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Holocaust Remembrance Day
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's involvement in the proposed Government committee on Holocaust Remembrance Day. [92160]
Mr. Mudie: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 19 July 1999, Official Report, column 400.
Public Bodies
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the non- departmental public bodies in existence on 1 May 1997 that (a) have been disbanded, indicating when they were disbanded, (b) will be disbanded in the next 12 months, (c) have had their functions transferred to (i) another non-departmental public body and (ii) a democratically elected body, (d) have been renamed but continue to perform a similar role and (e) have been unchanged; if he will indicate in (c)(ii) the relevant successor body; what new non-departmental public bodies have been established since 1 May 1997; and how many non- departmental public bodies his Department currently is responsible for. [90678]
Mr. Mudie [holding answer 19 July 1999]: Of the non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) in existence on 1 May 1997:
- (a) the NDPB that has been simply disbanded is the Supported Employment Consultative Group, in June 1998 as intended. The Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research continues in operation but, following constitutional change, has been de-classified as an NDPB;
- (b) the Funding Agency for Schools has ceased funding activities, and will be disbanded in the autumn of this year;
- (c)(i) the functions of the disbanded National Advisory Council for the Employment of People with Disabilities have been transferred to the National Disability Council. The National Council for Vocational Qualifications and the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority have been merged to
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- form the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The Race Relations Employment Advisory Group has been disbanded and replaced by the Race Relations Education and Employment Forum;
- (c)(ii) no functions have been transferred to a democratically elected body;
- (d) the Education Assets Board has been renamed as the Education Transfer Council and the National Council for Educational Technology has been renamed as the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency;
- (e) unchanged NDPBs not mentioned above are the Construction Industry Training Board, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Further Education Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Investors in People UK, Remploy Ltd., Student Loans Company, Teacher Training Agency, Registered Inspectors Appeals Tribunal, Special Educational Needs Tribunal, School Teachers Review Body now classified under this Department.
- New NDPB established since 1 may 1997 are; the Disability Rights Task Force, New Deal Task Force, Skills Task Force.
The Department is responsible for 21 NDPBs.
The Government are committed to keeping the number of NDPBs to a minimum and to ensuring that those which remain are open, accountable and effective. Many of the NDPBs established since 1 May are essential in helping the Government deliver their Manifesto commitments.
Dan Norris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many children aged five to seven years in (a) Bath and North-East Somerset and (b) South Gloucestershire were in classes of 30 or fewer in each year from 1992 to date. [91155]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The available information is shown in the table.
| Bath and North East Somerset | South Gloucestershire | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| classes of size | classes of size | |||
| 1-30 | all | 1-30 | all | |
| 1996 | 3,689 | 4,789 | 5,460 | 8,821 |
| 1997 | 4,025 | 4,977 | 5,279 | 9,031 |
| 1998 | 4,118 | 5,329 | 5,931 | 9,322 |
| 1999(1) | 4,163 | 5,182 | 8,050 | 9,452 |
(1) Provisional
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Experimental Science Teaching
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with the Minister for Science on the experimental
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teaching of (a) biology, (b) chemistry, (c) physics, (d) environmental sciences and (e) other sciences in the past two years. [91280]
Mr. Mudie:
My right hon. Friend and the Minister for Science meet from time to time to discuss a variety of issues of mutual interest.
Mr. Peter Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which departments funded the Drive For Youth programme in the past four years; what were the reasons for this investment; what amount of public funds was allocated to this in each year; and if he will make a statement. [90300]
Mr. Andrew Smith
[holding answer 8 July 1999]: Drive For Youth is a registered charity. Government funding is through payment for services provided through contracts for the delivery of training courses for New Deal and other clients by the Employment Service, TECs, LECs and other bodies. Many of these contracts are concluded at local level, and information is not held centrally, so full details could be ascertained only at disproportionate cost.
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Mrs. Anne Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by LEA the number of additional out-of-school child care places created under the National Childcare Strategy. [88187]
Ms Hodge:
Details of new child care places created under the National Childcare Strategy in 1998-99 are set out in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Beggs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement setting out for each education and library board, the numbers of children in September 1998 and 1999 and the projected numbers for September 2000, placed in (a) nursery schools and units and (b) in other pre-school provision. [90737]
Mr. McFall:
The numbers of children in free pre-school education provision in the 1998-99 school year and projected numbers for the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 school years are set out in the table. All figures for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 are estimates.
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| School year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Board area | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
| Belfast | |||
| Nursery school/units | 2,637 | 2,689 | 2,767 |
| Reception places | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| Funded places in voluntary and private pre-school education centres | 267 | 465 | 622 |
| North Eastern | |||
| Nursery school/units | 1,813 | 2,307 | 2,879 |
| Reception places | 389 | 389 | 389 |
| Funded places in voluntary and private pre-school education centres | 421 | 720 | 908 |
| South Eastern | |||
| Nursery school/units | 1,678 | 2,172 | 2,536 |
| Reception places | 475 | 475 | 475 |
| Funded places in voluntary and private pre-school education centres | 291 | 443 | 747 |
| Southern | |||
| Nursery school/units | 1,720 | 2,136 | 2,630 |
| Reception places | 946 | 946 | 946 |
| Funded places in voluntary and private pre-school education centres | 378 | 400 | 543 |
| Western | |||
| Nursery school/units | 1,446 | 1,992 | 2,512 |
| Reception places | 619 | 619 | 619 |
| Funded places in voluntary and private pre-school education centres | 514 | 629 | 647 |
| Total | 13,686 | 16,474 | 19,312 |
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Departmental Travel
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many kilometres have been travelled on her Department's business in each of the last three years broken down by (a) foot, (b) bike, (c) bus, (d) train, (e) tram, (f) light-rail, (g) plane, (h) motorbike, (i) car, (j) taxi, (k) river-taxi and (l) other modes of transport; what plans and targets her Department has to reduce the kilometres travelled by private transport by her Department's employees; and if she will make a statement. [91028]
Mr. Paul Murphy
[holding answer 13 July 1999]: The information on business travel is not collected in the form
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requested and therefore cannot be provided. As published in the Integrated Transport White Paper in July 1998, the Government have set a target that all Government Department headquarters buildings and main buildings occupied by Executive Agencies should have green transport plans by March 1999 and all other key buildings by March 2000.
Northern Ireland Departments are working to complete plans covering all headquarters and main buildings and they are developing plans for all other key buildings in line with the targets set out in the White Paper, and consideration is being given to measures to reduce single-occupancy car use by employees.
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