HC Deb 20 July 2001 vol 372 cc768-9W
Mrs. May

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish the guidance given by her Department to LEAs on the passporting of funds from the Learning and Skills Council to schools with sixth forms. [5820]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

We stated clearly in May 2000, in our consultation paper "Post-16 Funding", that LEAs would not be able to top-slice the funds they receive from the Learning and Skills Council for school sixth forms.

Mrs. May

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what work her Department has undertaken on the formula for top-slicing funding from LEAs to fund school sixth forms under the new arrangements to be introduced in 2002–03 for funding sixth forms through the Learning and Skills Council. [5819]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

Work is proceeding on the sixth form baseline funding transfer from the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions to the Department for Education and Skills; and on the implications of this for local authorities. Ministers will announce the transfer arrangements in due course.

Mrs. May

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have seen a fall in the number of pupils in their sixth forms in each of the last three years; and if she will list those schools. [5823]

Mr. Timms

Of the 1,719 maintained secondary schools with sixth forms1 for which information is available for each of the last three years, 313 show a decrease in pupils of sixth form age in each year.

A table showing the 313 maintained secondary schools has been placed in the Library.

1 For the purpose of this exercise a school with a sixth form has been defined as being a maintained secondary school with eight or more pupils aged 16 and eight or more pupils aged 17.

Mr. Boris Johnson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on differences in performance at GCSE between state secondary schools(a) with and (b) without a sixth form. [6095]

Mr. Timms

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