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Bodies (Costs)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the running costs of the (a) Learning and Skills Council, (b) the Higher Education Funding Council and (c) the Sector Skills Agency were in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [156697]

Alan Johnson: The administration costs in 2002–03 (the most recent year for which figures are available) are in the table.

	£ million
(a) Learning and Skills Council (LSC):	223.3
(b) Higher Education Funding Council	15.69
(c) Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA)	3.72

The different amounts reflect the different remits and structures of the three organisations. As part of the 2002 Spending Review, £218 million has been allocated in each of the three years 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 for the LSC's administration costs and have asked the LSC to find administrative economies so that it can manage with a flat cash administrative budget. As part of this, the LSC has already announced that its national office will be reducing by 200 posts, building on the 600 reductions already achieved through more efficient back-office functions.

Notes:

LSC: Figures include transition costs associated with establishing a new organisation. SSDA: 2002–03 was the SSDA's first year of operation and £1.05 million of the administration costs was attributed to the setting up of the Agency.

Capital Expenditure (Rochdale)

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital funding has been spent on education in the Rochdale constituency since 1997; which schools benefited from additional capital investment in each year; how much funding each received; and how the funding has been spent. [158829]

Mr. Miliband [holding answer 4 March 2004]: The majority of capital support is allocated to schools and local education authorities by formula and they decide

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how to invest it, in line with the priorities of their asset management plans. The Department does not, therefore, have complete information about capital investment in individual schools. This information should be held locally.

Careers Guidance

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the findings of the OECD review of careers guidance policies in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [157508]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 1 March 2004]: The OECD report recognises the high quality of the UK's career guidance services, asserting that 'Compared to most other OECD countries, career guidance is very highly developed in the United Kingdom'.

The OECD places particular emphasis on: the importance of programmes designed to develop career management skills (as well as support when making decisions at key transition points); and access to impartial advice from an agency that is external to the learning institution in which the student is based. Both are key features of careers education and guidance provision in England.

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans his Department has to revise the provision of careers guidance to under-19s; and if he will make a statement. [157510]

Margaret Hodge: The Connexions Service provides all 13 to19-year-olds with access to information, advice and guidance to help them make informed learning and career choices. This is complemented by support from learning institutions, in particular through schools' careers education programmes, available to all young people in years 9–11.

The Department has set in train an end-to-end review of the delivery of careers education and guidance, to assess the extent to which the support currently provided by Connexions and learning institutions meets the needs of all young people, taking account of the advice and support implications that arise from the reforms to 14–19 education announced in "14–19: Opportunity and Excellence", published in January 2003.

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received concerning the provision of careers guidance by Connexions personal advisers; and if he will make a statement. [157511]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 1 March 2004]: A small number of Connexions Personal Advisers have written to DfES expressing concerns that not all young people are receiving support on making learning and career choices, because of Connexions' focus on reducing the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

We have made it clear to Connexions Partnerships that providing access to careers information, advice and guidance to all young people—differentiated according to each individual's needs—is a key element of the preventative strategy to reduce NEETs.

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Child Care (Kirklees)

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many children there are under the age of eight in Kirklees; and how many registered child care places there are for children under the age of eight in Kirklees; [157491]

(2) what the ratio of child care places to children under eight is in (a) Kirklees and (b) England. [157492]

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Office of Education and Standards (OFSTED) and I will ask Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to write to the hon. Member. OFSTED has been responsible for the registration and inspection of children's day care facilities since September 2001.

