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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 13 July 1999
PRIME MINISTER
Social Exclusion
Ms Drown: To ask the Prime Minister when he intends to publish the Social Exclusion Unit report on 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training; and if he will make a statement. [91008]
The Prime Minister: Last summer, I asked the Social Exclusion Unit to assess how many 16 to 18-year-olds are not in education, work or training, to analyse the reasons why and to produce proposals to reduce the number significantly. I am publishing the Unit's report today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
At any one time, more than 160,000 16 to 18-year-olds--one in 11 of the age group--are not in education, training or work. The young people most likely not to participate in education, training or work during this period of their lives come from backgrounds of poverty or unemployment in the family, have truanted or been excluded from school, have been in care or live in the poorest neighbourhoods. There are clear links between non-participation and other problems encountered in adolescence. Half the young women who are outside education, work or training are teenage parents or carers, and there are links also with homelessness, offending and serious drug misuse.
Non-participation at this time in their lives has a dire effect on young people's future life prospects. By their mid-twenties, they are much more likely than their peers to have no qualifications, to be unemployed, to be poor, to experience poor health and depression and, if they are men, to have a criminal record which damages their prospects of work. The Government have a number of programmes in place to tackle educational under-achievement and youth disaffection, including the setting up of youth offending teams. But more needs to be done. The Unit's Report shows that there is little joined-up delivery of services to young people, and that the end of compulsory schooling at 16 is seen by too many young people as the end of education, rather than as a basis for its continuation. For too many of them, no one is responsible outside the family for guiding them through adolescence and there is not enough effective support to help them overcome personal problems that get in the way of learning. There are also strong arguments for giving more financial help to young people from poor families who want to stay on in education.
The Unit's Report plots a way forward in combating social exclusion among this age group. The Government believe that young people should be given every encouragement and support to stay in full-time education after they are 16 and reach at least a Level 2 qualification. It will ask the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to consult on ways of giving young people who stay in education until 16 recognition for what they have
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achieved in education and elsewhere. It will build on improvements already in train in education and skills for 13 to 19-year-olds, with a particular emphasis on the education received by young people in custody.
To extend the financial support available to young people to stay in education, the pilots of the Education Maintenance Allowance will be extended to include homeless and disabled young people, and those with high transport costs, for example in rural areas.
The Report also provides more detail on the new Youth Support Service, which was announced in the White Paper "Learning to Succeed" (Cm 4392) on 30 June. The aim of the new service will be to provide for young people between the ages of 13 and 19 individually tailored guidance and support, in places and ways which meet their needs. The youth support service will be a new service operating in a radically different way. It will look at the broad range of needs which a young person may have, focusing on those who require most help with the clear goal of supporting participation in learning. It will link closely with other agencies in doing this.
It is clear that the best defence against social exclusion is having a job, and the best chance of having a job is to be well educated. This will be more the case in the information age of the future than it has ever been. The years between 16 and 18 are crucial ones; making the wrong decision at that stage can affect a young person's prospects for the rest of their life. This action plan for the whole of Government will help to put young people firmly on the right track.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Attorney-General what new data series separated by gender, race, disability and age have been commissioned by his Department since June 1997. [90534]
The Attorney-General:
The Treasury Solicitor's department holds, as a matter of course, information as to the age and gender of all its staff. In 1998, the department conducted fresh surveys of staff then in post, requesting information on ethnic origin and disability. The survey information is regularly updated as new entrants are invited to complete survey forms on joining. No new 'data series' (internal surveys) have been commissioned by my other departments (the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office).
All my departments contribute to the 'Mandate' database maintained by the Cabinet Office from which data are taken for the publications "Civil Service Statistics" and "Equal Opportunities in the Civil Service". Furthermore, my departments contributed to the Schneider-Ross report on under-representation of women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in the Senior Civil Service, published on 7 July by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
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Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Attorney-General how many (a) race and (b) sex discrimination cases have been lodged against the CPS at industrial/employment tribunals by CPS staff in each of the last five years; and how many of
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the cases within (a) and (b) were (i) successfully pursued to a tribunal decision favourable to the applicant, (ii) settled and (iii) discontinued. [90379]
The Attorney-General:
The statistics from April 1994 until March 1999 are set out in the following table. My hon. Friend's attention is drawn to the footnote which accompanies the table.
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| Cases lodged | Result favourable to applicant | Settled | Discontinued | Ongoing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race discrimination cases lodged by CPS staff | |||||
| April 1994 to March 1995 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| April 1995 to March 1996 | 2 | -- | -- | 1 | (1)1 |
| April 1996 to March 1997 | 1 | -- | -- | (1)1 | -- |
| April 1997 to March 1998 | 3 | 1 | -- | 1 | (1)1 |
| April 1998 to March 1999 | 8 | (1)1 | (1)3 | (1)1 | (1)3 |
| Sex discrimination cases lodged by CPS staff | |||||
| April 1994 to March 1995 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| April 1995 to March 1996 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | (1)1 |
| April 1996 to March 1997 | 2 | -- | -- | (1)2 | -- |
| April 1997 to March 1998 | 2 | -- | -- | (1)1 | (1)1 |
| April 1998 to March 1999 | 6 | (1)1 | -- | (1)2 | (1)3 |
(1) The table includes one case claiming race and sex discrimination
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Mr. Dismore: To ask the Attorney-General (1) what plans he has to review the operation of performance appraisal reports in the CPS in the light of the Bamieh case; [90377]
- (2) what plans he has to review the operation of CPS promotion boards following the Bamieh case; [90378]
(3) what plans he has to review the operation of acting up arrangements in the CPS following the Bamieh case. [90380]
The Attorney-General: The recent decision of the Employment Tribunal, to which I believe my hon. Friend refers, concerns a case brought by Mrs. Bamieh against the Crown Prosecution Service relating to events which took place after 1 July 1997 and before 22 June 1998. The Tribunal found for Mrs. Bamieh in respect of the conduct of a promotion board that took place in 1998 but against her in the other three matters that she put forward.
Mrs. Bamieh's complaint in relation to her performance appraisal report in 1998 failed; however, the Crown Prosecution Service, in any event, introduced a new performance appraisal report that year. The appraisal system is being kept under regular review.
Equally, the Tribunal did not find that Mrs. Bamieh was discriminated against in relation to deputising and temporary promotion procedures; however, it did make observations about the systems in place. The deputising and temporary promotion procedures are currently under review and are being discussed with the departmental Trade Unions. The comments made by the Tribunal are being taken into account.
The Tribunal's Decision in relation to the conduct of the promotion boards is being taken very seriously by the Crown Prosecution Service, which is currently reviewing its promotion board procedures.
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