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12 Jan 2004 : Column 578W—continued

Maintenance Grants

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the implications of raising the level of maintenance grants above £1,000. [147241]

Alan Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the Regulatory Impact Assessment, published on 8 January, which sets out the costs and benefits of introducing a new national grant of up to £1,000 a year from 2004/05 for students from low income families, and of increasing the grant to £1,500 a year from 2006/07. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment were placed in the Library of the House; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.

Off-site Educational Visits

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent advice has been issued to schools and teachers about arrangements for off-site educational visits. [145796]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: My Department has published:

"Standards for LEAs in Overseeing Educational Visits (2002)" ¹


"Standards for Adventure (2002)" ¹


"A Handbook for Group Leaders (2002)" ¹


"Group Safety at Water Margins (2003)"—produced with the Central Council of Physical Recreation


¹ These supplement "Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits: A Good Practice Guide 1998"

12 Jan 2004 : Column 579W

Pupil Absences

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 836W, on pupil absences, if he will break down the number of

12 Jan 2004 : Column 580W

half days lost due to unauthorised absence in (a) 1997–98 and (b) 2002–03 by local education authority. [146470]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 8 January 2004]: The information requested is shown as follows:

Unauthorised absence in maintained primary and secondary schools in England, 1997/98 and 2002/03

	Academic year 1997/98			Academic year 2002/03
	Total possible sessions	Number of half days missed due to unauthorised absence	Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence	Total possible sessions	Number of half days missed due to unauthorised absence	Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence
Barking and Dagenham	6,960,095	105,543	1.52	7,459,186	119,169	1.60
Barnet	11,942,107	77,882	0.65	11,778,740	87,718	0.74
Barnsley	8,743,218	103,801	1.19	9,345,586	95,717	1.02
Bath and North East Somerset	6,612,203	25,869	0.39	6,550,822	37,512	0.57
Bedfordshire	15,385,361	57,620	0.37	16,147,095	55,529	0.34
Bexley	9,197,337	38,296	0.42	10,093,091	54,322	0.54
Birmingham	43,684,482	516,068	1.18	44,600,995	453,883	1.02
Blackburn with Darwen	6,863,979	68,232	0.99	6,933,373	54,619	0.79
Blackpool	5,523,173	61,956	1.12	5,565,569	54,300	0.98
Bolton	12,305,786	114,299	0.93	12,111,994	85,928	0.71
Bournemouth	5,496,631	43,585	0.79	5,532,530	21,680	0.39
Bracknell Forest	3,787,557	13,079	0.35	3,899,460	16,946	0.43
Bradford	21,921,765	357,869	1.63	20,822,223	316,047	1.52
Brent	8,491,833	65,143	0.77	9,333,083	56,144	0.60
Brighton and Hove	7,140,966	59,889	0.84	7,892,669	75,869	0.96
Bristol, City of	12,740,007	153,001	1.20	12,638,508	173,184	1.37
Bromley	11,518,807	54,438	0.47	11,965,363	87,561	0.73
Buckinghamshire	18,547,877	51,341	0.28	19,108,430	84,148	0.44
Bury	7,786,809	40,038	0.51	7,949,847	37,419	0.47
Calderdale	9,117,237	46,840	0.51	9,108,847	47,033	0.52
Cambridgeshire	19,309,270	105,432	0.55	20,308,069	110,359	0.54
Camden	5,377,029	78,679	1.46	4,890,033	55,645	1.14
Cheshire	27,648,326	137,638	0.50	27,850,790	168,179	0.60
Cornwall	19,103,370	72,092	0.38	19,713,625	77,577	0.39
Coventry	12,977,784	99,842	0.77	12,528,870	71,501	0.57
Croydon	11,982,517	67,594	0.56	12,811,239	110,841	0.87
Cumbria	20,114,014	67,279	0.33	20,279,090	100,163	0.49
