§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimates there are of the cost of additional demands placed on annual capital guidelines for local education authorities since the introduction of the national curriculum; what plans there are to alleviate this extra demand; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthIt is for LEAs and schools to make the best use of the resources available so that schools are equipped to deliver the national curriculum effectively. The substantial capital sums made available by Government in recent years will help them to do so, in particular the 33 per cent. real terms increase in total capital support in the five years to 1993–94.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received from local education authorities regarding their ACGs for 1994–95.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received from local education authorities regarding their provisional indicators for ACG for the year 1995–96; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what provisions are made in allocating ACG for basic needs provision; what account is taken of the age of educational establishments and consequent renovation and repairs needed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthCover for basic need in annual capital guidelines is provided through cost-multipliers for each place assessed as required. Such an assessment compares projected demand with the number of local places. Although the age of buildings is not a factor in considering basic need bids, where a surveyor's report indicates that the condition of a building is such that replacement is urgently needed and is cheaper than repair cover will be provided within ACGs in the exceptional basic need category.