HC Deb 17 December 1992 vol 216 cc406-7W
Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what assessment he has made of the number of teachers of the hearing impaired that have to be trained annually in order to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of such teachers;

(2) whether he intends to undertake any action to ensure that there is sufficient funding allocated for the training of teachers of hearing impaired and visually impaired children when their funding ceases to be ring fenced in April 1993;

(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that money allocated to local education authorities for the training of specialist teachers for children with sensory impairment is used for this purpose;

(4) if he will make a statement outlining the extent to which local education authorities have been given extra resources to cover the reduction in his support for the training of teachers of hearing impaired children.

Sir Wyn Roberts

There has been no ring fencing of funding for the training of teachers of children with special educational needs in Wales since April 1992. Under the education support and training programme grants, local education authorities have been invited to draw up proposals for special needs training, including the training of teachers of children with sensory impairment, against a pool of resources. This gives local education authorities flexibility in their training programmes to allocate resources according to their assessment of local needs and priorities. The proposed special needs training programme for 1993–94 represents an increase of 17 per cent. compared with the level of expenditure supported in 1992–93, which is itself an increase over the previous year.

In formulating their plans for training, local education authorities are asked to provide their assessment of needs. Their plans have also to meet the objectives and priorities of the overall programme and have to include measures for the monitoring and evaluation of authorities' performance.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his policy to extend the mandatory training requirement for full-time teachers of hearing impaired children to peripatetic teachers of deaf children.

Sir Wyn Roberts

My right hon. Friend has no plans to real terms do so.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to base the indicative allocation system for the training of specialist teachers on the number of children with sensory impairment and severe learning difficulties in a local education authority area rather than the total number of pupils in that area.

Sir Wyn Roberts

Following consultation with Welsh local education authorities, funds for the in-service training of teachers of special needs are allocated to authorities mainly on the basis of teacher numbers. However, my right hon. Friend will bear this request in mind when allocation arrangements are reviewed.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends to take any further measures in concert with the changes he plans in school education to ensure adequate funding for the training of a sufficient supply of teachers for children with(a) hearing impairment and (b) visual impairment.

Sir Wyn Roberts

Under the grants for education support and training programme for 1993–94, we are making available to local education authorities more than £1 million of supported expenditure for the training of special needs specialist teachers. Funding for the training of such teachers in grant-maintained schools is available through special purpose grants. The responsibility for special educational needs and for the training of specialist teachers lies at local level.