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22 Oct 2003 : Column 590W—continued
Manning Control Points
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason no soldiers have been discharged following manning control reviews in the last 17 months; and if he will make a statement. [133353]
Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie) gave on 5 June 2003, Official Report, columns 507–08W.
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether all soldiers subject to discharge at their manning control point have been shown their AFB130A (Application for Discharge) and allowed to appeal against the Commanding Officer's decision before the soldier's discharge is approved by the army; and if he will make a statement. [133354]
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Mr. Caplin: Soldiers who have been recommended for discharge under Queen's Regulations for the Army 1975 Para 9.413, 'Not Required for a Full Army Career', are shown their Army Form B130A and are given an opportunity to appeal against the recommendation.
Mr. Terry Jeans
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an exception to the next-of-kin rule to facilitate the attendance of Mr.Terry Jeans at the trial in Croatia of the people alleged to have murdered his son. [133732]
Mr. Caplin: In July 2002 public funds were exceptionally made available to enable Mr. Jeans to be present at the trial of those accused of killing his son. It was made clear to Mr. Jeans at that time that this action constituted a one-off payment for a final trip to Croatia which in no way constituted a precedent. It was also made clear to Mr. Jeans that the Ministry of Defence could not envisage making any further public funds available to support him. This remains the position.
Official Travel
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many official overseas visits each Minister in the Ministry of Defence has made in each year since 1997. [132123]
Mr. Caplin: A list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year since 1997 is available in the Libraries of
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the House. The lists provide details of the dates, destinations and purposes of all such visits and the costs of Ministers' travel and accommodation where appropriate.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 16 July 2003, Official Report, columns 327–28, to my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Plaskitt).
Service Families (Voting Arrangements)
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are in place to allow families of Scottish soldiers stationed outwith Scotland to vote in Scottish elections; and if he will make a statement. [133653]
Mr. Caplin: It is the individual responsibility of each member of the Armed Forces and their family to register to vote annually. Scottish service personnel outwith Scotland, and their spouses, can choose to register as service voters by means of a service declaration, but they can then only vote by proxy. Those, including eligible children, who choose to register on their local electoral register will be able to vote either by post or proxy if they are overseas or away from Scotland during any election, provided they have registered to vote in Scotland. Every effort is made by ships, units, and stations to give reasonable assistance to personnel overseas to register or vote in line with their individual electoral registration choice.
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
School Exclusions
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to permit schools in England and Wales to receive (a) financial and (b) legal support from their local education authority in dealing with legal action taken against the school by outside parties in respect of fixed-term exclusions. [133359]
Mr. Miliband: There is existing provision with the regulations governing school funding for schools to receive contingency financial assistance from their local education authority if the costs of legal action, or amounts awarded by a court, cannot be met from a school's budget share without damaging pupils' education. Legal support may be purchased by a school either from the authority under a service level agreement or from an independent source.
A-Level Grades
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in England achieved A-levels in (a) mathematics and (b) English achieved grades A or above in (i) the best performing local education authority and (ii) the worst performing local education authority in 2002–03. [133671]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is given in the following tables:
| Percentage of A level passesin mathematics that were grade Ain 2003 | Localeducationauthority | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Highest percentage | Reading | 61.0 |
| Lowest percentage | Portsmouth | 8.0 |
| Percentage of A level passes inEnglish that were grade A in 2003 | Localeducationauthority | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Highest percentage | Reading | 34.0 |
| Lowest percentage | Hackney | 3.2 |
Careers Services
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on arrangements for (a) delivering of services, (b) funding and (c) professional validation and development of careers services operated by higher education institutions, with particular reference to their relationship with other careers and guidance services. [133424]
Alan Johnson: Career guidance services in higher education are diverse and varied. There is no statutory obligation for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to provide careers advice and guidance. However, most
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HEIs have established their own dedicated careers service. Some use other means, for example through academic departments or other student services; others use a combination of both approaches.
Higher Education Careers Services are funded by HEIs themselves. Each institution makes its own decisions about the level of funding it allocates to careers and other services from its overall funding allocation, according to its individual circumstances.
The 2001 report 'Developing Modern Higher Education Careers Services', published following a review commissioned by my Department, included the recommendations that universities should place increased emphasis upon:
- (a) defining core services that every Careers Service should provide
(b) considering their policies towards their Careers Services in relation to their Operational Plan
(c) reviewing their funding distribution to ensure they are able to deliver the core careers services
(d) ensuring their careers service staff are appropriately trained and qualified.
Criminal Records Bureau
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many employees in the education service require CRB checks; what the total cost of those checks is; and who pays for them. [133301]
Mr. Miliband: All new employees in the education service who have regular contact with children require a CRB check on appointment and some staff need to be checked when they move between posts. Fees for CRB checks are set at 24 for a Standard Disclosure and 29 for an Enhanced Disclosure. Disclosures for volunteers are free of charge. I am not able to provide information on numbers of employees or the total costs involved as my Department does not hold this information. The cost of Disclosures falls to individuals, but some employers may decide to pay the fee on their behalf.
Faith Schools
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) both primary and secondary schools that select some or all of their pupils on the basis of faith have (i) opened and (ii) closed in each year since 1997, broken down by local education authority. [133684]
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Mr. Miliband: The following tables show the number of primary and secondary maintained schools, designated as having a religious character, which have opened and closed in each year since 1997, listed by LEA
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area. These schools are permitted to give priority to pupils of their faith or denomination, if over subscribed, but the Department does not maintain records of those that do so.
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Lincolnshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Middlesbrough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Oxfordshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Wiltshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Birmingham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Camden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Essex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Harrow | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Manchester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Salford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Wigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Bradford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cambridgeshire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumbria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hertfordshire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lancashire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Manchester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Medway | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Redbridge | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Gloucestershire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Helens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sunderland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 5 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Croydon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lancashire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Leicestershire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| North Yorkshire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suffolk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
22 Oct 2003 : Column 597W
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Birmingham | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bradford | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorset | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East Sussex | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manchester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nottinghamshire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Surrey | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tower Hamlets | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Sussex | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Birmingham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Herefordshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Knowsley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Middlesbrough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Oxfordshire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shropshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| St Helens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sunderland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tower Hamlets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Warrington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Wirral | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Openings (i) | Closures (ii) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local education authority | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) | Primary (a) | Secondary (b) | Total (c) |
| Bury | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bedfordshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hertfordshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Northamptonshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Northumberland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Wandsworth | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Worcestershire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total (1) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
(1) To 13 October 2003
The tables exclude schools that opened or closed as a result of amalgamations, mergers or reorganisations, and also former community schools that closed and re-opened with a religious character.
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