| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
7 Mar 2003 : Column 1264W—continued
Youth Offending
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ask the Home Secretary to incorporate the Commission for Health Improvement into the new inspection regime for youth offending teams. [100555]
Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
A full-time representative of the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) will take part in the inspection of youth offending teams (Yots). This post will be jointly funded. The inspections will cover the health of young people being dealt with by Yots.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Accountancy Services
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost to his Department was for accountancy services in 2002. [101562]
7 Mar 2003 : Column 1265W
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on the costs classified as accountancy services in the accounts of the Department in 2002 is £120,136,44.
Age Diversity
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when his Department completed its diagnostic review for compliance with the Government's Code for Practice of Age Diversity in Employment; and what changes his Department plans to make following the review. [99421]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department is committed to ensuring that there is no unfair discrimination on the basis of age. My Department took steps to embed the provisions of the Government's Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment following the completion of a diagnostic review in 2000. Age Diversity has been integrated into the Department's equal opportunity policies in accordance with the Cabinet Office's Performance and Innovation Unit report–''Winning the Generation Game'' 2000.
In my Department, staff outside the Senior Civil Service can choose to retire between age 60 and age 65, subject to satisfying normal fitness and efficiency requirements.
Class Sizes
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of primary school pupils in England are in classes of (a) 20 and under, (b) 24 and under, (c) 26 and under, (d) 28 and under and (e) 30 and under; and if he will make a statement. [99817]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Classes taught by one teacherNo. of classesNo. of pupils% of pupils | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Classes with: | |||
| 20 or fewer pupils | 18,440 | 290,317 | 7.4 |
| 21 to 24 pupils | 25,864 | 588,228 | 14.9 |
| 25 to 26 pupils | 21,251 | 542,625 | 13.8 |
| 27 to 28 pupils | 24,645 | 678,429 | 17.2 |
| 29 to 30 pupils | 38,594 | 1,142,816 | 29.0 |
| 31 or more pupils | 21,382 | 703,097 | 17.8 |
| Total | 150,176 | 3,945,512 | 100.0 |
Notes:
1. Includes middle schools as deemed.
2. Classes as taught during the one selected period in each school on the day of the census.
Source:
Annual Schools Census
The infant class limit of 30 or below became a statutory duty on admissions authorities from September 2001. Section 4 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, defines an infant class as one in which the majority of pupils will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 in the course of the school year.
7 Mar 2003 : Column 1266W
Political Studies
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to include political studies as part of the school curriculum during GCSE years. [100439]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Our document 14–19: opportunity and excellence sets out our plans for the curriculum at Key Stage 4. In the document we explain that the compulsory curriculum comprises those subjects that are essential for progression or personal development. Although there is no GCSE subject in political studies, Citizenship became a compulsory subject in schools in September 2002. Learning about democratic and political processes is an important part of Citizenship education. Pupils learn about the institutions, issues, problems and practices of our democracy and develop an understanding of the importance of playing an active part in the political process.
Free School Meals
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many extra children in Northampton, South will be entitled to free school meals when the child tax credit and working tax credit is introduced in April. [100786]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Her Majesty's Treasury estimate that an additional 75,000 children in England will, from 6 April 2003, be entitled to receive free school lunches by virtue of their parents claiming appropriate tax credits. No local breakdown is available.
Smoking
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy his Department has adopted on smoking in the workplace. [100950]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department has agreed a smoking policy with the trade unions which gives staff a non-smoking work environment, but provides separate smoking areas. Smoking is not permitted on any Departmental site other than in the small number of clearly designated smoking rooms.
My Department also provides details of organisations to help and support staff to give up smoking.
Work Placements
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many university students his Department and associated agencies has supported or sponsored with a work placement in the last year; what his policy is on work placements; what plans he has to develop such schemes; and what his policy is on paying their university fees. [98543]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: In 2002 my Department has sponsored:
- 12 sandwich students;
- 2 Windsor Fellows;
- 1 Kings Fund student;
- 3 students on work experience;
- 16 Ethnic Minority Summer Development Programme participants;
7 Mar 2003 : Column 1267W
- 2 undergraduates employed on either part-time or vacation-only contracts.
Our policy is to support work placements as a means of enabling students to gain valuable experience of the workplace. We are currently considering the possibility of developing an additional work experience programme for students at higher education institutions around the Department's four sites. The Department does not normally pay the university fees of students on work placements.
Jigsaw Research
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the purpose is of the project being carried out by Jigsaw Research for his Department. [101399]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 6 March 2003]: The Department's Strategic Framework Delivering Results—A Strategy to 2006 sets out a commitment to deliver prompt, responsive and consistently excellent services to our customers. The research being carried out by Jigsaw Research, an independent market research company, is our way of measuring the quality of service we provide in response to letter, email and telephone enquiries and will help identify areas for improvement.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Health and Safety
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance there is to (a) prevent and (b) deal with industrial accidents; and if she will make a statement. [100472]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: I have been asked to reply.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for providing information and advice about health and safety at work.
HSE produces a very wide range of publications to reduce risks and protect people including guidance on the law, Approved Codes of Practice, leaflets, information sheets and booklets on the prevention of accidents, managing specific risks and hazards, and the management of occupational health and safety.
Last year, HSE produced over 300 new publications, sold nearly 1 million books and issued over 6 million free leaflets.
Ethics Advice
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice her Department gives to (a) consumers, (b) investors and (c) businesses on issues of (i) human rights, (ii) environmental protection, (iii) the use of forced labour and child labour and (iv) crime and corruption in overseas countries. [94484]
Ms Hewitt: The Department of Trade and Industry and other government departments provide a range of information, most accessibly through their websites, on conditions in a range of overseas countries. This will assist consumers, investors and businesses to make
7 Mar 2003 : Column 1268W
informed decisions for themselves on specific issues of concern to them. For example, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's website (www.fco.gov.uk) offers country profiles, most of which include sections on human rights. Also published on this site is the FCO's Annual Report on Human Rights that gives comprehensive information on human rights for abuses worldwide and UK action. The Department for Work and Pensions provides information on the ILO's core labour conventions including those on forced and child labour in its sustainable development report (available at www.dwp.gov.uk), and contributes to a variety of other Government information sources, notably the Corporate Social Responsibility website (www.societyandbusiness.gov.uk). The FCO offers information to travellers on certain aspects of crime in some overseas countries and tailored information to UK firms and investors planning to do business in a specific overseas country. Information on this second topic is available on the TPUK website (www.tradepartners.gov.uk). The UK has also signed up to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, a set of recommendations for good corporate behaviour that include amongst other things recommendations on human rights, bribery and the environment—they are available at www.oecd.org.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |