HC Deb 19 November 2002 vol 394 cc59-61W
Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants were made through the school improvement grant in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b)Buckinghamshire in 2001–02. [81185]

Mr. Miliband

Standards fund grants are allocated to local education authorities, so figures for Chesham and Amersham are not available. A total of £2.19 million was allocated to Buckinghamshire through the Standards Fund School Improvement Grant in the 2001–02 financial year, of which: £1.31 million was required to be devolved to all maintained schools to raise levels of pupil attainment by funding activities in school development, post-Ofsted and raising attainment plans; £350,000 was targeted at schools in special measures and secondary schools facing challenging circumstances to bring about urgent improvements; and £446,000 was available to support direct interventions in schools facing challenging circumstances or support the priorities set out in Buckinghamshire's Educational Development Plans

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many newly qualified teachers in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire were entitled to induction support in 2001–02. [81183]

Mr. Miliband

All Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) who take-up a post of one term or more in a maintained school, or non-maintained special school, are entitled to induction.

During the 2001–02 academic year, a total of 195 NQTs undertook induction in Buckinghamshire, of which 53 were in the constituency of Chesham and Amersham.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ensure that no schools in(a)Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire have a cash budget cut in the next financial year. [81188]

Mr. Miliband

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 6 November 2002,Official Report, column 396W.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations his Department has received in connection with the funding of(a) schools and (b) school pupils in (i) Chesham and Amersham and (ii) Buckinghamshire over the last year. [81191]

Mr. Miliband

The Department has answered 10 letters in connection with the funding of schools in Buckinghamshire over the last year. Two of these letters were from the hon. Member, and it is not possible to identify which Buckinghamshire constituency the rest came from.

In addition a number of Buckinghamshire residents responded to the consultation on Local Government Funding reform which closed on 30 September: to identify precisely these letters from among the very large numbers of responses to the consultation would incur disproportionate cost.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the secondary schools in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire which conduct cognitive ability tests in year 7. [81181]

Mr. Miliband

Cognitive ability tests for year 7 are commercial tests which schools can purchase if they wish. As such, the Department has no records of their usage on an individual school, local education authority, or national basis.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent through the standards fund on teaching assistants in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire in 2001–02. [81184]

Mr. Miliband

Details of standards fund expenditure by local education authorities for 2001–02 are not held centrally. Some £197 million was made available to authorities in 2001–02 through standards fund grant for the recruitment and training of teaching assistants, of which £1.732 million went to Buckinghamshire. 95 per cent. of this grant was required to be devolved to schools. Schools have freedom to move funding between standards fund headings according to their own detailed needs and priorities.

Information on standards fund allocations and expenditure is not collected at constituency level.