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16 Jan 2003 : Column 711W—continued
Minimum Wage
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage (a) in line with average earnings, (b) to #4.17 per hour, (c) to #4.87 per hour, (d) to #5.00 per hour and (e) to #5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year. [90598]
Dr. Howells: There would be no impact on the cost of salaries of DCMS employees in any of the scenarios (a) to (e) as all DCMS employees are paid at a higher hourly rate than #5.30 per hour. All DCMS employees work in England.
Public Handling Rights
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much on average was paid out annually through Public handling Rights over the last five years; and what the administrative cost was. [89857]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 14 January 2003]: The average total amount paid out annually by the Public Lending Right fund to registered authors between 1997 to 2001, the last five years for which payments have been made, was #4.3 million. During the same period, the average annual administrative cost of the scheme was #745,000.
Public Libraries
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries have (a) closed and (b) opened in each local authority in England since 1997. [90733]
Dr. Howells: This information is not held centrally. However, the total number of service points in each local authority open 10 hours or more per week, is contained in the annual Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Annual Public Library Statistics, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries there are in each local authority in England. [90961]
Dr. Howells: This information is not held centrally. However, this information is contained in column 18 (Total Service Points open 10 hours or more per week) of the annual Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Public Library Statistics, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library. The latest Actual figures available are for 2000–01. Estimates are available for 2001–02.
Sickness Absence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in 2002. [90536]
16 Jan 2003 : Column 712W
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many working days were lost due to illness in her Department in (a) 2002 and (b) each of the preceding five years. [90745]
Dr. Howells: Cabinet Office publishes an annual report XAnalysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service". The most recently published figures for the calendar year 2001 were announced by Ministerial Statement on 19 December 2002, and copies placed in the Libraries of the House.
For DCMS the 2001 average working days absence per staff year figures were:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Certified Sickness | 3.8 |
| Self-Certification | 2.1 |
| Total | 5.9 |
| Staff years | 420 |
The 1999, 2000 and 2001 reports are available on the Cabinet Office website: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/civilservice/publications/sickness/index.htm. The sickness absence figures for 2002 will be announced in due course.
DCMS is committed to managing sickness absence effectively, and in meeting the 2003 target for reduced sickness absence as set out in the Service Delivery Agreements (SDA).
Sport (Stakeholder Support)
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Independent Football Commission, (b) football supporters' associations, (c) football clubs, (d) the Football Association and (e) the Football League regarding supporter and other stakeholder involvement with clubs; and if she will make a statement. [90735]
Mr. Caborn: I met Professor Derek Fraser, the Chairman of the Independent Football Commission, on 7 January to discuss a range of football issues including the involvement of supporters with clubs. DCMS officials regularly discuss issues of supporter involvement with the football authorities and supporters' representatives, most recently at the Football Association's meeting with supporters' groups on 13 January. The Football League and the Football Federation Supporters' Federation were represented at that meeting.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
A-level Results
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children were achieving (a) five or more GCSEs at A*-C grade, and (b) at least one GCSE at A*-G grade in (i) specialist schools, (ii) city technology colleges, (iii) all other comprehensives, (iv) grammar schools and (v) secondary modern schools. [89299]
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Mr. Miliband: The information requested for the 2001 results is shown in the following table. The 2002 performance tables are due to be published later in January and I will write to the hon. Member with the updated information as soon as the data are available. I will also place a copy of the 2002 data in the Library.
| Average percentage of children gaining: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type of school | 5 or more A*-C GCSE/GNVQ(3) | 1 or more A*-C GCSE/GNVQ(3) |
| Specialist schools(1),(2) | 54.4 | 96.9 |
| City technology colleges | 78.0 | 99.0 |
| All other comprehensive schools(4) | 45.6 | 95.8 |
| Grammar schools(1) | 97.5 | 99.6 |
| Secondary modern schools(1) | 36.8 | 95.8 |
(1) Includes 27 grammar schools and 20 secondary modern schools that are specialist schools. These schools are also included in the data for grammar and secondary modern schools.
(2) Maintained schools (excluding special schools) designated and operating as specialist schools as at September 2000.
(3) Results shown on same basis as Secondary Performance Tables i.e. adjusted for refugees and admitted pupils.
(4) Excludes specialist schools, grammar schools and secondary modern schools.
Centres of Vocational Excellence
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Centres of Vocational Excellence have been established and in what specialisms; and how many have been established by (a) colleges, (b) private training providers and (c) employers. [90927]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Excellent progress has been made in establishing Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs). 157 CoVEs have been created so far and in the Spending Review we announced additional funding to establish a total of 400 CoVEs by 2006.
These CoVEs cover a range of specialisms and have a geographical spread to ensure local, regional and national skills needs are addressed. The following table sets out the range of specialisms (by number and percentage of current network):
| Specialism | Number of CoVEs | Percentage of current CoVE network |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering | 36 | 23 |
| Construction | 23 | 15 |
| Hospitality/Tourism | 22 | 14 |
| Creative Industries | 20 | 13 |
| Health/Care | 17 | 11 |
| ICT | 16 | 10 |
| Land Based | 7 | 4 |
| Business/Management | 5 | 3 |
| Retail/Distributive | 4 | 3 |
| Sport/Leisure | 3 | 2 |
| Food Manufacture | 2 | 1 |
| Hair/Beauty | 2 | 1 |
Of the 157 CoVEs established to date 138 are in Further Education colleges. 19 are in work based learning providers. Of these 8 are in private training providers, 8 in group training associations and three in large companies.
16 Jan 2003 : Column 714W
Child Care
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care staff have been trained through learning and skills councils. [87983]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. John Harwood, the Council's chief executive will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries.
Departmental Consultation
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his reason was for the duration of the consultation on the code of practice on admissions which concluded on 11 October 2002. [91244]
Mr. Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 14 January, Official Report, column 562W.
Departmental Projects
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (a) which projects will be funded and (b) how much will be spent on each project, in areas covered by each sub-category in table 4.2 of the Departmental report 2002 in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04. [89306]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We are in the process of finalising expected programme expenditure for the current year and will make any necessary changes through the spring supplementary estimate which will be presented to Parliament in due course. Overall expenditure is likely to exceed the provision set out in the Departmental report through the planned use of accumulated end-year flexibility.
My Statement to the House of 19 December 2002, Official Report, column 67WS, set out planned expenditure for 2003–04. I will be making a Statement on funding for higher education later this month.
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