To ask the President of the Council if she will ensure that no charges are imposed for admission to the Palace of Westminster which could affect British citizens without a debate and decision on the floor of the House.[75943]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood), on behalf of the House of Commons Commission, on 3 February 1999, Official Report,column 625.

To ask the Chairman of the Finance and Services Committee what assessment is made of the industrial relations record of private contractors as part of the tendering process for contracts to provide services to the House; and if he will make a statement.[75443]

No formal assessments are made of the industrial relations records of private contractors tendering for contracts to provide services to the House. The supplier appraisal process can, however, cover such matters as recruitment procedures to avoid discrimination, training policies, quality standards and good employment practices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the economic impact on British companies of the bidding process for dam construction on the River Tigris in Turkey. [74873]

[holding answer 8 March 1999]: The contract is the subject of continuing negotiations and, until these are complete, the actual values will not be known, but the company concerned expects that very substantial procurement of UK goods and services would take place as a result of the Ilisu hydro-electric project on the River Tigris in Turkey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the Conclusions of the EU Presidency on Economic Reform which were debated at the EU Internal Market Council on 25 February. [75724]

The Conclusions on Economic Reform agreed at the Internal Market Council of 25 February were published as part of a Council press release (document No. 6215/99), following the meeting. They are available on the Council's website at http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the Conclusions of the Internal Market Council on 25 February.[75725]

The Conclusions of the Internal Market Council of 25 February were published as part of a Council press release (document No. 6215/99), following the meeting. They are available on the Council's website at http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the conclusions of his Department's inquiry into the disappearance of weapons grade uranium in the 1960s from Dounreay; and if he will make a statement. [75942]

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply of 28 January 1999, Official Report, column 315, to my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is yet in a position to make his decision on AES Fifoots Point Ltd' s application to extend the Fifoots Point coal-fired power station near Newport in South Wales.[76735]

I have today granted consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to AES Fifoots Point Ltd.'s application to construct a re-circulating cooling water system (the extension) at its existing power station at Fifoots Point. The decision has been taken in accordance with the policy set out in the White Paper entitled 'Conclusions of the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government response to fourth and fifth Reports of the Trade and Industry Committee' (Cm 4071).The relevant planning authority, Newport County Borough Council, has not objected to the application.Decisions on other applications under consideration will be announced in due course.Copies of the Press Notice are being placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what discussions he has had with the regional electricity companies to encourage them to use more renewable energy; [75686](2) what target, in terms of the percentage of electricity provided through renewables, each of the regional electricity companies has set themselves; and what progress was made in achieving this in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [75687]

Orders placed under the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) arrangements require the Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) to contract collectively for specific amounts of renewable generation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the total value of missile purchases other than Rapier which the USA has made from the United Kingdom in the past decade. [75018]

I have been asked to reply.I wrote to the hon. Member about this matter on 8 March 1999, in reply to his earlier question on 2 March 1999,

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what response she has made to the Fourth Report of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of session 1997–98 on the Prison Service in Northern Ireland. [76587]

A copy of my response has, by the Committee's leave, been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the pilot projects instigated by his Department since 1 May 1997, indicating the area in which each pilot took, or is taking, place. [72633]

Since 1 May 1997 the Department has instigated a number of pilot projects, a list of which has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each (a) metropolitan district council,(b) shire district council,(c) unitary council, (d) shire county council and(e) London borough council the sums of money they will be required to pay towards the education standards fund in the 1999–2000 financial year. [74771]

The following table lists the allocations offered so far to each local education authority in England for the 1999–2000 Standards Fund programme, including the contribution to be made by each authority and by the Government if the allocations are accepted in full.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the reports he has received from the Independent Committee on Technology in Schools. [74791]

An independent committee chaired by Sir Dennis Stevenson was established in 1996 to examine the role that ICT should be playing in primary and secondary education. The committee published its findings in a report entitled 'Information and Communications Technology in UK Schools'.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each (a) metropolitan district council, (b) shire district council, (c) unitary council, (d) shire county council and (e) London borough council the amount of money they will receive to contribute towards the teachers' pay award in the 1999–2000 financial year. [74770]

The Local Government Finance settlement was announced by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 2 December 1998, Official Report, columns 883–84. It included. Education Standard Spending Assessments, which increased by 5.7 per cent. overall, but it did not identify separately funding in respect of teachers' pay.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on progress in the provision of guaranteed nursery education for all four-year-olds. [74780]

Early Years Development and Childcare Plans demonstrate how, since September 1998, a free part time early education place, for three terms before compulsory school, has been available for every child whose parents want one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by local education authority, how much money.(a) has been spent and (b) is estimated will be needed to be spent on (i) employing new teachers and (ii) building new classrooms in order for schools to ensure that no five to seven-year-olds will be in classes with more than 30 pupils. [74736]

