§ Mr. StringerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public funding has been spent on adult(a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Manchester, Blackley in each of the last five years. [172889]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe estimated total spend on "Skills For Life" (the Government's strategy for literacy, language and numeracy needs of all post-16 learners from pre-entry level up to and including level 2) and on Key Skills (essential skills of communication, application of number and information technology), from April 2001 to July 2003, in the Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area is set out in the following table:
£000 Basic skills Key skills April 2001 to July 20011 8,925 2,598 August 2001 to July 2002 15,369 3,586 August 2002 to July 2013 27,258 4,210 1 The figures for April to July 2001 include costs incurred from August 2000 on learning aims continuing into April 2001.
From the information available to the LSC it has not been feasible to obtain estimates at constituency level or separate figures by subject without incurring disproportionate cost. Likewise it has not been feasible to obtain comparable figures for periods before April 2001 when the Skills for Life strategy was launched and the LSC was formed, but information shows it was considerably less than at present.
§ Mr. StringerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Manchester, Blackley deemed to be failing since 1997 have since reached satisfactory standards. [172890]
§ Mr. MilibandOne primary school in Manchester, Blackley has been deemed to be failing on two inspections since 1997 and placed in special measures twice. Following the second designation, the requirement for special measures was removed in June 2003.