§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide a list of the Government initiatives to improve information and communications technology infrastructure in schools for808W each of the years 2000–01 to 2003–04; indicating in each case how much (a) public funding and (b) private funding will be provided. [140777]
§ Mr. WillsOur investment in education includes several initiatives that will help to support the improvement of schools' ICT infrastructure. Our main programme is the National Grid for Learning, which is supporting a total of over £1 billion of publicly funded expenditure, including £657 million between 1998 and 2002 (including £205 million in 2000–01, and £245 million in 2001–02), and a further £710 million between 2002 and 2004. This will ensure that all schools are able to reach a common threshold of access to ICT, and to progress beyond this.
In addition, several other initiatives support ICT-related expenditure, including technology colleges and City Learning Centres (which provide state-of-the-art ICT-based learning opportunities for pupils and the wider community) and Education Action Zones and Excellence Clusters (which may use ICT as part of a package of measures to address under-performance). With the exception of City Learning Centres, private sector sponsorship supports each of these initiatives, but it is not possible to predict how much sponsorship will become available during this period.
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what interest the private sector has shown in his proposals to establish e-learning foundations; and if he will make a statement; [140776]
(2) what role local education authorities will play in the process of establishing and maintaining e-learning foundations; [140778]
(3) what targets have been set for private sector contributions to e-learning foundations; [140773]
(4) how the national e-learning foundations will relate to the National Grid for Learning; and if he will make a statement. [140772]
§ Mr. WillsThe e-Learning Foundation will help the Government's drive to bridge the digital divide by providing children from low income families and in disadvantaged areas with portable computers and internet access to learning materials. The initiative runs in parallel with the National Grid for Learning's programme of connecting all schools to the web by 2002 and improving pupil/computer ratios in schools. 98 per cent. of all secondary schools and 86 per cent. of all primary schools are already connected to the internet.
The initiative is a partnership between Government, community groups and the private sector. Local e-Learning Foundations across the country will engage parents, the local business community and other major sponsors in funding equipment for disadvantaged children in that community. The national e-Learning Foundation is charged with brokering contributions from the corporate business sector.
Specific targets for private sector contributions will be agreed between the national e-Learning Foundation and my Department's officials in due course.
E-Learning Foundations can operate at a range of different levels; for example, an individual school, a group of schools, or a wider community foundation. LEAs may wish to run their own foundation, as has happened in the case of Nottingham local authority.