§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many of his Department's initiatives relating to schools announced to date for (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000 include opportunities for competitive bidding by(a) education action zone, (b) the Funding Agency for Schools and (c) others, excluding local education authorities; [63536]
(2) how many of his Department's initiatives relating to schools announced for the year 1997–98 included opportunities for competitive bidding by (a) education action zones, (b) the Funding Agency for Schools and (c) others, excluding local education authorities. [63657]
§ Ms Estelle Morris[holding answer 14 December 1998]: In 1998–99 education action zones were able to bid for funding for work related learning and the special early years programme. From 1999–2000 these programmes will be incorporated within the education action zones budget and bid for as a separate competitive exercise. Education action zones did not come into existence until after the 1997–98 bidding round.
Since 1997–98 the Funding Agency for Schools has been able to bid for phases 1 and 2 of the Early Excellence Centre pilot programme.
Information on the number of competitive bids open to other bodies is not held centrally.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment of the initiatives in 1998–99 involving competitive bidding from local education authorities, including education action zones, and the equivalent initiatives from 1999–2000, how many bids by each of the education action zones were(a) made and (b) successful. [63311]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThere have been no programmes in which Education Action Forums (EAFs) have competed with local education authorities. Unlike LEAs, EAFs do not bid for Standards Fund grant, or for New Deal for Schools capital. Of course, schools within EAZs can still benefit from these programmes through LEA bids. EAZs have been able to bid for work-related learning and Early Years in a separate exercise funded from the EAZ programme budget. In future years these activities will be funded from EAZs' own budgets.