§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what encouragement he is giving to education authorities to ensure that the technical and vocational educational initiative schemes in operation are available to all ability ranges of pupils.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe criteria agreed by the national steering group for the initiative require schemes to be open to pupils across the ability range. The progress of the initiative is to be carefully monitored both in this and in other respects.
§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied that, among those education authorities offering technical and vocational educational initiative schemes, all are offering pupils a reasonable range of options within such schemes.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe TVEI pilot projects are intended to explore a variety of ways of enriching what is available to pupils by the inclusion of more practical and applicable elements into their curricula. It is for the pilot authorities to decide how wide a choice of options to offer pupils within their educational strategies.
§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those education authorities which have not bid for funding for technical and vocational educational initiative schemes.
§ Sir Keith JosephOf the 104 local education authorities in England and Wales and the 12 in Scotland that were eligible to do so, the following did not bid:
England and Wales
- Avon
- Barking
- Brent
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Humberside
- ILEA
- Knowsley
- Lancashire
- Manchester
- Nottinghamshire
- Oldham
- Rotherham
- Sefton
- Sheffield
913 - South Glamorgan
- St. Helens
- Sutton
- Trafford
- Wakefield
Scotland
- Grampian
- Highlands
- Orkney
- Shetland