HC Deb 20 April 2004 vol 420 cc474-80W
Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the effects on schools of changes since 1997 in the level of investment in school sports in Birkenhead. [166296]

Stephen Twigg

The Government is investing more than £1 billion in England to transform PE, school sport and club links. The funding will help to deliver an ambitious Public Service Agreement target, shared with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. to increase the percentage of 5–16 year olds who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006.

The Department is providing £1,376,176 to support the delivery of three School Sport Partnerships in the Wirrall LEA area. The partnerships include 14 secondary and 70 primary schools and provide enhanced sport opportunities for all young people. Furthermore, the New Opportunities Fund has allocated £4,448,000 to specifically enhance PE and school sport facilities in the Wirral LEA area.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on higher education in Birkenhead in each of the last seven years. [166320]

Alan Johnson

The only publicly funded institution providing higher education in Birkenhead is Wirral Metropolitan College. The College has three main campuses (two of which are in Birkenhead) and also operates through neighbourhood learning centers and in-company learning centers. In 2004–05 HEFCE will be providing nearly £1.5 million to Wirral Metropolitan College but we have no information on the proportion of this or previous funding spent through the two campuses in Birkenhead.

Birkenhead Number of pupils achieving Level 4 + Mathematics Birkenhead Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 + England Percentage of pupil achieving Level 4 + Birkenhead Number of pupils achieving Level 4 + English Birkenhead Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 + England Percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 +
2003 689 65 73 722 68 75
2002 770 67 73 812 70 75
2001 747 65 71 811 70 75
2000 720 64 72 764 68 75
1999 735 61 69 787 66 71
1998 538 49 59 635 58 65
1997 552 51 62 592 55 63

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 15 and 16 year-olds in Birkenhead achieved at least five GCSEs at grades A*—C or GNVQ equivalent in each of the last seven years. [166319]

Mr Miliband

The statistical information requested is detailed in the following table:

Percentage of 15 year old pupils1 achieving five or more

GCSE/GNVQ grades A*—C

Academic Year Birkenhead Parliamentary Constituency England
1997 28.9 45.1
1998 31.0 46.3
1999 30.2 47.9
2000 35.4 49.2
2001 40.7 50.0

Eligible students attending designated courses at Wirral Metropolitan College are eligible for student support. The available figures for funding for these students are shown below. They relate only to spending on tuition fees, student loans (cash cost) and the Dependants Grant for full-time undergraduate students.

Academic year Tuition fees £ Student loans (cash cost) £ Dependants Grants £
1999–2000 177,100 652,300 63,000
2000–01 172,100 599,200 70,200
2001–02 179,200 664,500 115,100
2002–03 175,600 581,300 145,000

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Birkenhead deemed to be failing since 1997 have since reached satisfactory standards. [166328]

Mr. Miliband

One school in Birkenhead has been found to be failing since 1997 and has since recovered. A further Ofsted inspection in 2002 showed the school to be improving and providing a sound education for its pupils.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of 11 year old pupils in Birkenhead have reached level four in(a) mathematics and (b) English in each of the last seven years. [166330]

Mr Miliband

The information requested is as follows:

Academic Year Birkenhead Parliamentary Constituency England
2002 44.0 51.6
2003 45.9 52.9
1 Pupils are aged 15 at the start of the academic year, ie 31 August.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils in Birkenhead reached the(a) mathematics and (b) English standard in each of the last seven years. [166329]

Mr Miliband

The results from the 2003 National Curriculum tests showed that 75 per cent. of 11 year olds in England reached Level 4 in English and 73 per cent. in mathematics. The results represent a significant improvement in standards—of 12 percentage points in English and 11 percentage points in mathematics—since 1997, reflecting the impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on primary schools. We remain absolutely committed, through our new Primary Strategy, to supporting schools to achieve the ambitious targets we have set for standards of literacy and numeracy.

The table shows the number and percentage of pupils in Birkenhead who have achieved level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics tests since 1997. The results for Birkenhead are below the national average but show improvements since 1997 in English and mathematics in excess of the improvements in the national figures:

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
English—No of pupils1 592 635 787 764 811 812 722
Mathematics—No of pupils1 552 538 735 720 747 770 689
English—%of pupils 55 58 66 68 70 70 68
Mathematics—% Pupils 51 49 61 64 65 67 65
1The number of eligible pupils for the Key Stage 2 tests varies slightly from year to year.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding each school in Birkenhead has received from New Deal for Schools. [166326]

Mr. Miliband

The table shows the schools in the Birkenhead constituency that benefited from investment through the New Deal for Schools (NDS) programme, which commenced in 1997–98. From 2000–01, capital allocations to local authorities and schools have largely been made by formulae linked to asset management plans. In addition, all schools have, since 2000–01, received Devolved Formula capital to use on their most urgent capital needs.

