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11 Mar 2004 : Column 1715W—continued
Adult and Community Learning Programmes(Greater London)
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people were enrolled on adult and community learning programmes in Greater London in each year since 1995; and how many are enrolled on adult and community learning programmes now. [158409]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The numbers of enrolments in Greater London on (i) adult and community learning and adult education courses run through local education authorities; (ii) LearnDirect; and (iii) adult basic skills, are set out separately as follows.
The number of enrolments on adult education courses run through local education authorities (LEAs) in England at 1 November each year is published annually in the Statistical First Release, "Adult Education Enrolments in England". The publication includes a breakdown of enrolments by region. The following table shows the number of enrolments on courses offered by LEAs in Greater London at 1 November for each year from 1995 to 2002, the latest year for which figures are available. These figures include enrolments on both courses that do and do not lead to a recognised qualification.
(36) Includes enrolments by 16 to 18-year-olds
Source:
Local education authorities
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The figures in the following table show the numbers of learners on LearnDirect provision in Greater London in each year since 2000/01, the earliest year for which figures are available. Learners who withdrew from their course are excluded.
| Academic year | Learners |
|---|---|
| 2000/01 | 15,000 |
| 2001/02 | 50,000 |
| 2002/03 | 57,000 |
| 2003/04 (to date) | 30,000 |
Source:
LearnDirect
The final table shows the number of enrolments on adult basic skills courses in Greater London since the launch of the Skills for Life strategy.
| Academic year | Enrolments (thousand) |
|---|---|
| 2000/01(39) | 167 |
| 2001/02 | 272 |
| 2002/03 | 311 |
(37) Includes enrolments by 16 to 18-year-olds.
(38) Figures do not include estimates from the Offenders' Learning and Skills Unit and the Department for Work and Pensions.
(39) Part year figure covering April to July 2001.
Source:
Learning and Skills Council
Adult Residential Colleges
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to examine the contribution of residential colleges for adult education to the Government's lifelong learning policies; and if he will make a statement. [159525]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There are 32 adult residential colleges based in rural locations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These colleges are mainly owned and run by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and provide, in the main, short courses. They do not receive funding direct from the DfES or the Learning and Skills Council. It is for local Learning and Skills Councils, in discussion with LEAs, to consider whether, and if so how, residential colleges can contribute to meeting local needs in lifelong learning in the light of our commitments in 21st Century Skills to safeguard budgets for such learning.
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Asbestos
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the (a) schools and (b) other education facilities which have been identified as containing asbestos; what proportion of (i) schools and (ii) other education facilities have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos; which (A) schools and (B) other education facilities require (1) remedial work and (2) removal of asbestos; what this work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for 2004 and 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys. [159656]
Mr. Miliband: The Department does not hold information on which schools and other education facilities contain asbestos, nor on the proportion that has been surveyed for asbestos. As part of the data collected through the appraisal of Asset Management Plans, the Department has information on maintenance requirements at maintained schools, but asbestos work is not separately identified. By May this year, in accordance with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002, schools should have identified and recorded the position of any asbestos. We do not provide funding specifically for the survey, treatment or removal of asbestos. Schools and authorities can use the large amounts of formulaic capital which is now allocated to them for investment in their buildings, including health and safety needs such as asbestos treatment. We would expect these needs to be prioritised highly in the local asset management planning process. The total amount of capital available for investment in school buildings in 2004–05 is £4.5 billion and in 2005–06 it rises to £5.1 billion.
CAFCASS
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many complaints have been (a) made and (b) upheld against reports produced by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service since the inception of the Service. [152348]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 30 January 2004]: As at 31 March 2003, CAFCASS had received 916 complaints since its inception in April 2001, representing less than 1 per cent. of the total number of cases handled. Of the complaints, 47 per cent. were not upheld and 31 per cent. were resolved or withdrawn. Five per cent. of complaints were upheld, with 9 per cent. partly upheld and 8 per cent. remaining under investigation as at 31 March 2003.
Figures for the period April 2003-March 2004 are currently being collected from CAFCASS' regions and will be published in their 2003–04 Annual Report; which is expected to be laid before Parliament before the summer recess.
If complainants complete CAFCASS's complaints process and still remain dissatisfied, they are able to raise the matter, through a sponsoring MP, with the Parliamentary Ombudsman. In 2002–03, four complaints were referred to the Ombudsman: in three, no evidence was found to support them. The Ombudsman made enquiries about the fourth
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complaint, but decided not to progress it any further. CAFCASS only has figures on complaints received by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in 2002–03.
