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11 Feb 2003 : Column 698W—continued
Teacher Workload
Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will make a statement on the reforms designed to reduce teacher workload, as outlined in the November 2002 Teachers report, with specific reference to measures which will help teachers to keep up with the pace of change occurring in their profession; [96289]
- (2) what actions he is taking to ensure there is adequate PPA time for teachers to prepare lessons for their pupils; and how this will balance against teaching time and the time needed to carry out administrative duties. [96290]
Mr. Miliband: On 15 January the Government signed an historic national agreement with school workforce unions and most employers. The agreement sets out a series of measures that will extend support staff roles, tackle teacher workload, and free teachers to spend more of their time on teaching and focus on the individual learning needs of all pupils. Contractual changes for teachers will be made, including:
- No requirement routinely to undertake administrative and clerical tasks, including the 24 tasks set out in the agreement, by September 2003;
A limit of 38 hours on the time a teacher should cover lessons, by September 2004;
The equivalent of at least 10 per cent. of their timetabled teaching time to be guaranteed for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) by September 2005. PPA are core duties and need core time devoted to them. Guaranteeing time during the school day for this is critical to driving up pupil standards.
Teachers Pay
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average teacher's wage paid in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools is, broken down by LEA. [96492]
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average teacher's salary was for (a) primary and (b) secondary education for each local education authority in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available. [96801]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
Truancy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to combat truancy in schools. [96666]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are committed to the Public Service Agreement target to reduce truancies by 10 per cent. by 2004 compared to 2002, to sustain the new lower level, and improve overall attendance levels thereafter. To achieve this objective, we are investing nearly £470 million over the next three years in a national behaviour and attendance strategy to support schools. This includes behaviour and attendance training and audits available to all secondary schools from September. Through the Behaviour Improvement
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Programme further support is currently being targeted at the 700 schools with the greatest challenges, to be extended to a further 1900 schools by 2005. We have a range of further measures to tackle truancy, including the co-ordination of national truancy sweeps; funding for electronic registration systems; the development of guidance for more effective prosecutions in truancy cases in tandem with a fast-track to prosecution model focusing on multi-agency early intervention to address truancy; and a sustained publicity campaign aimed at parents and pupils. In addition, we are proposing to introduce fixed penalty notices and parenting contracts for parents of persistent truants.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated incidence of truancy is in secondary schools broken down by local authority area, in the last year for which figures are available. [96800]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The incidence of truancy is measured by the percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence. The latest year for which figures are available is September 2001–May 2002.
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Undergraduates
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of undergraduates failed to complete their degree courses in each year since 1997. [88960]
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Margaret Hodge: The available information on non-completion rates is contained in "Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Non-completion rates calculated by HEFCE for full-time students starting first degree courses in UK higher education institutions from 1996–97 onwards are shown in the following table:
| Students starting courses in: | Non-completion rate-percentage |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 18 |
| 1997–98 | 17 |
| 1998–99 | 17 |
| 1999–2000 | 17 |
Note:
The non-completion rate has remained broadly the same at 17–18 per cent. since 1991–92
Figures published in 2002 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that the UK has one of the lowest non-completion rates among OECD countries.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Air Weapons
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal activities involving air pellet guns were successfully prosecuted in each year since 1990; what the average age was of individuals successfully prosecuted using these weapons; and if he will make a statement. [94228]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: From the information collected centrally on convictions it is not possible to identify cases arising from recorded crime involving the use of air weapons.
The available information relates to the number of persons convicted of various offences under the Firearms Acts 1968 to 1997 involving air weapons of all types and is contained in the table. The average age of individuals convicted is not available centrally.
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| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000(18) | 2001 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Possession of air weapon by persons previously convicted of crime | Firearms Act 1 968 Section 21(4) as amended by the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Sec 157 Sch. 8 part III | 49 | 42 | 45 | 47 | 36 | 38 |
| Supplying air weapon to person denied them under Section 21 | Ibid Section 21(5) as amended by the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Sec 157 Sch. 8 part III | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| Carrying loaded air weapon in public place etc. | Ibid Section 19 | 202 | 220 | 195 | 176 | 170 | 180 |
| Trespassing with air weapon in a building | Ibid Section 20(1) | 4 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 |
| Trespassing with air weapon on land | Ibid Section 20(2) | 32 | 43 | 54 | 23 | 18 | 27 |
| Person under 17 acquiring air weapon | Ibid Section 22(1) | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Person under 14 having with him an air weapon or ammunition therefore | Ibid Section 22(4) | 12 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 3 |
| Person under 17 having with him an air weapon in a public place | Ibid Section 22(5) | 43 | 51 | 47 | 54 | 52 | 46 |
| Person under 14 making improper use of air weapon when under supervision | Ibid Section 23(1) | — | — | 2 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Person supervising person under 14, permitting improper use of air weapon | Ibid Section 22(4) | — | 3 | — | — | 2 | — |
| Selling or letting on hire an air weapon to person under 17 | Ibid Section 24(1) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| Supplying air weapon to person under 14 | Ibid Section 24(4) | 3 | 1 | — | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Supplying air weapon to person drunk or insane | Ibid Section 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Failure to hand over air weapon or ammunition on demand by constable | Ibid Section 47(2) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| All offences relating to air weapons | 355 | 372 | 357 | 317 | 303 | 299 |
(17) These data are on the principal offence basis.
(18) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) convictions and (b) cautions there were for persons under 17 years having an air weapon in a public place in each year since 1996; [95964]
- (2) how many (a) convictions and (b) cautions there were for carrying a loaded air weapon in a public place in each year since 1996; [95965]
(3) how many (a) convictions and (b) cautions there were for persons under 14 having an air weapon or ammunition in each year since 1996. [95966]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is shown in the table. This relates to England and Wales and covers the years 1996 to 2001.
Information for 2002 is due for publication in the late autumn of this year.
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| Offence description and statute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrying a loaded air weapon in a public place etc.—Firearms Act 1968 Section 19 | Person under 17 having with him an air weapon in a public place—Firearms Act 1968 Section 22(5) | Person under 14 having with him an air weapon or ammunition—Firearms Act 1968 Section 22(4) | |
| Convicted | |||
| 1996 | 202 | 43 | 12 |
| 1997 | 220 | 51 | 8 |
| 1998 | 195 | 47 | 6 |
| 1999 | 176 | 54 | 12 |
| 2000(20) | 170 | 52 | 16 |
| 2001 | 180 | 46 | 3 |
| Cautioned | |||
| 1996 | 373 | 258 | 70 |
| 1997 | 320 | 246 | 52 |
| 1998 | 394 | 237 | 44 |
| 1999 | 282 | 197 | 54 |
| 2000 | 213 | 150 | 45 |
| 2001 | 180 | 100 | 24 |
(19) These data are on the principal offence basis.
(20) Staffordshire Police were only able to submit sample data for persons convicted at magistrates courts in 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.
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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to restrict the use of air guns by minors. [96022]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Government are determined to tackle the problem of air weapon misuse. We intend to increase from 14 years to 17 the age at which a person can own an air weapon, and to tighten up on when they can be used without adult supervision. In addition, we propose to introduce a new offence of having an air weapon in a public place without lawful cause or reasonable excuse. This offence will have a power of arrest attached to it.
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