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3 Jun 2003 : Column 204W—continued
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109455]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Tackling the issue of age discrimination is an important part of the Department's approach to equality of opportunity, both in the way it delivers its policies and as regards its own staff.
Our lifelong learning policies, which seek to encourage and enable adults to learn, improve their skills and enrich their lives are central to tackling the issues of age discrimination.
For its own staff, my Department will comply with new legislation when it comes into force in 2006. In the meantime, action has continued to be taken to tackle negative attitudes towards older staff through training on valuing diversity and through the monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal processes. Recommendations in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report "Winning the Generation Game" have been implemented and, since 1999, all staff outside the Senior Civil Service can choose when they retire between age 60–65, subject to normal fitness and efficiency rules. In addition, all our vacancy opportunities, internal and external secondments and rewards are open to people of all ages.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on age discrimination. [115402]
Mr. Charles Clarke: My Department has integrated age into all its equal opportunities policies and is committed to eliminating unfair discrimination on the basis of age.
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It enthusiastically applies the Government's core principles on involving children and young people to ensure that our policies and services respond to the needs and aspirations of our younger customers. For example, it has just hosted a third consultation day for young people. Over 300 young people have had the opportunity to comment directly on the policies and services that affect them, and they are at the heart of the creative process of designing ways to communicate directly with my Department.
Action has continued to be taken to tackle any negative attitudes towards older staff through training on valuing diversity and through the monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal processes. Recommendations in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report "Winning the Generation Game" have been implemented and, since 1999, all staff outside the Senior Civil Service can choose when they retire between age 60–65, subject to normal fitness and efficiency rules. In addition, all our vacancy opportunities, internal and external secondments and rewards are open to people of all ages. My Department is currently considering the age issues in the European Employment Directive 2000/78/EC with a view to complying with the new legislation on age discrimination when it comes into force in 2006.
Agency Workers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many agency workers have been employed by the Department in each of the last two years; and at what cost to public funds. [115209]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The following table gives the figures for the number of agency staff used and the related cost for the past two years.
| 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of agency staff | 1,614 | 1,746 |
| Financial year | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
| Agency spend for the financial year (£) | 1,780,629.70 | 2,688,149.33 |
Bologna Process
Ms Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have to identify and address the impact on the development of educational programmes in United Kingdom universities of the proposals emerging from the Bologna process and subsequent initiatives. [113864]
Margaret Hodge: The UK higher education sector is taking forward work on elements of the Bologna process of European higher education reform, including credit transfer and progress files to ensure that qualifications are easily comparable. We continue to work closely with our UK higher education partners and the devolved administrations to assess the impact on UK higher education and to influence the debate on the way forward.
Capita
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many employees have been
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seconded from Capita to his Department since 1997; for how long they worked in the Department; and what positions they held. [115629]
Mr. Charles Clarke: No Capita employees were seconded to my Department during this period.
Careers Service
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what careers services are available to pupils in school before they leave education; what plans he has to improve links between schools and local businesses; and if he will make a statement on support for pupils looking for career opportunities at the ages of 15 and 16. [115126]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The responsibility for providing careers education and guidance to young people in England is shared between schools and the Connexions Service. Schools are responsible for delivering a curriculum-led programme of careers education to all students in Years 9 to 11. A new, non-statutory framework for careers education and guidance—which includes recommended learning outcomes from careers education programmes—was issued to all schools, colleges and work-based training providers in March 2003. We have also signalled our intention to extend the current duty on schools to deliver a planned programme of careers education in Years 9 to 11, down to Years 7 and 8. The work of schools is complemented and strengthened by the Connexions Service, which provides access to information advice and guidance on a wide range of issues—including on learning and career opportunities—to all 13 to 19-year-olds in England. The level and type of support provided is differentiated on the basis of individual need.
The Department makes available £25 million a year, through the local Learning and Skills Councils contracting with education/business links organisations, to promote closer links between schools and business. We are working with them on ways of improving employer engagement with schools, in areas such as work experience placements, mentoring, enterprise activities and work-related learning generally.
Responsibility for careers education and guidance in Scotland rests with the Scottish Parliament.
Child Minding and Day Care(Suspension of Registration) England Regulations
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received about the Child Minding and Day Care (Suspension of Registration) (England) Regulations. [109439]
Maria Eagle: No Minister in either the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Education and Skills has received any representations about the Child Minding and Day Care (Suspension of Registration) (England) Regulations since they were laid before Parliament on 24 February 2003.
Class Sizes
Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were in classes
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of 31 or more in infant schools or infant classes in primary schools in Brighton and Hove in each year since 1996–97. [114698]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Year | Number of pupils in classes of 31 or more |
|---|---|
| 1997(28) | 10,130 |
| 1998(29) | 3,422 |
| 1999(29) | 2,811 |
| 2000(29) | 2,262 |
| 2001(29) | 408 |
| 2002(29) | 0 |
| 2003(29),(30) | 0 |
(28) Before Local Government Re-organisation. Prior to 1998 Brighton and Hove was included with East Sussex.
(29) After Local Government Re-organisation. Figures from 1998 onwards are not directly comparable to those for 1997.
(30) Provisional. Final figures will be published in September 2003.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Departmental Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was of the publication of the 2001 Departmental Report. [112809]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: While the Department pays for some production costs of its annual report, these only cover the design and typesetting. The costs of printing are met directly by the publisher, The Stationery Office (ISO) and do not fall to the Department. The Department also buys in copies from the ISO to distribute internally and to our partners.
The costs for the Department for Education and Employment 2001 Report was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Typesetting and design | 33,813 |
| Buying in copies from ISO | 18,600 |
| Total | 52,413 |
Other costs of printing and publication are met directly by the publisher, The Stationery Office Limited (TSO), and do not fall to government.
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