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28 Mar 2003 : Column 431W—continued
Examination Markers
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what target each of the (a) Edexcel, (b) OCR and (c) AQA exam boards has set for the recruitment of examination markers for 2003; and what progress each exam board has made towards its target. [104840]
Mr. Miliband: The recruitment process is being overseen by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Awarding bodies have been working to recruit the number of markers they anticipate will be needed to deal effectively with the likely number of entries for the summer examinations. The closing date for entries for the summer 2003 examinations was 21 March. By mid April, Edexcel, OCR and AQA will know whether they have recruited the necessary number of markers or whether they need to take further action in particular subjects.
Last December we announced that we were making an additional 6 million available to QCA to ensure that the 2003 examinations are delivered accurately and effectively, with particular attention paid to ensuring that there are sufficient examiners.
Latin
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will take steps to prevent a decline in the number of schools teaching Latin. [105193]
Mr. Miliband: The National Curriculum requirement is that all maintained secondary schools should offer one of the working languages of the European Union—French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Modern Greek, Portuguese. Over and above that, it is for schools to decide which and how many additional languages they choose to offer.
The Department is keen to promote the diversification of languages. The introduction of our specialist language colleges for example is broadening the range of languages being taught.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of students took Latin at A-level in (i) 1980 and (ii) 1990. [105409]
Mr. Miliband: The percentage of students taking Latin GCSE, and the percentage taking Latin A-level in each of the specified years is as follows:
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| GCSE | A-level | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| 1992 | 2.1 | 0.9 |
| 1980 | 4.9 | 2.1 |
The number of students who took Latin at GCSE and A-level is as follows:
| GCSE | A-level | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9,594 | 1,160 |
| 1992 | 11,351 | 1,511 |
| 1980 | 26,547 | 2,575 |
Note:
Figures for 1992 are provided instead of 1990 as figures for this year are unavailable.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of GCSE students took Latin GCSE (or O-level as appropriate) in (a) 1980 and (b) 1990. [105410]
Mr. Miliband: The percentage of GCSE students who took Latin GCSE are as follows:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 2.1 |
| 1980 | 4.9 |
The number of GCSE students who took Latin GCSE is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 11,351 |
| 1980 | 26,547 |
Note:
Figures for 1992 are provided instead of 1990 as figures for this year are unavailable.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms there are for resolving disputes between schools and local authorities over the level of PFI unitary charges. [105262]
Mr. Miliband: There are no specific statutory mechanisms for resolving disputes between schools and local education authorities about the funding of PFI projects. There are general provisions in the Education Acts under which complaints against local education authorities, or disputes between local education authorities and school governing bodies, may be referred to the Secretary of State. It is of course open to LEAs and governing bodies to establish agreed local mechanisms for resolving disputes, and there is much to be said for this way of proceeding.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will make a decision on Barnet Council's proposed PFI plan for school buildings; and if he will make a statement. [105443]
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Mr. Miliband: The London borough of Barnet was one of 56 Local Education Authorities which submitted an expression of interest in the current schools PFI bidding round. All the expressions of interest received have been assessed against the published criteria. The decisions on which proposed projects will be supported have now been taken and will be announced on Monday 31 March.
Pupil Spending
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the spending per head on pupils in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Essex was in each year since 1997. [104832]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is contained in the following table:
| LEA name | Pre-primary and primary education | Secondary education | Pre-primary and primary and secondary education |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | |||
| Essex | 2,210 | 3,500 | 2,470 |
| Essex | (5)— | (5)— | (5)— |
| Norfolk | 2,020 | 3,130 | 2,400 |
| Suffolk | 2,230 | 2,610 | 2,430 |
| 1997–98 | |||
| Essex | 2,100 | 3,590 | 2,400 |
| Essex | (5)— | (5)— | (5)— |
| Norfolk | 2,130 | 3,070 | 2,450 |
| Suffolk | 2,160 | 2,630 | 2,400 |
| 1998–99 | |||
| Essex | (5)— | (5)— | (5)— |
| Essex | 2,300 | 3,570 | 2,560 |
| Norfolk | 2,170 | 3,090 | 2,480 |
| Suffolk | 2,260 | 2,680 | 2,480 |
| 1999–2000 | |||
| Essex | (5)— | (5)— | (5)— |
| Essex | 2,280 | 3,090 | 2,630 |
| Norfolk | 2,260 | 3,030 | 2,560 |
| Suffolk | 2,430 | 2,670 | 2,560 |
| 2000–01 | |||
| Essex | (5)— | (5)— | (5)— |
| Essex | 2,520 | 3,160 | 2,800 |
| Norfolk | 2,480 | 3,220 | 2,780 |
| Suffolk | 2,630 | 2,810 | 2,720 |
| 2001–021 | |||
| Essex | (5)— | (5)— | (5)— |
| Essex | 2,730 | 3,430 | 3,040 |
| Norfolk | 2,830 | 3,290 | 3,020 |
| Suffolk | 2,860 | 3,110 | 3,000 |
(4) Provisional
(5) Essex was subject to Local Government reorganisation.
