Spending Review (Hansard, 11 November 1999)

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the decision to class student loans as Government assets was taken into account when the total additional educational expenditure announced under the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011) was calculated. [98336]

§ Mr. Blunkett
I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what(a) amount and (b) percentage of the extra money for education announced under the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011) is to be expended (i) through the Standards Fund, (ii) through education standard spending assessments and (iii) otherwise. [98251]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the announcements of additional expenditure on education made between May 1997 and the publication of the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011), stating the date of the announcement and the amount announced in each case. [98253]

§ Mr. Blunkett
In July 1997 the Chancellor announced an additional £1.3 billion for schools in the UK (£1.1 billion for England) over the life of the Parliament, financed by the Windfall Tax, to start tackling the backlog of repairs to school buildings. At the same time, he announced that in 1998–99 an extra £1 billion would be available UK-wide for local authority current spending on schools (£835 million in England). In March 1998, he announced a further £200 million for education in England in 1998–99, of which £10 million was for Education Action Zones; £90 million for capital spending in schools to reduce infant class sizes, eliminate outside toilets and improve heating systems; £90 million to improve skills and £10 million for the University for Industry.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much of the extra money for education announced under the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011) has been(a) allocated to and (b) spent on (i) employment and (ii) Welfare to Work programmes, for each relevant financial year. [98246]

§ Mr. Blunkett
None of the extra money announced for education under the Comprehensive Spending Review has been allocated to, or spent on, employment. Of the758W Department's total budget the following sums have been allocated to employment and Welfare to Work programmes:

£ million

1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02

Employment 1,028 1,026 1,022

Welfare to Work¹ 86 86 86

¹ The majority of the Welfare to Work programmes are funded from the Windfall Tax levy. The Comprehensive Spending Review settlement did not include Windfall Tax levy allocations.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the announcements of extra expenditure on education since July 1998 not included in the additional money announced under the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011), giving the dates of those announcements and amounts announced in each case. [98252]

§ Mr. Blunkett
The March 1999 Budget provided £400 million for England from the Capital Modernisation Fund for a network of learning centres aimed at improving standards and access to IT; £230 million across the UK from the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund to help teachers purchase IT equipment for use at home (England's share of this was £180 million, 80 per cent.) and £49 million for schools in England to spend on books.
The November 1999 Pre-Budget Report provided £100 million PFI credits for schools; and £50 million from the windfall levy for the New Deal for Schools to repair and replace school buildings (of which England's share was £43 million).

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much of the extra money for education announced under the Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm. 4011) included(a) matched funding for standards fund and other centrally-managed projects contributed by local authorities and (b) permission to local authorities and others to increase their borrowings. [98245]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
Plans for the standards fund and capital allocations for 2000–01 and 2001–02 have not been finalised, so it is not possible to give a full answer to the question. In 1999–2000, English local authorities matched funding contributions to the Standards Fund were £120m higher than in 1998–99; Education Standard Spending Assessments in 1999–2000 rose by £1,100m. Credit approvals for education capital expenditure in England increased by £77m in the same period. The costs of this additional borrowing are supported through the capital financing standard spending assessment (CFSSA); the increases in CFSSA do not form part of the £19 billion.

£ million
	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Employment	1,028	1,026	1,022
Welfare to Work¹	86	86	86
¹ The majority of the Welfare to Work programmes are funded from the Windfall Tax levy. The Comprehensive Spending Review settlement did not include Windfall Tax levy allocations.