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10 Nov 2003 : Column 69W—continued
Breakfast Clubs
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in the UK provide breakfast clubs, broken down by education authority. [136208]
Mr. Miliband: The Department does not keep a record of the number of breakfast clubs operating in any given area of the country. Breakfast clubs are available in a number of schools, and may form part of a school's study support or childcare provision for which Government funding is available. They can not only provide learning opportunities for pupils, but also help support the needs of working parents by offering food in a safe and stimulating environment for their children.
CAFCASS
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to reform the management and organisation of CAFCASS. [137479]
Margaret Hodge: In response to one of the recommendations of the Committee on the Lord Chancellor's Department in their report on the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) (HC 614–1), I appointed Professor Sir Clive Booth to carry out a review of the skills required by the CAFCASS Board. I will consider his report before taking any decisions on the organisation of the Board.
Child Protection
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what response he has made to the letter of 3 November from the Chief Executive of Southend Borough Council relating to child protection. [137770]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Secretary of State has not received this letter.
Children and Young People's Unit
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget was for (a) staffing and (b) administering the Children and Young People's Unit in each year since it was established; and how much funding has been allocated by the CYPU to projects referred by the Children's Fund over the same period, broken down by region. [135028]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 28 October 2003]: The information requested is as follows.
The Children's and Young People's Unit had a combined staffing and administration budget over financial years 2001–02, 2002–03 & 2003–04 of:
- Financial year 2001–02: £2.66 million
Financial year 2002–03: £4.43 million
Financial year 2003–04: £4.40 million
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Children's Fund
There are 149 Children's Fund partnership areas in England and individual partnership allocations were based on a formula derived from the number of children in households claiming means-tested benefit/allowance (as defined by Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Family Credit and Disability Working Allowance).
The Children's Fund was rolled out across England in three waves. £67.65 million was allocated to partnerships in 2001–02; £121.37 million in 2002–03; and £166.78 million in 2003–04. The attached table lists each of the 149 partnerships and their annual allocation since each partnership was implemented. Partnership allocations are the same for SR2000 and SR2002. Wave 1 partnerships began operating from 1 July 2001. Wave 2 partnerships began operating from 1 April 2002. Wave 3 partnerships began operating from 1 April 2003.
| Partnership (Wave l) | Annual allocation(£) |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | 6,000,000.00 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 900,000.00 |
| Blackpool | 600,000.00 |
| Bolton | 1,200,000.00 |
| Bradford | 2,750,000.00 |
| Bristol | 1,610,000.00 |
| Camden | 800,000.00 |
| Cornwall | 1,770,000.00 |
| Doncaster | 1,350,000.00 |
| Gateshead | 800,000.00 |
| Greenwich | 1,290,000.00 |
| Hackney | 1,400,000.00 |
| Halton | 600,000.00 |
| Haringey | 1,410,000.00 |
| Hartlepool | 500,000.00 |
| Islington | 900,000.00 |
| Kent | 3,700,000.00 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 1,550,000.00 |
| Knowsley | 1,050,000.00 |
| Lancashire | 4,000,000.00 |
| Leeds | 2,650,000.00 |
| Leicester | 1,600,000.00 |
| Lincolnshire | 1,750,000.00 |
| Liverpool | 2,800,000.00 |
| Manchester | 2,960,000.00 |
| Middlesbrough | 850,000.00 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 1,250,000.00 |
| Newham | 1,900,000.00 |
| Norfolk | 2,100,000.00 |
| Nottingham | 1,700,000.00 |
| Oldham* | 1,370,000.00 |
| Portsmouth | 1,010,000.00 |
| Rochdale | 1,330,000.00 |
| Salford | 1,100,000.00 |
| Sandwell | 1,610,000.00 |
| Sheffield | 2,060,000.00 |
| Southwark | 1,450,000.00 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 750,000.00 |
| Sunderland | 1,530,000.00 |
| Tower Hamlets | 1,700,000.00 |
| Total | 67,650,000.00 |
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Child Protection
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) need for and (b) costs of enabling children's services in refuges to meet the national standards for under eights day care; and if he will make a statement. [136394]
Margaret Hodge: Where refuges offer day care they will need to be registered and inspected by Ofsted, and the national standards for under eights day care would apply. Under an agreed protocol between Ofsted and the Women's Aid Federation of England (WAFE), the unique position of women's refuges is recognised and Ofsted's guidance to its child care inspectors indicates that their special circumstances should be taken into account in applying the national standards.
Local authorities are funded to promote growth in the number of child care places generally and to provide information, training and advice to providers to help them meet the national standards. They work in partnership with refuges where appropriate.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what checks are carried out into private companies who run children's homes. [136545]
Margaret Hodge: The requirements of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the Children's Homes National Minimum Standards must be complied with
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before an organisation can be registered with the National Care Standards Commission. A copy of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role social services departments have in setting up children's homes. [136546]
Margaret Hodge: Social Services departments no longer register and inspect children's homes in their area. Any residential children's homes that are provided by local authorities are registered and inspected by the National Care Standards Commission in the same way as any other private or voluntary organisation providing residential children's homes. Each service provider must comply with the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and Children's Homes National Minimum Standards.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultation in the local area is required to be carried out for a proposed children's home for three or fewer children. [136547]
Margaret Hodge: There is no requirement for the consultation of local residents in relation to a proposed children's home. The NCSC does not distinguish between small children's homes and large children's homes for the purpose of registration.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were in privately-run children's homes in Somerset in the last year for which figures are available. [136548]
Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
The National Care Standards Commission's records show that as of 3 November 2003 there are places for 229 children in total in privately run children's homes in Somerset.
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