§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what basis the ethnicity factor in the additional educational needs allocates extra resources to all ethnic groups; if she will publish the evidence that her Department has used to assess need under the AEN factor; how many children receive increased funding from the ethnicity factor with the AEN; how much funding was distributed under the ethnicity factor to local councils in the years 2000–01 and 2001–02; and what her Department's estimate is for next year. [74957]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggUnder the current system of Education Standard Spending Assessments (SSA), extra resources are allocated to LEAs in recognition of the additional educational needs of children in minority ethnic groups on the basis of country of birth data taken from the 1991 national census. The number of children covered is 12 per cent. of the total population of children under the age of 16. The amount of funding distributed using this factor was £434 million in 2000–01 and £448 million in 2001–02. The amount of funding to be distributed for Additional Educational Needs for 2003–04 will depend on decisions yet to be taken about the new formula for LEA funding to be introduced from April 2003. Those decisions will be informed by research undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a copy of 203W whose report has been placed in the House Library, and by responses to the consultation on Local Government Finance, which ran from 8 July to 30 September.