§ Mr. BaileyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will set out with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the borough, the effects of his Department's policies and actions on the metropolitan borough of Sandwell since 2 May 1997. [156378]
§ Mr. Wills[holding answer 30 March 2001]: Outlined are details of the effects of a range of the Department's policies on the metropolitan borough of Sandwell.
Sure Start
Sandwell local education authority has one initiative made up of three residential areas which includes Brickhouse, Rowley and Springfield estates.
Schools with specialist status designated since 1997
Wood Green High School has specialist arts status.
Failing Schools
St. Mary's RC and Willingsworth Schools are both in Special Measures.
Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
This scheme is to rebuild five primary schools and that complements regeneration proposals in the authority. One of the 5 schools included, Great Bridge Primary, is in the West Bromwich, West.
School Achievement Awards
Thirteen schools within the West Bromwich, West constituency achieved the awards for improvement. This amounted to £95,510 for the constituency.
Education Action Zone
An EAZ began operation in January 2000. It involves 4 secondary and 11 primary schools in the Wednesbury area and concentrates on strategies to raise achievement in literacy, numeracy and information and communications technology by means of new teaching and learning methods. The majority of the schools involved in the EAZ fall within the West Bromwich, West constituency.
Class Sizes
Figures for September 2000 show that Sandwell had 1.0 per cent. of infant pupils (99) taught in large classes with more than 30 pupils. This compares with 1.9 per cent.
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Sandwell LEA capital funding £000 2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 1998–99 1997–98 Total Credit approvals: ACG 494 1,251 1,006 673 2,481 5,905 SCA — 202 148 282 1,586 2,218 PFI credits — 12,200 — — — 12,200 Grants: NDS Condition 788 — — — — 788 NDS — 4,687 2,527 464 808 8,486 NGfL 1,472 1,056 366 406 — 3,300 nationally. Sandwell has received capital funding of £1.5 million to build 19 additional classrooms, and revenue support of £3.3 million for 158 extra teachers.
Sandwell performance data key stage 2, percentage of pupils achieving level 4 2000 1999 1998 1997 English: LEA 65 59 54 52 England average 75 71 65 63 Maths: LEA 60 56 45 46 England average 72 69 59 62 Science: LEA 77 66 54 51 England average 85 78 69 69
GCSE—percentage of pupils achieving 2000 1999 1998 1997 5+ A*—C LEA Average 31.7 29.7 28.7 26.9 England Average1 49.2 47.9 46.3 45.1 5+ A*—G LEA Average 84.9 84.0 83.3 80.2 England Average1 88.9 88.5 87.5 86.4 No Passes — — — — LEA Average 7.9 8.8 9.7 12.3 England Average1 5.6 6.0 6.6 7.7 Average Point Score LEA Average 30.7 30.1 28.7 n/a England Average 38.9 38.1 37.0 n/a
A/AS level and advanced GNVQ 2000 1999 1998 1997 Average Points for two or more A/AS levels LEA Average 10.6 11.8 12.3 11.1 England Average 18.5 18.2 17.8 17.3 A/AS average per entry LEA Average 3.2 3.7 3.8 n/a England Average 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.3 Average point score GNVQs LEA Average 9.5 10.6 8.6 n/a England Average 10.1 9.9 9.6 n/a Funding per pupil
In Sandwell LEA, funding per pupil has increased by £610 in real terms between 1997–98 and 2001–02.
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Sandwell LEA capital funding £000 2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 1998–99 1997–98 Total VA grant 108 120 90 69 69 456 Schools' formula capital — 2,211 — — — 2,211 Science labs 194 194 — — — 388 Nursery provision — 69 — — — 69 Energy — — — 90 — 90 AMP support — — 41 — — 41 SEED challenge 234 208 — — — 442 Infant class size — 5 5 96 — 1,531 Security 73 104 106 103 82 468 SSLU's 78 89 — — — 167 Schools Access Initiative 349 9 3 — — 361 NDS Devolved Formula1 1,795 — — — — 1,795 Total 5,091 8,752 4,563 1,228 959 20,593 1 Formerly School's formula capital Further Education
Student numbers at all FEFC funded institutions where home postcode is in the local authority district of Sandwell, 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 3,002 1,405 2,256 15,604 200 206 171 365 1997–98 2,949 l,605 1,982 16,146 198 277 152 425 1998–99 3,030 1,531 1,771 15,270 185 418 256 706 1999–2000 3,175 1,560 1,828 16,212 180 509 295 776 Modern Apprenticeships
Information on Modern Apprentice ships for all English constituencies will be placed in the Library by the end of March.
New Deal for Young People
In the West Bromwich, West constituency, 1,565 young people had joined the New Deal to the end of December 2000. 742 have found jobs, 567 of which are sustained.
Labour market statistics
The working age employment rate in Sandwell in autumn 2000 was 66.1 per cent., below the UK rate of 74.7 per cent. The rate in autumn 1997 was 69.2 per cent., in autumn 1998 71.5 per cent., and in autumn 1999 66.6 per cent. These figures are volatile at this level, and our best interpretation of the trend in the employment rate for Sandwell since 1997 is that it has been broadly flat.
The claimant unemployment rate has fallen from 6.7 per cent. in February 1997 to 4.8 per cent. in February 2001 in the West Bromwich, West constituency.