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School Meals
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many local education authorities provide (a) hot and (b) cold meals; [154919]
- (2) what consultation he has initiated with schoolchildren about their preferences in respect of school meals and if meals should be hot or cold; [154920]
(3) what guidelines he issues to local education authorities about the nutritional value of hot school meals; [154921]
(4) which authorities have changed school meal provision from hot meals to cold in the last year. [154922]
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Jacqui Smith: Information on hot and cold school meal provision is not collected centrally. Under current education legislation, it is entirely up to local education authorities and schools in England to decide on the presentation and content of school meals. However, from 1 April this year, the Government are introducing compulsory minimum nutritional standards for school lunches--the first for over 20 years--along with a new duty to provide paid meals on request. Although there is no requirement that lunches should be hot, all school lunches, whether hot or cold, will have to meet the new standards.
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I accept that hot food may be comforting, particularly in cold weather. In our guidance for caterers on the new standards, there is a strong recommendation that some hot food should be available on the school meal menu.
We consulted widely on the new standards, including a sample of schools. My officials have also visited schools and spoken to children to ask their views on school lunches.
Bullying
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on tackling bullying in schools. [154998]
Jacqui Smith: We attach a high priority to helping schools prevent and combat bullying. We want all schools to treat bullying seriously and deal with it promptly and firmly whenever and wherever it occurs. That is why since September 1999 we have required heads by law to draw up measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. To help them do this, last December my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched our new anti-bullying strategy. This includes a revised pack for schools, an accompanying video aimed at pupils, a new anti-bullying website and a new public information film to raise awareness. The key message is that pupils should report bullying to someone they trust and not suffer in silence. The Department is also funding an expansion of the Parentline Plus free helpline for parents of victims.
We have, however, made it clear that when necessary Heads can permanently exclude pupils responsible for serious or persistent bullying.
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils were recorded as the subjects of bullying at school (a) nationally and (b) in each of the London education authorities over the past 12 months, broken down by ethnic origin. [154999]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not available centrally.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments were made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund over the past year. [151770]
Dr. Reid: I believe my hon. Friend is referring to funds allocated by the Victims Liaison Unit in the Northern Ireland Office which provides support to victims of the Troubles.
In the past year, the Victims Liaison Unit allocated £1 million to the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund, bringing the total paid to the fund to date to £2 million. The fund will receive a further £3 million over the next three years.
£3 million was also provided for the scheme to core fund victims and survivors groups over a two-year period from 2000-02. To date £2,987,938 has been allocated from this scheme. The allocation of grants to individual groups is shown in the table.
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| £ | |
|---|---|
| Group | Grant |
| Aisling Centre | 20,900 |
| Alanna Consultancy Associates | 1,070 |
| An Crann/The Tree | 86,100 |
| Ardoyne Commemoration Project | 3,000 |
| Ballymurphy Womens Centre | 67,697 |
| BASE 2 (NIACRO) | 50,750 |
| CALMS | 112,530 |
| Coleraine/Ballymoney Branch Regimental Association UDR | 73,660 |
| Colleague Support Group | 3,100 |
| Corpus Christi Services | 67,046 |
| CRUSE | 58,000 |
| Cunamh | 92,489 |
| Derry City Council | 2,500 |
| FACT | 68,780 |
| FAIR | 91,500 |
| Fermanagh South Tyrone Terrorist Victims | 85,400 |
| Firinne | 60,446 |
| Greater Twinbrook and Poleglass Community Forum | 3,000 |
| HAVEN | 22,600 |
| Holy Trinity Centre | 76,600 |
| Institute for Counselling and Personal Development | 123,990 |
| Lenadoon Counselling Project | 40,000 |
| Lifeways Psychotherapy and Counselling | 84,380 |
| Make Your Mark | 4,190 |
| New Life Counselling | 66,205 |
| NOVA | 80,000 |
| Omagh Independent Advice Services | 19,986 |
| PAIN | 88,718 |
| Psychotherapy and Counselling Network | 27,825 |
| Relatives for Justice | 99,000 |
| Restorick Group | 750 |
| SAVER | 5,000 |
| Shankill Stress | 126,680 |
| South Down Action for Healing Wounds | 87,800 |
| Strabane Befriending and Counselling Association | 72,554 |
| Streetbeat Youth Project | 54,620 |
| Survivors of Trauma | 110,000 |
