§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on the Excellence in Cities programme in each year since 1998–99; what his estimate is of annual expenditure up to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [156585]
§ Mr. MilibandExpenditure on the Excellence in Cities programme since 1998 is as follows:
£ Expenditure 1999/2000 24,344,435 2000/01 138,849,734 2001/02 245,230.101 2002/03 242,016,353 2003/04 (provisional) 272,164,265 Estimated expenditure between 2004/05 and 2005/06 is as follows:
£ Estimated expenditure 2004/05 306,240,000 2005/06 386,240,000 These figures reflect the success of this programme and its rapid expansion. They do not include expenditure on the related Behaviour Improvement Programme (BIP) and the Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG) which are overseen by EiC partnerships in EiC areas. Currently the Department invests £65.9 million annually on BIP and £148.5 million annually on LIG. The figures also exclude spending on specialist and beacon schools which, although utilised as part of the EiC strategy, belong to wider national programmes.
The EiC programme now covers 57 whole authority areas as well as 51 Excellence Clusters covering smaller pockets of deprivation.
As well as continuing to expand Excellence Clusters, we are also expanding primary EiC to provide behavioural support and extended opportunities for gifted and talented children in our most deprived primary schools. This help will not be confined to EiC areas but will include all schools meeting the relevant criteria, and will provide the support they need to ensure that their most disadvantaged pupils are better able to access the national primary strategy.
The EiC programme is now paying off. GCSE exam results last year were the best yet for EiC schools. Schools in Excellence in Cities whole authority partnerships improved at more than twice the rate of schools elsewhere with average gains of 2.5 percentage points compared to 1.2 percentage points in non-EiC schools.
There was also a significant impact on behaviour and attendance—with standards again improving fastest in EiC schools.
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