HC Deb 06 May 1998 vol 311 cc400-1W
Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to ensure that students in the age group 16 to 18-year-olds attending schools with sixth forms are funded at the same level as students attending colleges in the further education sector. [39952]

Dr. Howells

We are looking at the scope for greater equity of funding between school sixth forms and Further Education colleges as part of the Department's Comprehensive Spending Review. We expect that announcements will be made in the Summer.

Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what checks are made to ensure that schools for 11 to 18- year-olds do not reallocate resources from pupils in the 11 to 16- years-age group to their sixth form students. [39953]

Dr. Howells

None, since to do so would be incompatible with the philosophy behind Local Management of Schools (LMS). Under LMS, the governing body of a school with a delegated budget may deploy the resources provided by the Local Education Authority as it thinks fit. This is subject to any restrictions contained in the Authority's LMS scheme and to the overriding requirement that the budget share may be spent only for the purposes of the school.