HC Deb 26 February 1996 vol 272 cc364-5W
Mr. Kilfoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the total amount under section 210 grant for travellers and displaced persons in each year since 1990–91,(a) allocated and (b) paid out to local education authorities under the Education Reform Act 1988. [16462]

Mr. Robin Squire

Total amounts of grant allocated and spent in each of the years in question are as follows:

Year Supply estimate £ Amount spent £
1990–91 6,068,000 5,387,405
1991–92 7,199,000 6,542,623
1992–93 7,419,000 7,530,497
1993–94 7,644,000 7,584,642
1994–95 7,867,000 7,802,941
1995–96 7,197,000 1—
1 Not yet available.

The figures are for England only. Any underspending in particular years is due to local education authorities failing to take up their available grant allocations in full.

Mr. Kilfoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the projected total amount payable to local education authorities in 1996–97 as section 210 grant for travellers and displaced persons, under the Education Reform Act 1988; and what percentage this represents of the grant paid in(a) 1990–91 and (b) 1995–96. [16463]

Mr. Squire

The projected total amount of grant payable under this programme to local authorities in 1996–97 is £6,762,000, subject to parliamentary approval of the estimates. This represents a 25 per cent. increase on the grant paid in 1990–91 and 94 per cent. of the total grant allocated in 1995–96.

Mr. Kilfoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to supplement the section 210 grant under the Education Reform Act 1988 for travellers and displaced persons; and what changes in weighting of the selection 210 grant for travellers and displaced persons have been affected since 1990–91. [16461]

Mr. Squire

The financial support provided under this programme, over and above basic educational funding, is pitched at a level which the Government regard as realistic and appropriate. Grant recipients are free to provide supplementary funding of their own, if they deem this a particular local priority. The grant rate in England was set at 75 per cent. in 1990–91. It was reduced to 65 per cent. from 1 April 1995, bringing it more into line with other specific grant programmes.