HC Deb 17 January 2002 vol 378 cc449-51W
Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to abolish the requirement for schools to raise £50,000 from local sources before securing specialist status; what assessment she has made of the difficulties of raising such funding in areas of high deprivation; and if she will make a statement. [26539]

Mr. Timms

There are no plans to abolish the requirement on specialist school applicants to raise £50,000 sponsorship but we do keep the sponsorship criteria under annual review. We are aware that some schools find raising the required sponsorship more difficult than others and we grant aid the Technology Colleges Trust and Youth Sport Trust to provide advice and support to applicants, including in relation to raising sponsorship. There are specialist schools in all parts of the country and a wide range of areas. Nearly 90 schools have been designated in Excellence in Cities (EiC) areas since EiC was implemented.

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have taken on specialist status in each quarter since May 1997, broken down by different specialist areas chosen; and if she will make a statement. [26542]

Mr. Timms

The number of specialist school designations by specialism from each competition since May 1997 is shown in the table.

Competitions
Arts Sports Language Technology Total
May 1997 3 5 — — 8
October 1997 5 6 3 18 32
March 1998 6 9 8 28 51
October 1998 12 11 5 15 43
March 1999 — — 9 28 37
June 1999 20 24 — — 44
October 1999 — — 15 22 37
March 2000 8 7 13 31 59
June 2000 18 16 — — 34
October 2000 4 1 9 25 39
March 2001 12 16 18 33 79
Total 88 95 80 200 463

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial provision her Department has made in the next three years to support additional specialist schools; what her estimate is of the number of specialist schools in each quarter over the next three years; what her estimate is of the proportion of all schools which will be specialist-status in each quarter over the next three years; and if she will make a statement. [26543]

Mr. Timms

Financial provision for the specialist schools programme up to 2003–04 is provided in the table. Any future and additional funding will be considered as part of the 2002 Spending Review.

Financial year £ million
2002–03 108.0
2003–04 127.0

New specialist schools start operating as such in September each year. Current projections are for at least 830 by September 2002 (25 per cent. of maintained secondary schools), at least 1,000 by September 2003, (31 per cent. of maintained secondary schools) and at least 1,500 by 2005 (46 per cent. of maintained secondary schools).

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list schools which have been granted specialist status without having to raise £50,000 themselves from local private sources, showing the amount they raised locally and the sources of other moneys raised to meet the £50,000 threshold; and if she will make a statement. [26545]

Mr. Timms

All specialist schools have to raise £50,000 sponsorship. This may come from local or national sources in any combination. Information showing the amount of sponsorship raised from different sources can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Specialist schools raise sponsorship from a range of sources including national companies, local business, charitable trusts, parent teacher associations and individuals. They are supported by the Technology Colleges Trust and (in the case of sports colleges) the Youth Sports Trust.

Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the application process for the next round of specialist school awards. [26546]

Mr. Timms

My Department is currently assessing applications received in October 2001. Successful schools will be announced in February. The next competition closing dates are in March. All applications received will be assessed against the published criteria set out in the guidance relevant to each of the specialisms.