HC Deb 23 February 1988 vol 128 cc119-20W
Mr. Madel

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, where the physical capacity of a school is above the 1979 intake, he will then allow that capacity to be the determining factor in deciding how many pupils should be admitted; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Dunn

Under the existing legislation, admissions authorities for maintained schools are at liberty to set admissions limits above the standard number of such schools if they so wish.

Under the provisions of chapter II of the Education Reform Bill, if admissions to a school are higher than the existing standard number in the school year immediately prior to implementation of the new legislation, that number will become the new standard number for the school and therefore the number up to which the school must be prepared to admit. If LEAs and governors agree that a school can admit pupils in excess of the standard number, they will be able to do so without reference to the Secretary of State, and if there is no agreement, there is provision in the Bill for the matter to be referred to the Secretary of State for decision.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many more staff he expects to employ at his Department for the purposes of recalculating grants for the 12 inner London local education authorities;

(2) how many more staff he expects to employ in his Department for the purpose of administering capital expenditure bids for the proposed 12 inner London local education authorities following the abolition of the Inner London education authority;

(3) whether he is able to make any estimate as to additional staffing requirements in his Department in connection with the administration of grant-related in-service training after the proposed date of transfer of the functions of the Inner London education authority to the inner London boroughs;

(4) whether he will estimate the staffing implications for his Department of the monitoring and approval of local management schemes proposed by inner London boroughs prior to the proposed transfer of functions to them after the abolition of the Inner London education authority.

Mr. Dunn

[holding answer 18 February 1988]: My right hon. Friend is setting up a special unit in the Department of Education and Science to advise and assist boroughs in preparing to take over responsibility for education. The unit will be mainly formed by the reallocation of existing staff, but two new posts have been allocated.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out his estimate of the aggregate of the appropriate levels of spending for inner London councils on the education service in 1990–91; and what is the Inner London education authority's estimated spending in 1987–88 in cash terms and in volume terms.

Mr. Dunn

[holding answer 18 February]: It will be for each council to determine the appropriate level of spending on the education service in 1990–91. The Inner London education authority's budgeted spending for 1987–88 at outturn prices, as shown in its published estimates, is £1,024.7 million.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many extra staff will need to be employed, and at what cost, to provide returns under statutory requirements to collect statistics and information in the proposed 12 inner London local education authorities, following the abolition of the Inner London education authority.

Mr. Dunn

[holding answer 18 February 1988]: It will be for each inner London council to determine the staffing they consider appropriate for the collection of statistics.