The following table sets out by local education authority the allocations of revenue funding for additional teachers and capital funding for new classrooms made for 1998–99 and 1999–2000. In total, we have made available £620 million to ensure that our pledge is delivered in full by September 2001 and in virtually all schools by September 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for (i) each of the past four years and (ii) the current year to date (a) the number of jobseeker's allowance recipients who have been interviewed and (b) the number subsequently awarded a nil benefit. [74159]

[holding answer 4 March 1999]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the current ratio of school leavers to the numbers entering higher education. [75024]

Information on the number of school leavers who entered higher education directly is not available centrally. In some cases, progression to HE will be direct from FE or tertiary college, and some students will enter after a year abroad or other sabbatical. The entry rate of young people to HE is measured by the Age Participation Index (API) which measures the chance of a young person entering full-time higher education before they are 21. In 1998–99 the API was in the range 30–32 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many special schools he estimates will close as a result of the Programme of Action for meeting special educational needs. [74814]

The Programme of Action makes it clear that we see a continuing and vital role for special schools. We want to build on their strengths and ensure that they are an integral part of an inclusive local education system for children in their area, and in some cases beyond. We recognise that some local education authorities may wish to propose changes to individual schools, both special and mainstream, to reflect changes in demand for special needs provision. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has, however, informed authorities that the Programme of Action should not be interpreted as providing justification on its own for making proposals to close special schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on Trafford Borough Council's advice to parent teacher associations regarding the dissemination of information to parents who are involved in grammar school ballots. [75226]

The Council's action is not contrary to the provisions in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The letter from the Chief Executive merely points out that it would be prudent for parent teacher associations with charitable status to check their constitutions before disseminating any information from lobby groups to ensure that their actions would not be in breach of Charity law.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to reform school performance tables to allow schools to omit from their statistics those children who have been disregarded from SATs and public examinations by virtue of a statement of special educational needs. [75206]

We have no current plans to treat pupils with special educational needs differently in performance tables. The inclusion of such pupils is supported by the Government's National Advisory Group on SEN.Many pupils with special educational needs are academically able or on a par with other pupils, and to ignore their achievements would be wrong. Schools do face particular challenges, however, in achieving results in line with national expectations for most pupils with special educational needs. The performance tables include information on the number of such pupils on roll, so that this can be taken into account in evaluating school performance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment his Department has made of the improvements in employability of those passing through the New Deal programme; [75421](2) allowing for displacement and substitution, what estimate his Department has made of the number of new jobs which have been created by the New Deal; [75422](3) what percentage of those going through all stages of the New Deal for the young unemployed to date were without permanent employment at the end of the programme.[75423]

[holding answer 8 March 1999]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal for the young unemployed in Hendon.[75782]

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 8 February 1999, Official Report, column 107, if he will set out the budget for Ofsted for the financial years (a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99, calculated on the same basis as the figures contained in his answer. [75488]

[holding answer 8 March 1999]: Total provision for Ofsted in the financial year 1998–99 is £110.3 million and total expenditure for 1997–98 was £151 million. The reduction in 1998–99 results principally from the change, announced by the previous Government and confirmed in July 1997 in the "Excellence in schools" White Paper, from a four-year cycle of school inspections to a differentiated approach in which schools will be inspected at least every six years but more frequently where weaknesses are apparent, and from lower than expected contract prices for inspections.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will review local authority circular 94/23 which permits child minders to smack minded children with parental permission. [75152]

The guidance was introduced following a High Court judgment. The Department of Health will shortly be consulting on how the law can be improved to better protect children from assault. We will review the guidance in the light of this consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he expects to announce the findings of his review of A-levels; and if he will make a statement. [75660]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: We expect to make an announcement shortly on taking forward our commitment to support broader A-levels and upgrade vocational qualifications, underpinned by rigorous standards and key skills. This will support A-level students studying more subjects particularly in the first year of sixth form, recognising the lower levels of taught time at this stage in England compared with other European countries. We have already made it clear that reforms will be introduced nationally for teaching from September 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he plans to announce the findings of his review of the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement. [75661]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: We will be consulting widely on draft proposals for revisions to the National Curriculum during the summer. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will then make final decisions in the early autumn before the revised National Curriculum is sent to schools. Schools will then have most of the 1999–2000 school year to prepare for any changes from September 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of education standards in (a) Tamworth Borough and (b) Staffordshire.[75651]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Statistics showing the standards of attainment by pupils in each school and local authority area are published in annual performance tables. A summary of recent results in Staffordshire and in primary and secondary schools in Tamworth Borough, which is not itself a local education authority, is set out in the following table. A sample of schools in each authority is inspected annually by Ofsted and reports published which include judgments about standards of attainment and the quality of education. A programme of inspections of all local education authorities is now being carried out by Ofsted, but none of the named authorities has yet been inspected. All authorities have just submitted for approval an Education Development Plan which includes a three-year programme for securing school improvement, and targets including those for pupil performance at ages 11 and 16 which will be monitored in future years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the funding for education in Staffordshire in 1999–2000; [75652](2) what assessment he has made of the current SSA formula for the distribution of education funding to shire authorities; [75653](3) if he will review the current SSA formula for funding education; [75654]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: The education SSA for Staffordshire for 1999–2000 represents an underlying increase of £18.2 million or 6 per cent., after allowing for local authority changes of function. An increase on that scale should be sufficient to meet the pressures faced by Staffordshire schools, although my right hon. Friend appreciates the concern expressed by schools in Staffordshire and elsewhere about the fairness of the current education SSA system. In announcing the conclusions of the comprehensive Spending Review for the three years up to 2001–02, Ministers made it clear that they would not seek to change the current SSA system. It will, nevertheless, be subject to review. That will be led by DETR Ministers, and it will involve local government representation, and Ministers with local government service interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to take account of levels of turnover in pupil enrolments in setting local education authority standard spending assessments. [75751]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: None in the immediate future. In announcing the conclusions of the Comprehensive Spending Review for the three years up to 2001–02, Ministers made it clear that they would not seek to change the system of calculating standard spending assessments. It will, nevertheless, be subject to review. That will be led by DETR Ministers, and it will involve local government representation, and Ministers with local government service interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of the Employment Service targets under the New Deal had been achieved by 1 March 1999. [75667]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of those entering the New Deal Gateway in January 1998 were still in the Gateway on 31 December 1998. [75666]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what advice has been issued to local education authorities on involving (a) parents and (b) governors in the development of early years education. [75564]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: The planning guidance on Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships for 1999–2000 asks Partnerships to ensure that the interests of parents, including those parents in employment, and of maintained schools, including nursery schools, are properly represented in drawing up the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which local education authorities have submitted their draft Early Years Development Plans to his Department for approval; and how many have been approved. [75563]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: All local education authorities have submitted Early Years Development and Childcare Plans for approval. I shall shortly announce which have been approved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what advice has been issued to local education authorities on involving (a) parents and (b) governors in decision making on local education services, and giving them representation on (i) local education authority education committees and (ii) children's panels. [75565]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: We are keen to encourage parents and governors to become involved in decision making on education services. The Department has not issued general guidance to local education authorities on how to achieve this, although guidance to authorities on specific functions has included appropriate advice, for example the guidance on Education Development Plans issued in September 1998. The Department is due to consult on draft regulations on parent governor representatives on local authority committees dealing with education in the next few weeks, and to issue the final regulations and guidance in the summer. I believe that the reference to children's panels relates to Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships which are covered in a reply given today by the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Ms Hodge), at column 320.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he plans to announce the outcome of bids for funding under the New Deal: Innovative Projects programme. [75748]

[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if (a) he, (b) civil servants in his Department or (c) special advisers in his Department have (i) had sight of drafts of select committee reports, in whole or in part, or (ii) been informed of conclusions of select committee reports prior to their publication by the select committees. [75871]

[holding answer 10 March 1999]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr. Wilshire) on 1 March 1999, Official Report, column 531. There have been no instances of members of select committees giving me, or my ministerial colleagues, drafts of select committee reports, or of parts of reports including their conclusions, before publication. Nor to the best of my knowledge there have been any occasions on which members of select committees have given such material to civil servants or special advisers in the Department. this excludes embargoed copies of reports issued under House of Commons Standing Orders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 5 March 1999, Official Report, columns 951–52, concerning Rainsford School, when he expects (a) the further consultations to end with Essex Local Education Authority and local schools and (b) a decision to be taken on the case for admitting a pupil whose name has been sent to him. [76107]

We have asked Essex Local Education Authority to provide details of this pupil and their handling of the direction process, along with information about alternative local schools, by Monday 15 March. Their response will determine whether we need to write to any other schools. Only once all local consultation is fully completed will it be possible for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to make a decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish the Quinquennial Review report on the Higher Education Funding Council for England. [76734]

I am publishing the report today. Copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much additional money would have been available to (a) the Arts Council, (b) the Sports Council, (c) the Millennium Commission and (d) the Heritage Lottery Fund in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 1998–99 if the Government had not introduced the New Opportunities Fund. [72175]

In line with the overall income forecast of £10.6 billion, we expect the arts, sport, heritage and charities (with £1.85 billion each) and the Millennium Commission (£2.017 billion) to receive more in the current licence period than was originally forecast.Any retrospective reallocation of the sums announced for the New Opportunities Fund (£1 billion) and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (£200 million) is entirely hypothetical.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the role of professional lobbyists in formulating policy in his Department. [74359]

[holding answer 4 March 1999]: Any contacts with lobbyists by Ministers and civil servants in this Department are conducted in accordance with the "Ministerial Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contact with Lobbyists".

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what was the cost of (a) developing and (b) introducing the new departmental logo. [75184]

[holding answer 5 March 1999]:(a) The budget for developing the departmental visual identity was £26,000. We are still awaiting final invoices, but expect the final outturn to be close to budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what criteria the new departmental logo was chosen. [75296]