HC Deb 10 January 1989 vol 144 cc479-80W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is his policy on assessing the adequacy of proposals under section 62 of the Education Reform Act 1988 for the in-service training of teachers in a prospective grant-maintained school, with particular respect to the initial introduction of the national curriculum and the recent advice he has received from the National Curriculum Council and the School Examination and Assessment Council; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what is his policy on assessing the adequacy of proposals under section 62 of the Education Reform Act 1988 in the case of a secondary school with regard to arrangements for links with feeder schools, including links relating to the in-service training of teachers; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Rumbold

Proposals will be considered on their merits, having regard to best practice generally.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether the underspend on in-service teacher training grants in 1987–88 shown in Class XII, Vote 1, subhead IZ, is or will be carried forward to another year; and if he will make a statement;

(2) if he will publish a table showing (a) the amount of grant in the Vote and (b) the amount of expenditure in each recent year on in-service teacher training grants; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Rumbold

Vote provision for the local education authority training grants scheme, which was introduced on 1 April 1987, is for the payment of grant to local education authorities, in response to claims submitted by those authorities in respect of training which they have provided. Vote provision for this purpose in 1987–88 was £105 million; the corresponding figure for 1988–89 is £130 million. The underspend of £25.6 million for 1987–88 appears mainly to reflect delays in submitting claims for training which took place in that year rather than a reduction in the anticipated volume of training. Late claims for 1987–88 continue to be paid as soon as possible after their submission from the Vote provision for the scheme.