§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to encourage the teaching of foreign languages in primary schools; and if she will make a statement. [16080]
§ Mrs. GillanWe have promised no further change to the national curriculum until 2000. Primary schools which have the necessary staffing and other resources are free to teach foreign languages now, and many do. For the present, our priority is to ensure that all secondary schools pupils learn a modern language to a worthwhile level of competence. This is where available resources must be directed for the time being.
Your second and third questions (359 and 363, tabled on 20 February) asked, what have been the excess mortality rates in Northern Ireland for each of the last 10 years expressed (a) in excess numbers and (b) as percentages, and, what have been the excess winter mortality rates in Northern Ireland for each of the past 10 years in terms of (a) excess numbers and (b) percentages for (i) people over the age of 65 years, (ii) single parent families, (iii) people in receipt of income support, (iv) people with disabilities and (v) all other people not included in the above.The mortality rates requested are shown in Tables 2, 3 and 4 below. For the purpose of this exercise winter has been taken to mean the four month period extending form December to March.