Child Care Review Officers
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many independent review officers responsible for child care cases are employed in each local authority; and how many vacant posts there are in each local authority. [156525]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 26 February 2004]: The information requested is not available centrally.
The Children Act 1989 Guidance requires that reviews are chaired by someone at a more senior level than the case social worker to bring a degree of oversight and objectivity to the review and care plan. Regulations also require local authorities to appoint an officer to assist in the co-ordination of all aspects of the review.
To further strengthen this, provision was made in the Adoption and Children Act 2002 for legislation to require local authorities to appoint Independent Reviewing Officers. These officers are to be independent of the management of the child's case and independent of the resources allocated to that case. Regulations commencing this provision will come into force in September 2004 following a consultation exercise last year. A large number of local authorities already employ individuals fulfilling a similar function.
Children in Care
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) new born babies, (b) infants aged between one and four years and (c) children aged over five years have been taken into care by social services in each of the last 10 years. [152115]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 30 January 2004]: The number of (a) new born babies, (b) infants aged between one and four years and (c) children aged over five years who were taken into care by local authorities in each of the last 10 years is shown in the table.
| Age on entering care | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | (40) , (41)All Children | Under 1 | 1 to 4 | 5 and over |
| 1993 | 29,100 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 20,200 |
| 1994 | 31,300 | 3,200 | 6,500 | 21,700 |
| 1995 | 32,500 | 3,400 | 6,300 | 22,800 |
| 1996 | 32,100 | 3,300 | 6,200 | 22,600 |
| 1997 | 29,900 | 3,300 | 5,800 | 20,800 |
| 1998 | 29,700 | 3,200 | 5,700 | 20,800 |
| 1999 | 28,400 | 3,500 | 5,500 | 19,500 |
| 2000 | 28,600 | 3,700 | 5,200 | 19,600 |
| 2001 | 25,100 | 3,700 | 4,600 | 16,900 |
| 2002 | 24,600 | 3,900 | 4,500 | 16,200 |
(40) Only the first occasion on which a child entered care in the year has been counted.
(41) Figures for children in care in this table exclude agreed series of short term placements.
Of the 24,600 children who entered care during the year ending 31 March 2002, 68 per cent. were looked after under voluntary agreements (Section 20 of the
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Children Act 1989), 17 per cent. were under a care order, and 15 per cent. were looked after under other legal statuses.
For both the Under 1 and 1–4 age groups, over half the children who entered care during the year ending 31 March 2002 were under voluntary agreements, 25–30 per cent. were under care orders and just under 20 per cent. were under other legal statuses. The pattern is slightly different for the 5 and over age group, with three quarters of the children entering under voluntary agreements, 11 per cent. under care orders, and 14 per cent. under other legal statuses.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children aged (a) three to six months and (b) six months to one year entered local authority care in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [158762]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 4 March 2004]: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Age on entering care | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3–6 months | 6 months-1 year | |
| Inner London | 40 | 55 |
| Camden | 0 | 0 |
| City of London | 0 | 0 |
| Greenwich | — | 5 |
| Hackney | 10 | 10 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | — | 0 |
| Islington | 10 | — |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 0 | — |
| Lambeth | — | 5 |
| Lewisham | — | 0 |
| Southwark | — | — |
| Tower Hamlets | 0 | 0 |
| Wandsworth | 0 | 10 |
| Westminster | — | 15 |
| Outer London | 35 | 70 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 0 | 5 |
| Barnet | 0 | 0 |
| Bexley | — | 0 |
| Brent | — | 5 |
| Bromley | — | 0 |
| Croydon | 0 | 10 |
| Ealing | — | 0 |
| Enfield | 0 | — |
| Haringey | 0 | 0 |
| Harrow | 0 | — |
| Havering | — | 5 |
| Hillingdon | — | — |
| Hounslow | 5 | 5 |
| Kingston Upon Thames | 0 | 0 |
| Merton | — | — |
| Newham | 5 | 15 |
| Redbridge | 0 | 0 |
| Richmond Upon Thames | 0 | 0 |
| Sutton | 0 | 0 |
| Waltham Forest | 0 | — |
Notes:
1. Figures for children looked after in this table exclude agreed series of short term placement.
2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. Numbers between 1 and 5 are suppressed (—).
3. The figures are based on a one-third sample of children. A zero in the table means there were no children in the sample.
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