HC Deb 17 March 2003 vol 401 cc569-70W
Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding is being provided by the Government to schools to carry out sex education programmes in 2002–03. [101966]

Mr. Miliband

Funding for personal, social and health education (PSHE), which includes sex and relationship education, falls within a larger funding stream for school improvement which is distributed through the Standards Fund. The total fund for 2002–03 is £190 million. It is for individual schools to decide how to allocate these resources to best support their PSHE programmes.

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what experts in the area of child and teenage health his Department has consulted on the policies of sexual education taught in schools. [101967]

Mr. Miliband

The responsibility for determining a school policy on sex and relationship education rests with governing bodies and head teachers. In July 2000 we provided sex and relationship education guidance to maintained schools which sets out the requirement for schools to develop their policies in consultation with parents and to make them available for inspection. That guidance was developed in consultation with a wide range of bodies such as the Sex Education Forum, the National Health Education Group and the Teenage Pregnancy Unit.

The Department has not consulted on the policies of sexual education taught in independent schools. Independent schools are free to determine their own education programmes. However, they do have to meet minimum standards in relation to the quality of education provided. We would encourage them to have regard to the sex and relationship education guidance for maintained schools, but there is no requirement for them to do so.

Mr. Andrew Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who is responsible for setting policy on sexual education curriculum and standards in schools(a) in England and (b) in each region. [101968]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

The responsibility for determining a school policy on sex and relationship education rests with governing bodies and head teachers. This applies to maintained schools throughout England.

In July 2000 we provided sex and relationship education guidance to maintained schools which sets out the requirement for schools to develop their policies in consultation with parents and to make them available for inspection. Students are monitored through inspection undertaken by OFSTED.

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what studies he has commissioned into the effect on(a) rates of teenage pregnancy, (b) abortion rates and (c) the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, with particular reference to HIV, of abstinence-only forms of sexual education. [101970]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

The Department for Education and Skills has not commissioned any studies into the effect of abstinence only education on the rates on teenage pregnancy, abortion or the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The Department of Health has commissioned the Health Development Agency to review the evidence of effectiveness of interventions to reduce transmission of STIs and HIV. This concluded that there is no strong evidence for the effectiveness of abstinence only education approaches. The findings will be published later this year.