NDS Allocations to Schools in the Birkenhead Constituency
Year School Project Details Type Grant Awarded
1997–98 Bedford Drive Primary school Continuation of roofing and structural repairs LEA widegrant £375,000.00
1998–99 Devonshire Park Primary School Rebuild boundary wall to playground, stack and gutter repairs (North building) £49,500.00
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Structural repairs to infant building-design/construction fault £19,800.00
Bidston Avenue Primary School Gutter repairs/renewal £8,800.00
Park High School Fire precaution works, replacement of aluminium windows £82,500.00
1999–2000 The Priory Parish C of E Primary Part of roofing package £2,475.00
NDS Allocations to Schools in the Birkenhead Constituency
Year School Project Details Type Grant Awarded
school
Mersey Park Primary School Repair element roofing Project including 17 schools £950,300.00
Woodchurch Road Primary School Heating boiler plant repairs Project including 13 schools £340,900.00
Hillside Infant School Repair element structure Project including 15 schools £1,289,200.00
Townfield Primary School Repair element structure Project including 15 schools £1,289,200.00
St Oswald's Bidston C of E Primary School Repair element rooting Project including 17 schools £950,300.00
Oxton St Savior's C of E Primary School Heating boiler plantreparis Project including 13 schools£340,900.00
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School Heating boiler plant repairs Project including 13 schools£340,900.00
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Heating boiler plant repairs Project including 13 schools£340,900.00
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Repair element structure Project including 15 schools £1,289,200.00
Prenton High School for Girls Repair element roofing Project including 17 schools£950,300.00
Rock Ferry High School Repair element roofing Project including 17 schools£950,300.00
Ridgeway High School Repair element roofing Project including£950,300.00
Plessington Catholic High School Technology College Heating boiler plant repairs Project including 13 schools£340,900.00
2000–01 Rock Ferry High School Temporary mobile accomodation to be replaced by permanent new build Project including 9 schools£1,955,856.00
Ridgeway High School Temporary mobile accomodation to be replaced by permanent new build Project including 9 schools £1,955,856.00

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on repairing schools in Birkenhead in each year since 1997. [166304]

Mr. Miliband

The majority of capital support is allocated to schools and local education authorities by formula, and they decide how to invest it in line with

All figures in £000s
Wirral LEA Capital Allocations 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04
Assistance With AMPS 42
Basic L C Vap 61 348 453
Basic Need 1,4686321,7931,068344110251
City Learning centers102,200
Class Size Initiative2118996516691
Condition2,0763,1084,009
Devolved Formula2,3361,9222,9064,590
Early Excellence center19566
Energy104
Modernisation1,5672,911
NDS 1375
NDS 21,902
NDS 32,712
NDS 43,956
Nursery Provision70
Outside Toilets369
Private Finance Initiative58,500
School Labs224224
School Security831031091087665
Schools Access Initiative3070150210349493726
Seed Challenge217247424421
Specialist Schools100200200
Staff Workspace84176
Supplementary Credit Approvals55684
Supplementary NDS for VA Schools146
Targeted Capital Funding6001,316
Targeted Capital Funding—VA3,921
Voluntary Aided School Grant399682937341352763
Total2,4104,6196,71767,9378,71710,15918,774
Additionally, we have allocated to date approximately £13.4 million in 2004–05 and £5.3 million in 2005–06 for further capital investment in schools in Wirral LEA.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in schools in Birkenhead (a) in each of the last seven years and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [166299]

Mr. Miliband

In the Birkenhead constituency there were 210 full-time equivalent teaching assistants in service in maintained schools in January 2003. This is the latest information available. The table gives the corresponding numbers since 1997.

Year
1997 90
1998 90
1999 110
2000 110
2001 170
2002 150
Source:
Annual School's Census.

their asset management plans. The Department does not, therefore, have complete information about capital investment at constituency level. The table sets out the capital support made by the Government to Wirral Local Education Authority since 1997–98, in total and by programme, including devolved formula capital grants to each school.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there were in Birkenhead on the latest date for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce them. [166298]

Mr. Miliband

Teacher vacancy information is collected at local authority level. In January 2003, there were 18 vacancies for full-time teachers in maintained schools in the Wirral local education authority (LEA) area, which includes Birkenhead.

Like other areas, since 1997 Wirral has benefited from the initiatives that the Government has put in place to recruit and retain teachers and to increase the number of staff supporting them in schools. Since 1997, the number of full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained schools in Wirral LEA has risen by 150, from 2,930 to 3,080 in 2003. Over the same period, the number of full-time equivalent school support staff in the LEA has grown by 690, from 680 to 1,370.

Forward to