HC Deb 26 October 1994 vol 248 c627W
Mr. Enright

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what resources the DFE devotes to assist cultural and linguistic exchanges in(a) the primary sector and (b) the secondary sector;

(2) how many language or cultural exchange arrangements exist within the state sector of education.

Mr. Boswell

DFE grant to the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges in 1994–95 is £4.2 million. Of this, some £860,000 is targeted at the primary sector and some £1.8 million is targeted at the secondary sector. The rest is targeted at the further and higher education sectors.

The services offered include school linking, foreign language assistants, international in-service training for teachers and participation in multi-lateral—including EU—programmes. It is estimated that some 130,000 state-sector pupils participated in school exchanges in 1991–92, the latest year for which data are available.

The DFE also provides funding to the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers. It is estimated that in 1993–94 some £262,000 was spent in support of