Children (Access)

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if the Secretary of State will bring forward legislation to provide for a presumption at court that both parents have the right to spend time with their children following divorce; and if he will make a statement. [158911]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 5 March 2004]: There are no current plans to establish a legal presumption of contact, following separation or divorce, between children and both of their parents. The Government support the view that, in general, children benefit from a continuing relationship with both parents following parental separation where it is in the best interests of the child and safe for all family members. The fundamental principle of the Children Act 1989 is that any court decision must be based on what is best for the child. There is no automatic "right" to contact for either fathers or mothers, but in practice the courts have taken the view that in most cases the child's welfare is best served by contact with both parents. This was stated by the Court of Appeal in Re: O (Contact: Imposition of Conditions) [1995] 2 FLR 124 in the following terms:

"Where parents of a child are separated and the child is in the day-to-day care of one of them, it is almost always in the interests of the child that he or she should have contact with the other parent."

The Government will be publishing its response to the Children Act Sub-Committee Report, "Making Contact Work", which dealt with the issue of the facilitation and enforcement of contact orders in March.

Children's Fund

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on (a) the (i) extent and (ii) duration of funding of the Children Fund's partnership with Portsmouth city council and (b) the impact of changes to that funding on existing projects. [152309]

Margaret Hodge: Portsmouth Children's Fund began operating in July 2001 and is approved until March 2006. It was allocated £1,010,000 per annum.

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In its first two years the Children's Fund programme had a record of underspend. Efforts to ensure that all the money was spent have now led to a projected overspend. Revised allocations to some partnerships for 2003–04 were agreed following a mid year review of expenditure. This will ensure that the programme lives within its financial limits this year while honouring its commitments. However, Portsmouth's budget for 2003–04 was not revised following the mid year review.

For 2004–05 we have agreed revised allocations to all partnerships totalling £160 million. This is just below the originally announced total of £164.6 million. Portsmouth's revised allocation for 2004–05 is £981,768. We announced these allocations on 27 February and we are currently working with partnerships, through our regional teams, to assess the impact. The Portsmouth programme has welcomed the freedom to bring forward underspend from 2003–04 into 2004–05 to support its programme. I have made some provision available in the form of a contingency fund which partnerships can apply to, if a serious risk to service delivery in key programmes remains an issue.

I will not be taking final decisions on 2005–06 until I have consulted partnerships and discussed the future of the Children's Fund with key partners, in particular, the potential transition to children's trusts. However, I recognise that partnerships are keen to get some indication of funding levels for 2005–06, in order to help them plan effectively. Therefore I have advised partnerships that the budget for 2005–06 will be no less than £110 million. I will announce the final allocation in autumn 2004, following the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review.

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes have been made to central government funding allocations for the Children's Fund in this financial year, broken down by region; what assessment he has made of the impact such changes will have on services provided by the Children's Fund; and if he will make a statement. [153242]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 9 February 2004]: The 2003–04 mid year review of expenditure identified approximately £12.5 million in underpsend from quarters 1 and 2 that could be redirected from Children's Fund partnerships. This figure was collated nationally and has not been broken down by region.

This action was taken to ensure the programme kept within its budget. The Department has assessed the impact of the review, working with representatives from the main voluntary sector organisations involved in the Fund, the LGA and the ADSS as well as with partnerships' ability to meet contractural obligations, we revisited them. Furthermore, we set aside some money to assist where there was a likelihood of premature closure of services.

Underspend taken back in the mid year review has meant revised allocations to some partnerships this year and ensures the programme can live within its financial limits while honouring its commitments.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what programmes in the Wycombe constituency receive money from the Buckinghamshire Children's Fund. [159260]

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Margaret Hodge [holding answer 5 March 2004]: The following projects are currently receiving money from Buckinghamshire Children's Fund in the Wycombe constituency.

Ashill School project to supporting children during playtime;

Castlefield play worker project;

Green Street—Saturday school for children for Asian community;

Acacia Saturday school for African/Caribbean children across Wycombe;

Cresswicks Secondary School Heartstone project, which tackles racism;

South Bucks Young Carers project;

NCH project working with children with disabilities;

Bucks University for Young People project—run classes in Wycombe;

A crime prevention Youth Inclusion Support Panel and Restorative Justice project are in planning, expected to begin next year.

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