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Iraq

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what the source was of the material provided to UNSCOM about Iraq's attempts to obtain nuclear material in Africa; and if he will make a statement; [103861]

(2) if he will publish the evidence provided to UNSCOM that Iraq has tried to procure nuclear material in Africa. [103862]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The material provided was principally based upon intelligence reporting. It is not Government policy to disclose information on intelligence matters.

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Israel

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will call on Israel to disarm its weapons of mass destruction in accordance with United Nations Resolution 687. [103669]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We regularly urge Israel to resolve international concerns about its nuclear status by acceding to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state and to enter into a full-scope safeguards agreement with the IAEA. We also urge them to sign and ratify all other International treaties relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The UK has consistently supported resolutions in the United Nations calling for the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

English Heritage

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the administrative costs were of English Heritage for each Government office of the region in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03. [103290]

Dr. Howells: The administrative costs of English Heritage's Regional Offices are shown in the following table.

Region	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
East Midlands	205,600	236,152	261,283	259,300
East of England	337,300	376,036	402,077	369,460
London	411,400	382,638	432,483	397,140
North East	331,200	294,967	322,004	320,960
North West	124,300	147,849	173,833	153,720
South East	948,200	871,951	1,010,344	1,121,180
South West	821,600	574,629	661,413	639,980
West Midlands	323,100	365,103	355,959	440,540
Yorkshire	483,200	622,754	670,319	575,240

New Opportunities Fund

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the administrative costs were of the New Opportunities Fund for each Government office of the region in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03. [103292]

Mr. Caborn: The New Opportunities Fund set up its England regional team in September 2001. The administrative costs in each region were:

	£
2001–02	(1)36,250
2002–03	79,776

⁽¹⁾ Part-year costs

Sea Angling

Mr. John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the promotion of recreational sea angling. [104015]

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Mr. Caborn: The Government does not have responsibility for the promotion of particular sports. The National Federation of Sea Anglers, the sport's governing body, is funded through Sport England for the promotion and development of recreational sea angling.

The Joint Angling Governing Bodies (which includes the National Federation of Anglers), with support from Sport England, have launched their plan for the future of the angling, which includes; expanding participation; leading the angling community; improving performance and raising the profile of the sport.

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the National Federation of Sea Angling. [104016]

Mr. Caborn: I have had no such discussions. However, officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently met representatives from a wide range of sea angling interests, including the National Federation of Sea Anglers, along with representatives from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

My officials also meet representatives from all the angling disciplines, including those from the National Federation of Sea Anglers each year at the Angling Summit.

Sports Facilities

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she is taking to maintain a national register of sports facilities; and if she will make a statement. [103225]

Mr. Caborn: My Department has announced our intention to establish an England-wide database of sports facilities. Information on sports facilities in England is currently held by a variety of organisations and a single database will enable more strategic Government investment in those areas and facilities that are most important.

Sport England has been working on the development of an England-wide database of sports facilities and have completed the first stage of work on the tendering process.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Careers Guidance

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is Government policy to make available individual careers guidance to all students at the close of their compulsory school years. [103087]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Careers education and guidance is available through schools and the Connexions Service to all young people aged 13–19 as and when they need it. Where a young person needs individual careers guidance at the close of their compulsory school years then this is made available.

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Class Sizes

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what average (a) primary and (b) secondary school class sizes were in England in each year from 1980–81 to 2003–04 (planned), (i) broken down by local education authority and (ii) in total; and if he will make a statement. [99820]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The required information is readily available for 1980, 1985, 1990 and each year from 1995 to 2002. A table giving this information has been placed in the Library.

Co-payments

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to introduce co-payments for the public services for which he is responsible; and for which services. [102203]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department for Education and Skills has no plans to introduce further co-payment arrangements, where the recipient of education services contributes to their cost, other than those that have already been published in the recent Higher Education White Paper.

Connexions Service

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what qualifications mentors working with Connexions are required to have. [103646]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Connexions Personal Advisers are drawn from a range of professional backgrounds. To be fully qualified they must possess an NVQ level 4 or equivalent in a relevant professional discipline (e.g. careers, youth work, social work) and have attended a bespoke training programme, either Understanding Connexions or the Diploma for Connexions Personal Advisers. Training is accredited by higher education institutions approved by the Connexions Service National Unit.

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many mentors are retained in each region by Connexions partnerships; and what his estimate is of how many there will be at the end of 2003. [103649]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The latest Management Information collected from Partnerships shows that at the end of December 2002 there were 6,399 Connexions Personal Advisers in post. Broken down by region, the figures are as follows:

Region	Personal advisers(2)
South East	608
London	838
South West	731
East of England	450
West Midlands	879
East Midlands	493
Yorkshire and the Humber	799
North West	1,177
North East	424

⁽²⁾ End December 2002

Note:

Data excludes Norfolk and Berkshire Partnerships which started January 2003.

Source:

Partnership MI at end December 2002

The funding provided in the Spending Review 2002 makes provision for this number to rise to almost 10,000 in 2004.

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Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of mentors working with Connexions (a) have been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau and (b) are waiting for their checks to be completed. [103683]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Although Connexions Partnerships provide us with the numbers of Personal Advisers they have recruited, they are not required to provide data on the numbers who have been subject to List 99 and Criminal Records Bureau checks. To do so would serve no purpose as it is a legal requirement for employers to ensure that all Personal Advisers have been subjected to completed List 99 checks before they can come into direct contact with young people. Collecting information on the numbers checked would only serve to place an unnecessary burden on partnerships.

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what rights a parent has to know (a) whether their child is being advised by a mentor from the Connexions service, (b) the name of that mentor, (c) the occasions when meetings have taken place and (d) the subjects that were discussed. [103648]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Connexions Partnerships will generally advertise the existence of the Connexions service within their locality. In addition, through the Partnership Agreement, Partnerships will work with schools, colleges and other appropriate institutions to make the availability of the Connexions Service known to parents and their sons and daughters; letting them know that it is available to all 13–19 year olds within their school or institution, via various contact points within the community or through the on-line service, Connexions Direct. Connexions Personal Advisers also strongly encourage young people to discuss any Connexions support with their parents but respect the right of the young person not to do so.

Partnerships are not obliged to notify parents that their child is actively involved with Connexions—either in one to one sessions with a Personal Adviser or through more general group sessions. The exception to this may be if the Personal Adviser is working with a young person in a school where it has been agreed that the school's confidentiality policy is followed, which may give the parents the right to know this information.

All information sharing policies drawn up by Connexions Partnerships must be in accordance with the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation.

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what contact mentors who have not been security checked by the Criminal Records Bureau are allowed to have with young people. [103647]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Before being allowed any direct contact with young people—supervised or otherwise—all Personal Advisers must, as a minimum, have been

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List 99 cleared (a DfES maintained list of people whose employment working with young people has been barred or restricted by the Secretary of State). Partnerships must also carry out Criminal Records Bureau checks on all Personal Advisers. However, as List 99 provides robust clearance on child protection issues, Personal Advisers cleared in this way are able to have unsupervised, direct contact with young people while the Criminal Records Bureau check is undertaken.

The Financial Memorandum for Connexions Partnerships requires Connexions Partnerships to take all reasonable precautions to avoid employing any person convicted of a criminal offence involving an offence against the person, or an offence involving sexual behaviours, except with the prior written consent of the Secretary of State. Where the Criminal Records Bureau check reveals other such criminal convictions, it is up to the Partnership to decide if they wish to obtain this consent.

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