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I recently tabled what are called Parliamentary Questions, asking how your money has been spent in Birkenhead since the 1997 election. Here is a summary of the results.

Chancellor of the Exchequer

> The average number of JSA claimants has fallen year on year – from 4,730 in 1997 to 2,540 in 2003
> Both the total number of employees and full-time employees have increased between 1997 and 2002 – total employees have increased by 1,200 (3.7%) and full-time employees have increased by 400 (2%)

Department for Education and Skills

> There has been an increase in the teacher population since 1997 –

in terms of teaching assistants in Birkenhead, this has increased from 90 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) in 1997 to 210 FTE in January 2003
the number of FTE regular teacher in Wirral’s maintained schools has risen by 150, from 2,930 in 1997 to 3,080 in 2003
the number of FTE school support staff increased in Wirral LEA by 690, from 680 in 1997 to 1,370 in 2003.

> There has been increased investment in Birkenhead’s educational institutions –

3,000 computers delivered through the Computers Within Reach programme were for the Liverpool area
4 computer learning centres have been established in Birkenhead – Arch Initiatives (Oliver Street East), Birkenhead Central Library (Borough Road), Encore Computer Training (Odyssey Business Centre), and Livingstone Street Play and Community Centre (St Anne’s Street)
Since 1998, schools in Wirral have benefited from an increased Standard Fund grant for investment in ICT (computers) – this has risen year on year, from £671,532 in 1998-98 to £2.2 million in 2003-04
£1.4 million has been provided for 3 School Sport Partnerships in the Wirral LEA and the New Opportunities Fund has allocated £4.4 million to enhance PE and school sports facilities in Wirral
in 2004-05, Wirral Metropolitan College will receive nearly £1.5 million of HEFCE funding, although there are no earlier figures to compare this with
The Excellence in Cities programme has included Park High School, Prenton High School, Ridgeway High School, Rock Ferry High School and Woodchurch High School – the number of children benefiting from this initiative has risen from 4,870 in 2000-01 to 5,284 in 2003-04, with the total spend per pupil having grown from £138.67 to £272 over the same period of time
Funds allocated for school repair has increased almost every year since 1997-98 – rising from around £2.4 million to £18.8 million in 2003-04
The New Deal for Schools has benefited Birkenhead’s schools – this was introduced in 1997-98, when £375,000 was invested; the latest figures available are for 2000-01 when almost £4 million was invested

> Educational attainment amongst Birkenhead’s pupils has increased since 1997-

The % of pupils reaching Level 4 or above in Key Stage 2 English and Maths has grown and now stands at 68% and 65% respectively, compared with 55% and 51% in 1997 – these figures, however, fall below the national average of 75% in English and 73% in Maths
The % of 15-16 year olds achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C has increased almost uninterrupted since 1997, from 28.9% at that time to 45.9% in 2003 – although this remains below the national average of 52.9%, Birkenhead’s students have significantly narrowed the gap since 1997
One school was deemed to be failing in 1997, although this has since recovered (name not provided)
Whilst numbers entering level 1 apprenticeships in the Merseyside LSC area has remained constant since 1998-99, the number entering level 2 apprenticeships has significantly grown – from 1,200 in 1998-99 to over 7,000 in July 2002

> Investment in post-16 education has increased since 2001 in both basic skills and key skills (communication, number application and IT) – basic skills investment grew from £3.8 million in 2001 to £10.7 million in 2003; investment in key skills increased from £1.1 million in 2001 to £1.8 million in 2003

> Childcare places – from April 1999 to December 2003, Wirral Local Authority created 5,245 new childcare places helping 9,597 children. Under the Neighbourhood Nurseries scheme, 348 new nursery places have been created in the Wirral, of which 175 are in Birkenhead.



	YOUR MONEY: An Analysis
			Page 1 of 3

I recently tabled what are called Parliamentary Questions, asking how your money has been spent in Birkenhead since the 1997 election. Here is a summary of the results. Chancellor of the Exchequer > The average number of JSA claimants has fallen year on year – from 4,730 in 1997 to 2,540 in 2003 > Both the total number of employees and full-time employees have increased between 1997 and 2002 – total employees have increased by 1,200 (3.7%) and full-time employees have increased by 400 (2%) Department for Education and Skills > There has been an increase in the teacher population since 1997 – in terms of teaching assistants in Birkenhead, this has increased from 90 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) in 1997 to 210 FTE in January 2003 the number of FTE regular teacher in Wirral’s maintained schools has risen by 150, from 2,930 in 1997 to 3,080 in 2003 the number of FTE school support staff increased in Wirral LEA by 690, from 680 in 1997 to 1,370 in 2003. > There has been increased investment in Birkenhead’s educational institutions – 3,000 computers delivered through the Computers Within Reach programme were for the Liverpool area 4 computer learning centres have been established in Birkenhead – Arch Initiatives (Oliver Street East), Birkenhead Central Library (Borough Road), Encore Computer Training (Odyssey Business Centre), and Livingstone Street Play and Community Centre (St Anne’s Street) Since 1998, schools in Wirral have benefited from an increased Standard Fund grant for investment in ICT (computers) – this has risen year on year, from £671,532 in 1998-98 to £2.2 million in 2003-04 £1.4 million has been provided for 3 School Sport Partnerships in the Wirral LEA and the New Opportunities Fund has allocated £4.4 million to enhance PE and school sports facilities in Wirral in 2004-05, Wirral Metropolitan College will receive nearly £1.5 million of HEFCE funding, although there are no earlier figures to compare this with The Excellence in Cities programme has included Park High School, Prenton High School, Ridgeway High School, Rock Ferry High School and Woodchurch High School – the number of children benefiting from this initiative has risen from 4,870 in 2000-01 to 5,284 in 2003-04, with the total spend per pupil having grown from £138.67 to £272 over the same period of time Funds allocated for school repair has increased almost every year since 1997-98 – rising from around £2.4 million to £18.8 million in 2003-04 The New Deal for Schools has benefited Birkenhead’s schools – this was introduced in 1997-98, when £375,000 was invested; the latest figures available are for 2000-01 when almost £4 million was invested > Educational attainment amongst Birkenhead’s pupils has increased since 1997- The % of pupils reaching Level 4 or above in Key Stage 2 English and Maths has grown and now stands at 68% and 65% respectively, compared with 55% and 51% in 1997 – these figures, however, fall below the national average of 75% in English and 73% in Maths The % of 15-16 year olds achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C has increased almost uninterrupted since 1997, from 28.9% at that time to 45.9% in 2003 – although this remains below the national average of 52.9%, Birkenhead’s students have significantly narrowed the gap since 1997 One school was deemed to be failing in 1997, although this has since recovered (name not provided) Whilst numbers entering level 1 apprenticeships in the Merseyside LSC area has remained constant since 1998-99, the number entering level 2 apprenticeships has significantly grown – from 1,200 in 1998-99 to over 7,000 in July 2002 > Investment in post-16 education has increased since 2001 in both basic skills and key skills (communication, number application and IT) – basic skills investment grew from £3.8 million in 2001 to £10.7 million in 2003; investment in key skills increased from £1.1 million in 2001 to £1.8 million in 2003 > Childcare places – from April 1999 to December 2003, Wirral Local Authority created 5,245 new childcare places helping 9,597 children. Under the Neighbourhood Nurseries scheme, 348 new nursery places have been created in the Wirral, of which 175 are in Birkenhead.

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