| Tara Counselling and Personal Development | 40,000 |
| The Cross Group | 1,550 |
| The Samaritans | 8,000 |
| The Wider Circle | 30,000 |
| Victims and Survivors Trust | 83,950 |
| WAVE | 596,572 |
| West Tyrone Voice | 89,000 |
Police Service Recruitment
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reasons underlay his decision not to advertise RUC recruitment (a) on Irish state television and radio and (b) in Irish language newspapers. [152870]
Mr. Ingram: The Secretary of State did not take decisions in relation to the matter mentioned. Advertising was carried out by the police recruitment agent in accordance with the recommendation of the Patten report.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) phone responses and (b) applications have been received in responses to the recruitment campaign for the police service; what assessment he has made of the responses in terms of (i) perceived community origin, (ii) gender and (iii) age; and what the timetable is for the implementation of the Consensia Partnership Scheme. [152867]
Mr. Ingram: The advertising campaign commenced on 23 February 2001. In the region of 20,000 requests have been received for application packs. No assessment of applications received has yet been made in respect of
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perceived community origin and gender. This analysis will be carried out following the closing date for the competition, which is 30 March 2001. No analysis will be made in respect of age. The Consensia Partnership aims to identify a pool of qualified applicants in September 2001, from which police trainees will be appointed.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what process the Consensia Partnership was selected to conduct police recruitment in 2001; how many staff are employed by bodies comprising the Consensia Partnership, broken down by perceived community origin of employees; and if he will make a statement. [152866]
Mr. Ingram: The Consensia Partnership responded to an Invitation to Tender in accordance with EU procurement guidelines. Information about the perceived community origin of the Partnership's employees is not available to the Government or the police. It is a condition of contract that Consensia must comply with equality of opportunity as defined in Northern Ireland law.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Long-term Disability Benefits
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the percentage of (a) men, (b) women and (c) people who are in receipt of long-term disability benefits, broken down by (A) each region and nation of the UK and (B) by the (i) 45 to 49, (ii) 50 to 54, (iii) 55 to 59 and (iv) 60 to 64 age ranges. [154809]
Mr. Bayley: Relevant information for people who receive Disability Living Allowance, the long-term rate of Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disablement Allowance is in the tables.
| Country/region | All persons | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.0 |
| England | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.4 |
| North East | 10.1 | 11.0 | 9.3 |
| North West | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.7 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.4 |
| East Midlands | 6.3 | 5.6 | 7.0 |
| West Midlands | 7.0 | 6.6 | 7.5 |
| East | 4.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 |
| London | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.6 |
| South East | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| South West | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
| Wales | 10.6 | 9.8 | 11.5 |
| Scotland | 9.2 | 9.1 | 9.3 |
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| Country/region | All persons | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 16.2 | 18.8 | 13.6 |
| England | 14.8 | 17.2 | 12.5 |
| North East | 24.6 | 31.0 | 18.2 |
| North West | 22.4 | 26.7 | 18.1 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 17.5 | 20.9 | 14.2 |
| East Midlands | 15.4 | 17.6 | 13.1 |
| West Midlands | 16.1 | 18.0 | 14.2 |
| East | 10.1 | 11.1 | 9.0 |
| London | 13.4 | 14.4 | 12.4 |
| South East | 8.7 | 9.5 | 7.9 |
| South West | 11.6 | 14.3 | 9.0 |
| Wales | 27.3 | 32.8 | 21.9 |
| Scotland | 21.7 | 25.2 | 18.4 |
| Country/region | All persons | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 15.1 | 19.3 | 11.1 |
| England | 14.0 | 17.7 | 10.3 |
| North East | 23.5 | 32.2 | 15.2 |
| North West | 21.2 | 26.8 | 15.8 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 17.3 | 22.2 | 12.7 |
| East Midlands | 13.8 | 17.7 | 10.0 |
| West Midlands | 15.6 | 18.9 | 12.3 |
| East | 9.2 | 11.8 | 6.7 |
| London | 12.2 | 14.5 | 9.9 |
| South East | 8.2 | 10.6 | 5.8 |
| South West | 10.1 | 13.2 | 7.1 |
| Wales | 25.6 | 32.9 | 18.6 |
| Scotland | 18.8 | 24.4 | 13.8 |
Notes:
1. Some people receive Disability Living Allowance in addition to one of the other two benefits.
2. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is responsible for social security in Northern Ireland.
Sources:
1. Client Group Analysis of the Working Population as at August 2000 and Client Group Analysis of the Population over State Pension Age as at May 2000.
2. 5 per cent. sample of beneficiaries and ONS mid-1999 population estimates.
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