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7 Jul 2003 : Column 629W—continued
School Fires
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many fires there have been in schools in each of the last three years. [123312]
Mr. Miliband: The Department does not collect these figures.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have had to close for a period of time owing to fire in each of the last three years. [123313]
Mr. Miliband: The Department does not have this information. However, the issue of fire safety is of primary importance.
If a fire should happen in a school, the Department's primary concern is for the safety of pupils, teachers and other users. Regulation 17 of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 requires that every part of a school building, and of the land provided for a school, shall be such that the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured. Schools are also covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and by subsequent related regulations. These include aspects of fire safety.
To help schools manage fire safety, the Department published "Managing School Facilities Guide 6, Fire Safety", in 2000. This offers guidance on how to minimise the risks of both accidental and malicious fires occurring, and advises on how to identify hazards and carry out risk assessments. It also gives advice on training and on fire detection and alarm systems.
In addition, officials from the Department sit on the Arson in Schools Working Group, a group of experts representing the insurance industry, the fire and police services, local authorities and Government Departments. The group exists to research and promote ways of reducing malicious fires in schools. One of its outputs has been the publication of the guide "How to Combat Arson in Schools", copies of which have been sent to all schools in the UK.
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School Funding (Suffolk)
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent correspondence he has received from Suffolk county council about the funding of schools in Suffolk in 2003–04. [123051]
Mr. Miliband: My right hon. Friend has received a number of letters from the local authority and schools in Suffolk about the funding of schools. He made a statement to the House on 15 May 2003, Official Report, column 13WS.
School Inspections
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 7 May 2003, Official Report, columns 693–94W, on school inspections, what percentage of year 11 lessons inspected by Ofsted in 2001–02 were set by ability in (a) specialist and (b) non-specialist comprehensives. [123327]
Mr. Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Secondary Schools
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many responses his Department has received to the 2003 staffing survey; how many responses his Department had received by 16 April; and to how many schools the survey was originally sent. [122984]
Mr. Miliband: The Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey was originally sent to a sample of 833 maintained secondary schools in England. When the statistical first release August 2003 "Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey: November 2002 (provisional)" was published on 16 April 2003 180 schools had returned the survey. Since publication a further 25 schools have returned the survey, bringing the total number of schools to return the survey to date to 205.
As I informed the House on 17 March, it is the Government's intention to publish final results of the survey in September. We remain on course to meet this target.
School Inspections (Wandsworth)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in the London borough of Wandsworth have undergone an Ofsted inspection within the last 12 months. [123318]
Mr. Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Student Loans
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was to the Treasury of providing income contingent loans for higher education students in each year since 1998–99. [122559]
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Alan Johnson [holding answer 30 June 2003]: The Secretary of State for Education and Skills only has responsibilities for student loans paid to higher education students domiciled in England and Wales therefore this answer provides data relating to them.
The resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) costs to the Treasury for income contingent loans are shown in the table:
| Financial Year | RAB Charges |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 151 |
| 1999–2000 | 491 |
| 2000–01 | 661 |
| 2001–02 | 822 |
The fall in the HM Treasury cost of capital rate from six per cent. to 3.5 per cent. which took effect on 1 April 2003 will reduce the resource cost in future years.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many graduates were due to commence student loan repayments in April 2003; and how many have commenced repayment. [124042]
Alan Johnson: 251,091 borrowers (UK figure) were due to start repaying their income-contingent student loans in April 2003. The figures for those that have started repayments are not yet available because repayment is based on income and is deducted at source by employers with tax and National Insurance. Details of repayments are notified to the Student Loans Company by the Inland Revenue after the end of the tax year in question.
Teacher Redundancies
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers, (b) classroom assistants and (c) other redundancies (i) have occurred since 1st April and (ii) he has been informed will take place during the remainder of the financial year in each school in Hertfordshire. [121682]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 26 June 2003]: Detailed information on redundancies of teachers, classroom assistants and others on a school by school basis is not collected centrally.
Teacher Vacancies (London)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies there are for teachers in each London borough. [123316]
Mr. Miliband: The most recent vacancy numbers for the maintained schools sector at local authority level are shown in table 40 of the 2002 edition of "Statistics of Education: School Workforce in England". A copy of this volume has been placed in the Library. The table is also available on the statistics section of the DfES website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DBA/OL/vQ380/456-t40.htm.
7 Jul 2003 : Column 632W
Vacancy information was published at regional level in April 2003 in statistical first release 10/2003. In January 2003 there were 1,020 vacancies (a vacancy rate of 2.1 per cent.) in the maintained schools sector in London, down from 1,360 vacancies (a vacancy rate of 2.7 per cent.) in January 2002.
Teenage Pregnancy
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what expenditure was incurred in each of the last five years; and what the level is of projected expenditure to 2005–06 to tackle teenage pregnancy; and if he will make a statement. [120770]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched in June 1999. Expenditure and provision for the Strategy is listed below.
There are early encouraging signs of progress. The most recent data for 2001 shows a 10 per cent. reduction in the under 18 conception rate and an 11 per cent. fall in the under 16 conception rate since 1998, the baseline year for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. Participation of teenage parents in education, training or employment has doubled from 16 per cent. to 33 per cent.
| Expenditure | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 5 |
| 2000–01 | 16 |
| 2001–02 | 21 |
| 2002–03 | 21 |
| 2003–04 | 35 |
| 2004–05 | 40 |
| 2005–06 | 40 |
Note:
Figures quoted for 2003–04 to 2005–06 are provisional and are the Spending Review 2002 Allocations.
The table details the funding of local teenage pregnancy strategies and central activity led by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit including campaigns. Teenage parents are also supported in other ways, for example through reintegrating school age mothers into education via the Vulnerable Children Grant, supporting the child care costs of teenage parents in post-16 education and by housing support for those teenage parents who are unable to live with their families.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on the recommendation in the recent Health Committee report on Sexual Health for a National Service Framework on sexual health as part of his Department's strategy to reduce teenage pregnancy. [123435]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
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