§ Mr. Damian GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many(a) asylum seeker and (b) refugee children there were in schools, broken down by education authority, in each academic year since 1997–98. [102296]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggIt is not possible to say how many asylum seeker and refugee children there were in schools in each local education authority (LEA), for the period specified, because there is no requirement on LEAs to provide the Department with this information.
The most recent information available indicates that there are about 82,000 children from asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds in the UK. Nearly 63,000 of them are resident in Greater London where it is estimated that they comprise 6.04 per cent. of the total school population. Over 14,500 are resident in LEAs in the Home Office designated dispersal areas in the north east, north west, Yorkshire and the Humber, east and west Midlands and south west regions of England.
§ Mr. Damian GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been allocated for the education of(a) asylum seeker and (b) refugee children since 1997–98 in each education authority. [102297]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggIt is not possible to say how much funding has been allocated to Local Education Authorities (LEAs) for the education of children from asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds for the period specified as no specific factors are used to take account of these pupils in the formula for calculating education formula spending shares. It is for LEAs to consider whether to include provision by including relevant factors in their funding formulae.
562WAdditional funding has been made available to LEAs supporting the children of asylum seekers dispersed to the Home Office designated cluster areas through the asylum seeker grant. The attached table shows how much funding has been allocated to these LEAs from 2000 to 2003.
From April 2003 this grant will be subsumed into the vulnerable children grant (worth £84 million) which will provide support for a range of vulnerable children including those from asylum seeking backgrounds. Funding to support all children, including those from asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds, with English as additional language requirements is available to all LEAs through the ethnic minority achievement grant (worth £155 million).
563W
Asylum Seeker Grant Allocations 2000–03 LEA Name Amount of funding(£) Barnsley 6,6000 Birmingham 40,1000 Blackburn 5,9000 Bolton 23,2000 Bradford 20,8000 Brighton 14,500 Bristol 75,500 Burnley 7,000 Bury 96,500 Calderdale 35,000 Cheshire 8,000 Coventry 182,000 Croydon (LB) 8,500 Darlington 2,500 Derby 146,500 Doncaster 101,000 Dudley 131,000 Exeter (Devon) 1,000 Gateshead 145,500 Greenwich (LB) 2,500 Hampshire 2,000 Hartlepool 9,000 Hasting/St Leonards 5,000 Hertfordshire 500 Ipswich 500 Kingston Upon Hull 98,500 Kirklees 122,500 Knowsley 4,000 Lancashire (Preston) 13,500 Leeds 345,000 Leicester City 110,500 Leicestershire 2,500 Lincolnshire 4,500 Liverpool 66,3000 Manchester 91,5000 Middlesbrough 94,000 Nelson 2,500 Newcastle 507,500 Newham (LB) 3,500 North Somerset 4,000 North Tyneside 90,500 Nottingham City 284,000 Oldham 42,000 Peterborough 23,500 Plymouth 37,000 Portsmouth 26,000 Redcar 101,000 Richmond (LB) 1,000 Rochdale 107,000 Rotherham 91,500 Salford 261,500
Asylum Seeker Grant Allocations 2000–03 LEA Name Amount of funding(£) Sandwell 97,000 Sefton 56,000 Sheffield 388,000 Solihull 2,500 South Gloucestershire 17,000 South Tyneside 52,000 Stockport 42,500 Stockton-on-Tees 65,000 Stoke-on-Trent 61,500 Sunderland 86,500 Tameside 56,500 Trafford 32,500 Wakefield 79500 Walsall 68,500 Wigan 103,000 Wolverhampton 183,500 Total 7,287,00009