§ Andrew SelousTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funds allocated by(a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies are ring-fenced for specific purposes; and if she will list the allocations of funds involved. [22955]
§ Estelle Morris[holding answer 18 December 2001]Most of the Department's funding is not ring-fenced for any particular programme. The exceptions to this are initiatives running with support from specifically targeted funds. Details of initiatives running in 2001–02 with funding which cannot be diverted into any other programme without Treasury permission are listed:
£ million Initiative Student Loans 818 New Deal for Schools 293 Capital Modernisation Fund 232 Of which: UK Online Centres 141 City Learning Centres 44 Computers for Teachers 5 School Laboratories 30 University for Industry 2 The Cybrarian 2.5 Specialist Schools 7 Child care 162 Sure Start 184 Children's Fund 100 Invest to Save Budget 2 The Department provides grant funding for local education authorities (LEAs) for targeted initiatives, such as literacy and numeracy strategies, the National Grid for Learning, and capital support for schools, through the Standards Fund.
The Department provides funding for non-departmental government bodies. In a number of cases there is a large amount of discretion for these bodies in how they deploy funds. Such organisations include the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Learning and Skills Council and the Teacher Training Agency.
Most support for schools and local education authorities (LEAs) flows through the Education Standard Spending Assessment and Revenue Support Grant. This funding is not ring-fenced.