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17 Nov 2003 : Column 537W—continued
Regional Assemblies
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will include with the postal ballot for the proposed English regional assemblies explanatory memoranda setting out the expected costs and savings of the new structure. [137559]
Mr. Raynsford: The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 prohibits publication of any material relating to a referendum during the 28 days prior to the poll by any Minister of the Crown, Government Department or local authority. Therefore, the postal ballot for the proposed English regional assemblies will not include any such material. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has launched an information campaign to ensure that relevant information about the role and composition of Elected Regional Assemblies is made easily available in each of the three northern regions where referendums may be held. This includes an estimate of the costs of running elected assemblies and the savings to other public bodies whose staff transfer to the assembly.
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Regional Co-ordination Unit
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Regional Co-ordination Unit was established. [138131]
Yvette Cooper: The Regional Co-ordination Unit was set up in the summer of 2000 following the publication of the Performance and Innovation Unit Report, "Reaching Out—The Role Of Central Government At Regional And Local Level".
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many research projects the Regional Co-ordination Unit (a) plans to commission in 2003–04 and (b) commissioned in 2002–03; and what the rationale for each project was. [138134]
Yvette Cooper: The Regional Co-ordination Unit (RCU) currently has no plans to commission any research in 2003–04.
In 2002–03, the following research was commissioned:
- a study of staff appraisal to see if there are any subjective differences in the way appraisals are carried out on staff of different gender, ethnicity or disability; and
a report into "Incorporating Regional Perspectives into Policy Making". This was commissioned jointly by the RCU and the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit to investigate ways in which central Departments and the Government Offices could better work together to develop policy.
Ward Boundaries (Devon)
Nick Harvey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to introduce orders giving effect to the Boundary Committee's recommendations for Devon County Council's ward boundaries. [138903]
Mr. Raynsford: These are now matters for the independent Electoral Commission, to which the periodic electoral reviews functions of the former Local Government Commission for England and my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister were transferred by the Local Government Commission for England (Transfer of Functions) Order 2001 (S.I 2001/3962).
Wiltshire Fire Authority
Mr. Key: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the members of the Wiltshire Fire Authority indicating (a) by whom each was nominated, (b) by whom each was appointed and (c) the political affiliation of each member. [137455]
Mr. Raynsford: This information is not held centrally.
Work-related Stress
Dr. Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases of work-related stress have been reported in his Department in each of the last three years; how much compensation has been paid to employees; how many work days have been lost due to work-related stress, and at what cost; what procedures have been put in place to reduce work-related stress, and at what cost; and if he will make a statement. [136842]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established following machinery of government changes in May 2002.
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For the period 2002–03, there have been eight cases of alleged work-related stress in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, amounting to 126 days absence. There have been no compensation claims for work-related stress.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has a Stress at Work policy in place, which is supported by practical guidance issued to staff on dealing with the issue. In addition, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has access to a counselling and support facility. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to meeting the targets for reducing the number of days lost due to work-related injuries and ill health arising from the Government's Revitalising Health and Safety initiative. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been in recent discussions with the Health and Safety Executive about the development of a new proactive stress prevention programme.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Paternal Contact
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what encouragement departments and agencies give to fathers in keeping in contact with their children after separation. [136442]
Margaret Hodge: The Government's approach to the issue of child contact is based on the principle in the Children Act 1989, that in all decisions and arrangements about child contact, the child's best interests must be paramount. Figures from recent studies and surveys indicate as follows:
- 60 per cent. of non-resident parents agreed contact with the resident parent.
77 per cent. of non-resident parents saw their children every day, or at least once a week, or at least once a month. (Office for National Statistics survey).
47 per cent. of all non-resident fathers were having at least weekly contact, 68 per cent. at least monthly contact and only 3 per cent. had no contact at all, with their children. (Bradshaw, Stimson, Skinner and Williams—"Absent Fathers?" 1999).
69 per cent. of formerly married parents reported on-going contact. Only 5 per cent. reported that there had never been any contact and 27 per cent. said contact had been interrupted or had ended. (McLean and Eekelaar—"The Parental Obligation: a study of parenthood across households" 1997).
Meanwhile, the Government have already taken the following initiatives:have published the Parenting Plan, designed to help parents make practical arrangements for their children following divorce or separation, and age-related information leaflets for children concerned;are supporting a publicity campaign to emphasise the benefits of safe contact for children and to encourage parents to resolve disputes constructively;
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have made available public funding for family mediation for the resolution of disputes over children. 250 services now have contracts to provide family mediation and in 2001/02 are expanding the provision of child contact facilities.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of (a) the effect of provisions of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and (b) progressing schools in fulfilling their duty to draw up accessibility plans. [137910]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools will be reporting on these matters during 2004.
Child Protection Database
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received about the impact of data protection laws on his plans to introduce a database for child protection. [138422]
Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend has not received any direct representations about the impact of data protection laws on our plans to introduce a database for child protection.
The Green Paper "Every Child Matters" sets out our proposals to protect children at risk within a framework of universal services, including the collection and sharing of information on children. The consultation period ends on 1 December.
Education Act
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) with which schools and local authorities he has discussed proposals to take advantage of the flexibility provisions of the Education Act 2002; [137087]
- (2) how many inquiries he has received about use of the flexibility provisions of the Education Act 2002. [137088]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 10 November 2003]: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis) on 12 May 2003, Official Report, column 52W; the hon. Member for Ashford (Mr. Green) on 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1131W; the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) on 27 October 2003, Official Report, column 72W and the noble Baroness Sharp of Guildford, Official Report, House of Lords, 6 October 2003, c. WA3.
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