§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money has been allocated for the broadband networking of schools; which schools are involved: and what individual allocation has been made for each of those schools. [49850]
§ Mr. TimmsFunding for broadband connections to schools is administered through the Standards Fund. For 2001–02, this was set at £42 million and for 2002–03 it will be £70 million.
Money from the fund is allocated to LEAs based on a formula. This formula takes account of the number of schools in the LEA and includes a sparsity weighting to recognise increased costs for rural areas. The funding is then pooled for spending by the Regional Broadband Consortia—the bodies tasked with planning and implementing broadband connections across England.
The target for August 2002 is to have 20 per cent. of schools in England connected to broadband, including all secondary schools, at a minimum of 2 megabits per second. Targets for August 2003 are being agreed and we hope to announce these soon. The types of school to be connected include: primary, secondary, nursery, and special schools.