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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1465W—continued
Childhood Obesity
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what discussions he has had with other Departments about implementing a strategy to tackle childhood obesity. [138744]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Children's Centres
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres there are in the United Kingdom; what plans he has to increase the number; and how many children each centre will be able to cater for. [133125]
Margaret Hodge: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Children's Commissioner for England
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what duties the post of Children's Commissioner for England will entail; and when the work force planning unit will be created; [133126]
- (2) what resources will be made available to the Children's Commissioner for England. [133133]
Margaret Hodge: The Government set out in the Green Paper "Every Child Matters" our intention to legislate for the appointment of a Children's Commissioner as a new voice for all children and young people. The Green Paper indicates that the Commissioner should advise Government and engage with others, such as business and the media, whose decisions and actions affect children's lives. The Commissioner would ensure that the views of children and young people are heard, and report to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on progress against the outcomes for children set out in the Green Paper. Further details on the responsibilities and resources of the Commissioner will be made available in the light of the consultation, which runs until 1 December.
Work is also progressing rapidly on establishing the new structures to be adopted within the Department for Education and Skills, including the children's work force unit, to ensure delivery of the Green Paper, and full details will be announced soon.
Children's Homes
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many inspectors of homes that care for children were carried out in Somerset in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [136550]
Margaret Hodge: 145 inspections of children's homes were carried out in Somerset during the year ended 31 March 2002. The number of homes due to be inspected in that year was 77, each home would expect to have
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both an announced (i.e. with prior notice) and an unannounced (i.e. without prior notice) inspection each year.
In 2002–03, NCSC Inspectors carried out 60 announced inspections and 30 unannounced inspections of children's homes in Somerset.
It is expected that the NCSC will perform two inspections per year (one announced and one unannounced). However, as 2002–03 was the first year in which the NCSC was operational it should be taken into account that a large proportion of homes would not have been registered until the latter part of that year. Therefore the second inspection although within the time frame might not fall until the following year 2003–04.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills where homes in Somerset which are used to have children in care are located. [136551]
Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not collected centrally. Information about de-registered children's homes prior to April 2002 is most likely to be kept by the local authority in which the home was registered.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the private companies which look after children in care in Somerset. [136553]
Margaret Hodge: As of 3 November 2003 the private companies, not voluntary organisations, charities or local authority providers, that have registered with the National Care Standards Commission to look after children in care in Somerset are:
- Families Care Ltd.
- Safe Haven Residential and Respite Care
- On Track (South West) Care Ltd.
- Sedgemoor
- New Horizon Centre Ltd.
- Crossways
- Sedgemoor College Ltd.
- Plus One Residential and Foster Care Ltd.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are in care in Somerset; and which counties they come from. [136554]
Margaret Hodge: Number of children looked after by Somerset CC, Bath and North East Somerset.
| LocalAuthority | Totalnumber of looked after children | Number of children placed inside local authority boundary | Number of children placed outside local authority boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset CC | 335 | 325 | 5 |
| Bath and North East Somerset UA | 145 | 105 | 40 |
| North Somerset UA | 150 | 140 | 10 |
(94) All figures are rounded to the nearest 5. Numbers may not add-up to totals due to rounding.
(95) Figures in this table exclude children looked after under a series of short term placements.
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Commonwealth Education Conference
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) budget and (b) actual cost was of the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held in Scotland last month. [139414]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 18 November 2003]: The administration, including the financial administration, of the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers is a matter for the Scottish Executive. My Department will contribute a proportion of the conference costs, but I invite the hon. Gentleman to write to the Minister for Education and Young People at the Scottish Executive to seek the information he requires.
Connexions
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his definition of a universal service is in relation to Connexions. [138540]
Margaret Hodge: Connexions is available to all young people between 13 and 19 in England. The service comprises initial information and advice on the full range of learning options to 19 and beyond; in-depth guidance and support, or access to specialist help, on anything that might prove a barrier to learning; and access to personal development opportunities to help a young person grow into a rounded independent citizen. Information and advice on post-16 learning options, including details of Education Maintenance Allowances and the Connexions Card, is available from Connexions.
The service is offered face-to-face in secondary schools, colleges and High Street centres, or electronically through Connexions Direct, the telephone- and web-based service. Connexions is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what minimum number of hours of careers and education advice each young person aged 13 to 19 can expect to receive from the Connexions Service. [138541]
Margaret Hodge: We do not specify a minimum number of hours of careers and education advice that young people should receive from the Connexions service. Connexions provides a service differentiated according to need. This includes advice on learning and career choices, as well as support on a wide range of other issues that represent a barrier to young people's participation and achievement in learning.
Schools share responsibility for meeting the needs of young people in relation to making learning and career choices, including responsibility for delivering a curriculum-based careers education programme to all students in Years 9–11 (to be extended to Years 7and 8 from September 2004) and for managing the Key Stage 4 options exercise.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many personal advisers were employed by each Connexions Partnership in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [138542]
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Margaret Hodge: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average caseload of Connexions personal advisers working with people aged 13 to 19 who are (a) in school, (b) in college and (c) not engaged in employment, education or training was in the last year for which figures are available. [138543]
Margaret Hodge: Information on the caseloads of Connexions personal advisers is not collected centrally by the Connexions Service National Unit. Individual Connexions Partnerships set allocations for each institution in their area and for working with those not engaged in employment, education or training. These allocations determine the caseloads of personal advisers and are based on an assessment of need in each institution and area.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of people aged 13 to 19 who were in (a) school, (b) further education college and (c) neither school nor further education college, received advice from Connexions in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04. [138545]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people aged 13 to 19 in (a) school and (b) further education college were identified as needing intensive support by Connexions in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04. [138546]
Margaret Hodge: The table below shows the number of young people in (a) compulsory education, and (b) post-compulsory education (both school and further education colleges) identified as needing intensive support and in depth guidance from Connexions in August of each of the last three years. The information relates only to Connexions Partnerships that were operational at that time.
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 (August 2002) | 2003–04 (August 2003) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory education | (96) | 226,498 | 358,056 |
| Post-compulsory education | (96) | 91,769 | 173,639 |
(96)Information not collected in this format in 2001–02
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of the total number of Connexions personal advisers possess an NVQ Level 4, or equivalent, in (a) careers, (b) youth work, (c) social work and (d) other relevant disciplines. [138547]
Margaret Hodge: Information on the qualifications of personal advisers is not available in the form requested.
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The information in the table shows the number and proportion of personal advisers working for the Connexions Service who are qualified to NVQ Level 4 or above as at April 2003. Details of the type of qualification are not collected by the Connexions Service National Unit.
All fully qualified personal advisers are required to hold an NVQ Level 4 or equivalent in a relevant professional discipline. Personal advisers who are not qualified to NVQ Level 4 should be actively working towards achieving this level.
| Total number of Personal Advisers | 5,780 |
| Number of Personal Advisers with NVQ Level 4 or above | 4,645 |
| Percentage NVQ Level 4 or above | 80 |
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