HC Deb 30 April 2001 vol 367 cc468-71W
Ms Moran

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effects on the Luton, South constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [156162]

Mr. Wills

Outlined are details of the effects of a range of the Department's policies on the Luton, South constituency and Luton local education authority.

Beacon Schools

There is one Beacon School in the Luton, South constituency: Hillborough Junior School.

Schools with specialist status designated since 1997

There is one Specialist School in the Luton, South constituency: Ashcroft High School, which has Technology College status.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Luton LEA is one of the new EMA pilot areas. Since September 2000 just over £260,000 has been paid out in EMAs to 569 students.

School Achievement Awards

15 Schools in the Luton, South constituency have been awarded a total of £121,250.00 under this scheme. The schools and awards are as follows:

£
Beech Hill Community Primary School 12,030
Dallow Infant School 7,500
Dallow Junior School 7,310
Denbigh High School 29,880
Denbigh Infant School 8,800
Foxdell Junior School 5,350
Hillborough Junior School 5,520
Orchard Centre PRU (formally Charles Street Tuition Centre) 2,820
Putteridge Infant School 5,460
Sacred Heart RC Infants School 3,990
Slip End Lower School 3,410
Someries Junior School 6,450
St. Mary's RC Lower School 6,020
Tennyson Road Primary School 4,840
Wigmore Primary School 11,870

Class Sizes

Luton LEA
£
Revenue Capital
1998–99 0 58,000
1999–2000 130,000 574,396
2000–01 618,615 79,500
2001–02 635,881 0

The September 2000 figures show that there are now only 380 (6.2 per cent.) pupils remaining in infant classes of 31 or more. The figure in January 1997 was 2,427 (42 per cent.).

Luton Performance Data

Key Stage 2, percentage of pupils achieving level 4
2000 1999 1998 1997
English
LEA average 72 68 61 58
England average 75 71 65 63
Maths
LEA average 65 62 51 54
England average 72 69 59 62
Science
LEA average 82 74 61 63
England average 85 78 69 69

GCSE—percentage of pupils achieving
2000 1999 1998 1997
5+ A*—
LEA average 39.7 35.8 35.0 34.3
England average 49.2 47.9 46.3 45.1
5+ A*—G
LEA average 91.4 92 92.4 89.9
England average 88.9 88.5 87.5 86.4

Luton LEA capital funding
£000
2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 1998–99 1997–98 Total
Credit approvals
ACG 1,356 2,918 556 201 171 5,202
SCA 217 1,033 240 40 1,530
Grants
NDS Condition Funding 392 392
NDS 2,275 691 322 288 3,576
NGfL 914 625 326 374 2,239
VA grant 127 239 98 73 102 639
Schools devolved formula capital 1,344 1,344
Science labs 134 134 268
Energy 51 51
AMP support 25 25
Seed challenge 161 146 307
Infant class size 110 545 57 712
Security 46 65 65 57 46 279
SSLUs 54 61 115
Schools Access Initiative 232 17 249
NDS Devolved Formula 1,109 1,109
Outside Toilets 6 6
Nursery provision 64 64
Total 4,525 8,215 3,339 1,381 647

Further Education

Student numbers at all Further Education Funding Council funded institutions where home postcode is in the local authority district of Luton are given in the table.

1996–97 to 1999–2000
FEFC funded Non-FEFC funded
16–18 Adult 16–18 Adult
Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time
1996–97 3,238 794 657 9,042 88 368 69 633
1997–98 2,995 1,130 769 10,810 81 307 69 604
1998–99 3,316 723 824 10,441 105 534 71 799
1999–2000 3,385 817 817 10,159 112 379 179 1,068

GCSE—percentage of pupils achieving
2000 1999 1998 1997
No Passes
LEA average 3.2 3.2 2.1 4.3
England average 5.6 6.0 6.6 7.7
Average Point Score
LEA average 36.7 35.5 35.9 n/a
England average 38.9 38.1 37.0 n/a

A/AS level and Advanced GNVQ
2000 1999 1998
Average points for 2 or more A/AS levels
LEA average 13.6 13.4 14.1
England average 18.5 18.2 17.8
A/AS average per entry
LEA average 4.5 4.4 4.6
England average 5.5 5.5 5.4
Average point score GNVQs
LEA average 8.1 9.0 9.5
England average 10.1 9.9 9.6

Funding per pupil

In Luton LEA, funding per pupil has increase by £520 real terms between 1997–98 and 2001–02.

Modern Apprenticeships

Information on Modern Apprenticeships for all English constituencies will be placed in the Library by the end of March.

New Deal for Young People

In the Luton, South constituency, 966 young people had joined the New Deal to the end of December 2000. 386 have found jobs, 299 of which are sustained.

Labour market statistics

The working age employment rate in Luton in autumn 2000 was 71.9 per cent., below the UK rate of 74.7 per cent. The rate in autumn 1997 was 77.0 per cent., in autumn 1998 73.0 per cent., and in autumn 1999 74.9 per cent. These figures are volatile at this level, and our best interpretation of the trend in the employment rate for Luton since 1997 is that it has been broadly flat.

The claimant unemployment rate has fallen from 5.3 per cent. in February 1997 to 2.7 per cent. in February 2001 in the Luton, South constituency.