals on this will be published for consultation early in 1997.
Proposals on the curriculum for secondary English and mathematics, and primary and secondary science, will be published later.
Mr. Pickthall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals on the issue of the re-inspection of teacher education departments. [4389]
Mr. Forth:
None. My right hon. Friend expects all providers of initial teacher training to give inspectors access; that is a condition of their public funding.
Mr. Pickthall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people are employed in the Teacher Training Agency; and what is the total salary bill. [4378]
Mr. Forth:
This is a matter for the Teacher Training Agency. I will ask the chairman of the agency, Mr. Geoffrey Parker, to write to the hon. Member direct.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage national bus companies to serve Rotherham. [3891]
Mr. Watts:
The Government are working with bus operators and local authorities on a national basis to encourage the development of bus services and promote their use. However, the provision of services in Rotherham, as elsewhere, is primarily a matter for the commercial judgment of bus operators and for the local authority, which has power to subsidise socially necessary services which are not being provided commercially.
Mr. Gapes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what redress is available to Opraf in the event of a rail franchise operator (a) failing to comply with the terms of the passenger service requirement for the franchise and (b) failing to complete the full time scale of the franchise.[4051]
15 Nov 1996 : Column: 364
Mr. Watts:
The passenger service requirement--PSR--forms part of the franchise agreement. Franchisees are required, within their access agreements with Railtrack, to ensure that the services set out in the PSR are in the timetable. Failure to use all reasonable endeavours do so is an event of default. Franchisees may also commit either a breach of the franchise agreement or an event of default if they fail to meet thresholds for reliability set out in the agreement. In addition, some operators will be penalised under the incentive regime for delays or cancellations for commuter and regional services.
If there is a breach of the franchise agreement, the franchising director may serve an enforcement order requiring compliance. Failure to comply is an event of default. If an event of default occurs, the franchising director has the power to terminate a franchise and to call the performance bond. All franchisees are required to subscribe a percentage of the initial level of capital required by the franchising director to underwrite the franchise to fund a performance bond. The performance bond will be used to contribute to any additional costs or liabilities which the franchising director or a successor operator may incur due to, among other things, premature termination of the franchise.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to close the traffic area offices in Manchester and Cardiff. [4116]
Mr. Bowis:
We plan to complete the closure of the traffic area offices in Manchester and Cardiff by the end of the current financial year.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to lay a statutory instrument before the House to redefine traffic area office boundaries.[4117]
Mr. Bowis:
I expect to make an announcement shortly.
As part of the Employment Service's national job broking role, specialist Placing, Advice and Counselling Teams (PACTs) already liaise with employers to encourage good practice in recruiting and employing people with disabilities, to promote better understanding of disabled people's potential in work, including those with dyslexia, and specifically to place disabled people in jobs.
The Employment Service's disability symbol initiative helps employers to implement good practices. PACTs' continuing work in influencing employers' practices, both to adopt the Disability Symbol and more widely, will support the new Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) the employment provisions of which come into effect on 2 December this year.
The specialist Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) who work within the PACTs are specifically trained so that they are able to provide assessment, tailored employment rehabilitation (including employer placements) and advice on aids and special equipment as well as directly finding employment opportunities for people with disabilities, including those with dyslexia. Additionally the ES also produces a booklet "Sources of Information and Advice". This gives employers information about organisations which can offer advice or services covering a variety of disabilities and includes the British Dyslexia Association and the Dyslexia Institute.
I hope this is helpful.
(2) if she will list the head teachers who will be responsible for conducting the re-inspection of teacher education departments; and if she will publish their CVs.[4377]
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