Darlington	4,220,750	31,946	0.76	4,015,669	23,798	0.59
Derby City	9,496,622	76,289	0.80	9,776,185	87,290	0.89
Derbyshire	28,990,500	184,011	0.63	30,650,557	202,425	0.66
Devon	24,941,506	114,542	0.46	25,992,151	154,447	0.59
Doncaster	13,055,709	149,394	1.14	12,885,981	120,776	0.94
Dorset	14,147,822	56,849	0.40	14,544,725	55,073	0.38
Dudley	12,221,676	46,843	0.38	13,630,374	80,903	0.59
Durham	20,105,892	146,200	0.73	20,027,339	73,511	0.37
Ealing	9,864,678	84,732	0.86	9,957,712	48,907	0.49
East Riding of Yorkshire	12,690,313	66,481	0.52	13,492,330	57,494	0.43
East Sussex	16,296,427	120,771	0.74	17,884,590	148,004	0.83
Enfield	11,731,951	111,415	0.95	12,036,439	173,070	1.44
Essex	51,192,177	292,106	0.57	52,313,880	305,488	0.58
Gateshead	7,741,720	76,121	0.98	7,405,780	42,292	0.57
Gloucestershire	22,252,023	67,411	0.30	22,707,564	82,832	0.36
Greenwich	8,612,526	172,048	2.00	8,999,902	166,073	1.85
Hackney	6,386,670	101,078	1.58	6,528,327	105,774	1.62
Halton	5,849,448	53,627	0.92	5,438,109	69,126	1.27
Hammersmith and Fulham	3,481,002	65,994	1.90	4,056,354	48,180	1.19
Hampshire	46,126,635	244,954	0.53	47,696,466	315,381	0.66
Haringey	7,816,702	128,095	1.64	8,201,203	143,333	1.75
Harrow	7,844,823	43,429	0.55	7,781,906	25,072	0.32
Hartlepool	4,051,517	53,341	1.32	4,307,027	51,843	1.20
Havering	9,427,217	37,739	0.40	9,572,671	37,431	0.39
Herefordshire	6,546,757	24,019	0.37	6,809,255	31,673	0.47
Hertfordshire	42,043,377	180,011	0.43	43,498,050	229,107	0.53
Hillingdon	9,259,142	97,442	1.05	10,170,299	111,853	1.10
Hounslow	8,416,806	77,565	0.92	8,603,901	95,439	1.11
Isle of Wight	4,983,329	20,365	0.41	5,110,221	30,031	0.59
Isles of Scilly	64,884	121	0.19	63,326	441	0.70
Islington	6,191,369	105,073	1.70	5,950,006	80,662	1.36
Kensington and Chelsea	2,381,581	41,502	1.74	2,561,091	24,846	0.97
Kent	51,645,835	238,420	0.46	55,108,122	279,301	0.51
Kingston upon Hull, City of	11,278,575	222,041	1.97	10,656,454	156,049	1.46
Kingston upon Thames	4,781,603	24,577	0.51	5,043,212	17,616	0.35
Kirklees	17,076,263	172,467	1.01	16,922,012	129,658	0.77
Knowsley	7,353,050	116,731	1.59	7,062,038	112,257	1.59
Lambeth	6,616,896	88,978	1.34	6,769,620	62,317	0.92
Lancashire	48,581,138	258,625	0.53	48,954,065	266,747	0.54
Leeds	28,744,260	337,757	1.18	28,933,535	319,327	1.10
Leicester City	12,734,281	143,282	1.13	12,689,113	194,712	1.53
Leicestershire	26,006,408	141,512	0.54	26,533,381	174,417	0.66
Lewisham	8,258,734	150,844	1.83	8,709,699	136,429	1.57
Lincolnshire	24,181,115	133,479	0.55	27,067,264	138,489	0.51
Liverpool	19,660,250	267,289	1.36	18,892,558	200,971	1.06
London, City of	50,796	976	1.92	54,342	0	0.00
Luton	8,026,192	58,169	0.72	8,507,459	54,672	0.64
Manchester	17,161,916	300,544	1.75	16,811,825	200,799	1.19
Medway	11,210,947	71,279	0.64	11,633,094	60,413	0.52
Merton	5,779,338	80,513	1.39	5,441,153	41,819	0.77
Middlesbrough	6,305,740	61,431	0.97	5,983,567	40,771	0.68
Milton Keynes	8,583,082	41,480	0.48	9,305,084	40,801	0.44
Newcastle upon Tyne	10,027,943	86,336	0.86	9,579,712	83,829	0.88
Newham	11,225,046	281,582	2.51	11,719,076	150,900	1.29
Norfolk	27,851,813	169,643	0.61	30,114,741	206,752	0.69
North East Lincolnshire	7,461,441	83,474	1.12	7,303,691	67,923	0.93
North Lincolnshire	6,833,885	45,071	0.66	6,678,118	36,530	0.55
North Somerset	7,101,334	42,540	0.60	7,457,736	51,788	0.69
North Tyneside	7,893,708	35,662	0.45	7,806,945	37,468	0.48
North Yorkshire	22,193,981	60,788	0.27	23,726,431	83,564	0.35
Northamptonshire	26,199,295	166,709	0.64	27,575,895	197,952	0.72
Northumberland	13,095,643	48,321	0.37	12,637,969	36,493	0.29
Nottingham City	10,522,642	234,731	2.23	9,902,153	132,671	1.34
Nottinghamshire	30,194,615	262,053	0.87	31,091,195	279,326	0.90
