HC Deb 02 April 1996 vol 275 cc135-7W
Dr. Lynne Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when Bishop Challoner school entered into franchise agreements with Solihull college; and what is the current status of those agreements. [23522]

Mr. Robin Squire

I understand that the school entered into a franchise arrangement with Solihull college from September 1994 and that it ended in July 1995.

Dr. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the head teacher and bursar of Bishop Challoner school were suspended; and if she will make a statement on the finances of the school. [23520]

Mr. Squire

The school's external auditors have raised concerns about the school's draft 1994–95 accounts. In the light of that, the school's governing body, on the instruction of the Funding Agency for Schools, appointed outside consultants, Robson Rhodes, to help draw up a recovery plan which will also report on the precise financial position of the school.

The school's governing body took the decision to suspend the headteacher and the bursar on 15 February 1996 and to call in the police to investigate its concerns about some aspects of the management of the school's finances.

Dr. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) when Bishop Challoner school percentage of awards made by each awarding body is not available.

Mr. Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many full NVQs have been awarded at each level in each year since their introduction; and how many awardees were mostly or wholly trained for these awards in (i) further education or sixth form colleges, (ii) secondary schools, (iii) private training providers and (iv) other enterprises. [23085]

Mr. Paice

Information on the number of NVQ awards made at each NVQ level, broken down by year, is available from NCVQ and is shown in the following table. By the end of 1995, the total number of awards made at each level were: 262,000 at level 1; 613,000 at level 2; 126,000 at level 3; 42,000 at level 4; and 2,000 at level 5.

Comprehensive information on the type of centre at which the awardee was trained is not available.

applied to change its status from an 11-to-16 to an 11-to-18 years school; what objections have been received in respect of the application; when these were received; and what is the current position with regard to that application; [23519]

(2) what has been the response of the Further Education Funding Council to the application from Bishop Challoner school to change to an 11-to-18 school. [23450]

Mr. Squire

The governors of Bishop Challoner Roman Catholic grant-maintained school published proposals on 28 March 1995 to make a significant change in the character of the school by changing the age range from 11-to-16 to 11-to-18 with effect from 1 September 1996. The Further Education Funding Council and Birmingham local education authority submitted statutory objections to the proposals on 4 and 24 May 1995 respectively. The proposals are currently under consideration.

Dr. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was Bishop Challoner school's overspend at the time grant-maintained status was granted; and what were the financial implications of this for the local education authority. [23523]

Mr. Squire

The Funding Agency for Schools determined the school's annual maintenance grant for 1993–94, taking into account the financial position of the school when it became grant maintained on 1 October 1993. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to arrange for a reply to be sent to the hon. Member.