§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the estimated overall cost in 1999–2000 to local education authorities of educational provision for children with an autistic spectrum disorder in (a) special school provision (both autism specific 12WA and generic) and (b) mainstream provision; and what the projected cost is for 2000–01; and [HL4487]
Which local education authorities have accessed moneys, and if so how much, from the Standards Fund 1999–2000 (a) for improvement of speech and language therapy for children with communication difficulties, including autistic spectrum disorders; (b) for special educational needs training and professional development of teachers and other staff; and (c) to support special schools outreach provision; and [HL4488]
How many bids were received by the Department for Education and Employment from the Standards Fund 1999–2000 for autism specific projects by (a) local education authority and (b) amount of grant; and [HL4489]
Whether they will provide a breakdown by allocation of Standards Fund money for special educational needs in 1999–2000 by nature of application of grant. [HL4490]
§ Baroness BlackstoneThere is no information available on the costs to local educational authorities of education provision for children with an autistic spectrum disorder. Section 52 budget data from LEAs showing expenditure on schools does not distinguish by types of special educational need.
Standards Funds have been available for a number of years to support expenditure on training for staff involved in the education of children with special educational needs. Prior to 2000–01 there was no specific element for speech and language therapy within the Standards Fund, but within the general provisions of the grant there was allowance for funding to be used for the training of staff involved in the education of children with communication difficulties. However, provision has been made for this year, 2000–01, specifically for speech and language therapy pilot projects: £1.9 million of supported expenditure shared among 26 LEAs, as shown in the table below. For 2001–02, all LEAs will be able to draw on grant support for work in this area, as part of the Special Educational Needs Standards Fund, which will be distributed solely by formula.
13WA
Standards Fund Speech and Language Therapy Projects 2000–01 (Total supported expenditure, against which DfEE pays grant at a rate of 50%) Lea Amount £ Medway 100,000 Cambridgeshire 92,500 Isle of Wight 99,920 Newcastle upon Tyne 100,000 Nottingham City 91,012 Wiltshire 93,290 Cumbria 63,000 Havering 79,000 Cornwall 110,403 Telford & Wreakin 99,587 Shropshire 99,587 Merton 50,000 Sutton 50,000 Islington 80,000 Camden 120,000 Nottinghamshire 94,426
Standards fund Speech and Language Therapy Projects 2000–01 (Total supported expenditure, against which DfEE pays grant at a rate of 50―) Lea Amount £ South Tyneside 100,000 Ealing 115,000 Bristol 45,000 Blackburn with Darwen 101,183 Bournemouth 92,975 Blackpool 60,000 Darlington 21,000 Hounslow 60,000 Brighton & Hove 62,000 Tower Hamlets 100,000 In 1999–2000 all local education authorities received Standards Fund support for special educational needs training: £21 million of supported expenditure allocated by a national formula; £8 million of supported expenditure was also allocated to 62 local education authorities for inclusion related projects in 1999–2000, a number of which would have had as one of their purposes the improvement of outreach links between special and mainstream schools.
There was no specific category within the Standards Fund in 1999–2000 for autism. The general special education needs training element of the Standards Fund allowed for expenditure on a range of issues including training for staff involved in the education of children with autism. As it was distributed by formula to all local education authorities it did not require bids for specific projects.
Standards Fund allocations for special educational needs for 1999–2000 amounted to £35 million. Within this the grant was allocated as follows:
Parental partnerships: £6 million, allocated by formula to all LEAs Special education needs training: £21 million, allocated by formula to all LEAs Inclusion/EBD: £8 million allocated by competitive bidding; 62 LEAs were successful out of 97 that applied.