Oldham	11,049,488	124,707	1.13	10,797,455	103,252	0.96
Oxfordshire	21,882,823	174,275	0.80	22,084,106	145,787	0.66
Peterborough City	7,314,293	56,346	0.77	7,527,333	51,405	0.68
Plymouth	10,407,858	61,045	0.59	10,018,234	41,800	0.42
Poole	4,894,319	27,561	0.56	5,053,137	33,897	0.67
Portsmouth	6,978,696	84,443	1.21	6,887,267	74,618	1.08
Reading	4,501,271	51,138	1.14	4,136,438	42,177	1.02
Redbridge	9,567,710	58,420	0.61	10,443,598	76,663	0.73
Redcar and Cleveland	6,476,772	44,796	0.69	6,529,839	39,005	0.60
Richmond upon Thames	5,387,735	26,734	0.50	5,220,053	56,648	1.09
Rochdale	9,343,930	102,814	1.10	9,479,481	90,003	0.95
Rotherham	11,850,034	120,999	1.02	11,956,554	100,738	0.84
Rutland	1,403,662	5,284	0.38	1,425,488	4,570	0.32
Salford	9,059,496	100,157	1.11	8,984,375	106,531	1.19
Sandwell	12,717,785	130,452	1.03	12,772,004	121,645	0.95
Sefton	12,468,268	54,426	0.44	11,857,845	51,244	0.43
Sheffield	19,498,865	299,826	1.54	20,013,151	254,156	1.27
Shropshire	10,593,845	43,335	0.41	11,182,692	31,787	0.28
Slough	4,326,982	33,062	0.76	4,920,858	52,245	1.06
Solihull	9,534,393	32,823	0.34	9,504,941	52,417	0.55
Somerset	18,108,993	68,241	0.38	19,244,019	85,716	0.45
South Gloucestershire	9,731,927	54,168	0.56	10,708,139	73,654	0.69
South Tyneside	6,721,986	13,403	0.20	6,299,568	25,145	0.40
Southampton	8,370,654	83,610	1.00	7,973,689	68,754	0.86
Southend-on-Sea	6,357,832	64,139	1.01	6,756,687	63,343	0.94
Southwark	8,364,744	169,937	2.03	8,962,748	157,226	1.75
St. Helens	7,672,838	25,640	0.33	7,687,463	53,720	0.70
Staffordshire	33,514,654	117,250	0.35	34,312,098	151,716	0.44
Stockport	11,448,314	85,358	0.75	11,585,776	62,960	0.54
Stockton on Tees	8,663,358	36,079	0.42	8,255,696	36,991	0.45
Stoke on Trent	10,021,352	74,166	0.74	9,675,615	106,045	1.10
Suffolk	24,952,935	87,289	0.35	26,223,004	186,328	0.71
Sunderland	13,251,439	83,350	0.63	12,607,404	65,400	0.52
Surrey	34,191,515	105,248	0.31	35,480,270	208,644	0.59
Sutton	7,035,996	27,419	0.39	7,587,605	35,024	0.46
Swindon	7,818,601	47,772	0.61	7,896,788	32,009	0.41
Tameside	10,187,487	69,146	0.68	10,062,696	39,554	0.39
Telford and Wrekin	6,725,805	48,127	0.72	7,047,540	26,477	0.38
Thurrock	5,806,143	60,881	1.05	5,889,829	58,493	0.99
Torbay	4,688,784	21,167	0.45	4,956,923	43,381	0.88
Tower Hamlets	8,452,799	184,708	2.19	8,914,070	138,820	1.56
Trafford	9,260,873	47,595	0.51	9,253,299	34,771	0.38
Wakefield	14,043,287	102,408	0.73	14,085,535	106,245	0.75
Walsall	12,284,583	105,354	0.86	12,241,652	80,325	0.66
Waltham Forest	8,773,590	125,645	1.43	8,983,932	81,085	0.90
Wandsworth	6,660,268	66,109	0.99	6,749,010	52,766	0.78
Warrington	8,723,569	33,278	0.38	8,723,891	41,370	0.47
Warwickshire	20,146,407	86,938	0.43	19,977,522	91,302	0.46
West Berkshire	6,162,872	17,882	0.29	6,268,303	28,747	0.46
West Sussex	26,795,598	100,465	0.37	28,012,548	130,965	0.47
Westminster, City of	4,388,316	91,418	2.08	4,515,826	48,561	1.08
Wigan	14,582,708	108,771	0.75	13,789,031	57,062	0.41
Wiltshire	16,265,723	68,496	0.42	17,041,153	74,818	0.44
Windsor and Maidenhead	4,895,304	17,719	0.36	4,981,077	27,205	0.55
Wirral	14,086,710	87,329	0.62	13,900,770	65,200	0.47
Wokingham	6,246,147	21,320	0.34	6,078,808	24,143	0.40
Wolverhampton	9,695,286	109,925	1.13	10,263,693	82,080	0.80
Worcestershire	20,828,048	114,354	0.55	21,152,365	105,058	0.50
York, City of	5,753,137	26,843	0.47	6,488,028	49,413	0.76
Total	1,944,289,663	14,673,753	0.75	1,987,988,695	14,355,433	0.72

Notes:

1. Figures relate to maintained primary and secondary schools but exclude maintained special schools and CTCs.

2. Figures cover absences between September 1997 and May 1998, and September 2002 and May 2003.

12 Jan 2004 : Column 583W

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