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Early-years Provision

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children living in poverty will be covered by a Sure Start Scheme in (a) 2000, (b) 2002, (c) 2003, (d) 2004 and (e) 2005; and if he will make a statement. [103704]

Maria Eagle: By July 2003, when the target of over 500 Sure Start local programmes has been met, they will reach around 30 per cent. of all children under four living in poverty, and provide a basis for mainstreaming the principles of Sure Start into all services for young children and their families. The Sure Start local programmes which were approved by July 2000 covered some 4 per cent. of children under four living in poverty, and those approved by July 2002 covered some 17 per cent. of such children. The Government's 2002 Spending Review provides for the future development of children's centres in disadvantaged wards to reach further children in poverty.

Civil Service Travel

Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grades in the Civil Service in his Department are allowed to travel by air (a) first class and (b) business class at public expense when on official duties. [104963]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department is committed to ensuring staff use the most efficient and economic means of travel in the circumstances, taking into account any management benefit or the needs of staff with disabilities.

Members of the Senior Civil Service are allowed to travel by air, first class or club class for journeys of over two and a half hours. For journeys of under two and a half hours staff would be expected to travel economy class if available. Staff at other levels are allowed to travel by air, at the higher class when they are travelling with someone entitled to the higher class of travel to discuss official business.

Class Sizes

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size was for classes taught by one teacher in each year since 1999 for (a) pupils in Key Stage 1, (b) pupils in

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Key Stage 2, (c) primary schools and (d) secondary schools in (i) England and (ii) each parliamentary constituency. [104507]

Mr. Miliband: The information on class size by Key Stage has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

A table showing average class sizes by primary and secondary schools is already available in the Library.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size was for (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in each constituency in each of the last six academic years. [104510]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Commercial Confidentiality

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department issues to civil servants on how to deal with claims from organisations that the information they provide to the Department is commercially confidential. [105551]

Mr. Charles Clarke: It is not standard practice to verify claims of commercial confidentiality on receiving information from organisations, as this issue is normally relevant only if the question arises as to whether or not the information should be disclosed to another party.

The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information provides a specific exemption for a third party's commercial confidences, and the Code and the guidance on the operation of the Code helps officials to determine whether such information should be disclosed or withheld in response to an individual request. In deciding this, officials need to consider if "unwarranted disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party." This would normally involve consultation with the third party involved. Even where the exemption to disclosure applies, the information in question must still be made available if there is an overriding public interest in disclosure, usually appropriate only where there is a substantial risk to public health, safety or the environment.

Demography

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated cohort size is of those attaining the compulsory school leaving age in each year from 1995 to 2010. [105305]

Mr. Miliband: The estimates for January of each academic year are as follows.

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Academic year	Thousand
1994–95	588.6
1995–96	606.6
1996–97	600.0
1997–98	577.6
1998–99	591.3
1999–2000	602.3
2000–01	628.5
2001–02	631.4
2002–03	639.3
2003–04	655.9
2004–05	648.0
2005–06	660.0
2006–07	665.5
2007–08	658.3
2008–09	635.6
2009–10	630.3

Departmental Creche Facilities

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what creche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost. [104296]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for its staff and supports a range of child care provision that help staff balance family and working life. It is currently reviewing its child care provision to ensure the best possible support to all our staff with child care responsibilities.

100 full-time workplace nursery places are available to staff working in Sheffield and Runcorn; 143 full-time playscheme places, operating during the school holidays for children in full-time education aged from 4 to 14 years, are available for DfES staff working in Sheffield, Runcorn, Darlington and London; and child care vouchers are provided to staff working in London and, Darlington and parents in Runcorn and Sheffield who do not have a nursery place. In 2002–03 DfES spent £260,000 supporting child care.

Graduate Earnings

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average lifetime earnings of graduates, broken down by degree subject. [102533]

Margaret Hodge: The White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education", highlighted how the financial returns to a degree vary by degree subject. No specific estimates have been made of the average lifetime earnings of graduates broken down by subject. Higher education is a good investment. The White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education", highlighted how those with higher education qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates. There will inevitably be some individual variation in lifetime returns because graduate earnings are influenced by a number of factors, including the subject studied, institution attended, occupational choices and other personal characteristics and demographic factors.

National Insurance

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 increase in national

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insurance contributions that comes into effect on 6 April 2003 in the (a) financial year 2003–04 and (b) school year 2003–04. [105572]

Mr. Miliband: The Department does not collect information on the distribution of staff salaries by local education authority. It is therefore not possible for us to calculate the additional cost of the national insurance increase to each local education authority.

Personnel Records

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on the period for which the Department's personnel records in respect of teachers and Her Majesty's Inspectors should be retained; and what requirements on the retention of these records have been included in contracts with private sector organisations which hold such records. [105656]

Mr. Miliband: The Department maintains records on individual teachers for the purpose of administering the Teachers' Pension Scheme. Document retention and destruction policy is in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records Office. The obligation to comply with Public Records Office policies forms part of the contractual requirements on the private sector administrators of the Teachers' Pensions Scheme. Personnel files on Her Majesty's Inspectors are held by OFSTED. All files are retained for the purpose of pensions administration for 12 years after pensions become payable in individual cases.

Other data on teachers is held by the General Teaching Council as required for its regulatory function and in accordance with regulations.

Standards Fund

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the reduction in revenue for each local education authority will be caused by the removal of grants 603 and 613 of the Standards Fund announced on 29 November 2002 in the (a) financial year 2003–04 and (b) school year 2003–04. [105574]

Mr. Miliband: Grant 603 (Class Size Grant) totalled £143 million in 2002–03 for revenue funding. This has been transferred into Education Formula Spending for 2003–04 and authorities' allocations for 2002–03 were taken into account in calculating the minimum and maximum increases in Education Formula Spending Share.

Grant 613 (Key Stage 2 Class Size Recurrent Funding) totalled £7 million in 2002–03. This was not transferred into Education Formula Spending Share, but losses of this grant were taken into account in the calculation of the new £28 million grant to support authorities worst hit by the losses of certain Standards Fund Grant and low Education Formula Spending Share increases.

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