HC Deb 17 November 1992 vol 214 cc167-8W
12. Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provisions he has made in relation to the auditing of the accounts of grant-maintained schools.

Mr. Forth

The governing body of a grant-maintained school is required to appoint qualified external auditors, which may include the Audit Commission, to audit the school's annual accounts. The Department has issued guidance on the form of an audit code for governors and auditors of grant-maintained schools. As for other Exchequer-funded bodies, grant-maintained schools are subject to the oversight of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

15. Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of schools in England have had ballots on grant-maintained status.

Mr. Forth

Ballots have been held at 701 schools in England to date, that is around 3.5 per cent. of eligible schools. The sevenfold increase in ballots last month compared to October last year reflects the significant increase of interest following publication of the White Paper.

16. Mr. Bowis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from Blackburn about his proposals for grant-maintained schools.

Mr. Forth

My right hon. Friend has received no representations from Blackburn about his proposals for grant-maintained schools.

19. Mr. John Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many(a) secondary and (b) primary schools are now operating under grant-maintained status.

Mr. Forth

A total of 225 secondary schools and 53 primary schools are currently operating under grant-maintained status. A further 43 secondary schools arid 21 primary schools have received approval.

24. Mr. Colin Shepherd

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the contributions which can be made by grant-maintained schools in rural areas.

Mr. Forth

The advantages of grant-maintained status —for example, the ability of schools to manage their own affairs, their accountability to parents and the local community and not to a bureaucracy, and popularity with parents shown by the increased applications for places—apply equally to schools in rural as in other areas.

25. Mr. Nicholas Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received about the future funding of grant-maintained schools.

Mr. Forth

We have received a number of representations on the future funding of grant-maintained schools in the light of the White Paper. We aim to publish consultation papers on the arrangements for calculation of grant in 1993–94 and on the common funding formula before the end of the year.

26. Mr. David Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on changes in the resources for 1993–94 available for(a) grant-maintained schools and (b) local education authority schools.

Mr. Forth

My right hon. Friend announced provision for grant-maintained schools for 1993–94 in his reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 12 November at columns894–97.

Details of the Government's assumptions about the level of local authority recurrent spending in 1993–94, including spending on education, will be announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment later this month, along with other details of next year's local authority finance settlement.

Mr. Harry Greenway

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what capital funding arrangements he is making for newly appointed grant-maintained schools; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Forth

All new and existing grant-maintained schools are invited to bid for grant funding for capital projects in an annual bidding round. All bids are judged strictly on their merits and in the light of the funds available. Decisions on the bids received from schools for 1993–94 projects will be announced in the new year.

Grant-maintained schools' annual maintenance grant includes an element for minor repair work. Schools also receive a formula allocation of capital grant for longer-term repairs and minor capital projects. In 1992–93 schools becoming grant-maintained in April received a full-year's formula allocation. Schools becoming grant-maintained in September received a proportion of their full-year allocation once incorporated. Schools can decide how to allocate this funding and are free to set their own priorities including the amount which they spend on repairs and maintenance.

17. Mr. Barnes

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about the funding available in the next financial year to finance pre-school education.

Mr. Forth

Details of the Government's proposals for next year's funding settlement for local authorities will be announced later this month. Within the framework of the settlement, individual local authorities are free to determine their own policies and expenditure on under-fives provision.