Notes:
1. NCE includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by LEAs.
2. Financial data are drawn from the RO1 forms up to 1998–99 and from the DfES section 52 outturn statements from 1999–2000.
3. Pupil data are drawn from the Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis.
28 Mar 2003 : Column 434W
Teacher Vacancies
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies in maintained (a) nursery schools, (b) primary schools and (c) secondary schools there were in (i) England and (ii) each local education authority in each year since 1997. [104597]
Mr. Miliband [ holding answer 24 March]: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
Teachers' Pay
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the additional cost is to each local education authority of the 2.9 per cent. national teachers' pay award announced on 7 February in the (a) financial year 2003–04 and (b) school year 2003–04. [105570]
Mr. Miliband: We do not have data on the position of teachers on their pay scales by each LEA. However, in the case of London authorities, where the recommendations have been more costly, we have made a grant available of £11 million to 18 authorities where we estimated that genuine affordability issues arose. We are also centrally meeting the costs of the recommendations for threshold and supporting the costs for post threshold teachers in inner London at a further cost of £30 million.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Citizens Advice Bureaux
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of claim packs issued by the Department refer claimants to citizens advice bureaux. [105655]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her on 28 February 2003, Official Report, column 759W.
Benefit Fraud
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of benefit fraud in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year since 1997. [105281]
Malcolm Wicks: Our most recent estimate is that £2 billion is lost annually through benefit fraud in Great Britain. This estimate cannot be broken down for individual areas or years.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incidence of organised fraud in connection (a) with each benefit and (b) in total was in each year since 1977; and if he will make a statement. [92298]
Malcolm Wicks: Information on the incidence of organised fraud is not available. However, the information available on the number of investigations carried out and the resulting prosecutions by Counter-Fraud Investigation Division (Operations), who deal exclusively with organised fraud, is in the table. Records are not held prior to 1998–99.
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| Year | Number of investigations authorised | Successful prosecutions |
|---|---|---|
| 1998/99 | 1,088 | Not known |
| 1999/00 | 516 | 361 |
| 2000/01 | 732 | 255 |
| 2001/02 | 500 | 272 |
| April 2002 to February 2003 | 516 | 190 |
Source of Information:
Counter Fraud Investigation Division Operations
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent measures he has taken to reduce fraudulent claims for benefits. [96532]
Malcolm Wicks: Our strategy for combating benefit fraud focuses on making correct benefit payments in the first place; ensuring payments are adjusted as circumstances change; detecting when payments go wrong and taking prompt action to correct them with appropriate penalties to prevent a recurrence.
Jobcentre Plus is providing a more comprehensive and integrated service for all benefit claimants. One-to-one interviews create a personal environment where the full and accurate details of a claim can be established and customers can be reminded of their responsibility to notify us of changes to their circumstances.
We have made excellent progress in the fight against fraud and error. By March 2002 we had reduced fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance by 24 per cent compared to 1998.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of benefit fraud in Portsmouth, South; and if he will make a statement. [97275]
Malcolm Wicks: Our most recent estimate is that £2 billion is lost annually through benefit fraud in Great Britain. This estimate cannot be broken down for individual areas.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fraud referrals there were (a) in the six months before the Targeting Fraud campaign and (b) during the Targeting Fraud campaign; and how many there have been since the Targeting Fraud campaign. [92500]
Malcolm Wicks: We receive reports of suspected fraud from three main sources:
members of the Department's own staff, who have reason to suspect that a person claiming benefit may not be telling the truth about their finances, employment or other personal details (for example whether they have support from a partner).
research, including data matches of information held by the Department or legally accessed by the Department from other sources (for example, information held by the Inland Revenue on income or capital).
concerned members of the public who send a message to the Targeting Fraud website or write to or telephone the Department.
28 Mar 2003 : Column 436W
its social acceptability, rather than specifically to invite fraud referrals. Evaluation shows that public attitudes are moving in a positive direction as a result of the campaign.
The information requested on the number of fraud referrals is in the table.
| Month ending | Number of fraud referrals(6) |
|---|---|
| October 2000 | 63,232 |
| November 2000 | 64,334 |
| December 2000 | 41,228 |
| January 2001 | 62,013 |
| February 2001 | 63,219 |
| March 2001 | 67,384 |
| April 2001 | 56,395 |
| May 2001 | 59,052 |
| June 2001 | 57,891 |
| July 2001 | 59,858 |
| August 2001 | 56,095 |
| September 2001 | 49,749 |
| October 2001 | 66,057 |
| November 2001 | 58,254 |
| December 2001 | 36,951 |
| January 2002 | 57,263 |
| February 2002 | 57,051 |
| March 2002 | 52,833 |
| April 2002 | 52,177 |
| May 2002 | 53,722 |
| June 2002 | 42,492 |
| July 2002 | 55,375 |
| August 2002 | 45,975 |
| September 2002 | 46,862 |
| October 2002 | 55,012 |
| November 2002 | 48,437 |
(6) Figures include benefit and instrument of payment referrals but exclude General Matching Service referrals.Source:Fraud Information By Sector system.
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