| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 Apr 2004 : Column 30W—continued
Asthma
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what percentage of schools have an asthma policy; [164812]
(2) what advice his Department gives to schools about dealing with children who suffer from asthma. [164813]
Margaret Hodge: The Department does not collect data on schools' asthma policies. Advice to schools on managing asthma is contained in, "Supporting pupils with medical needs: a good practice guide".
Asylum/Immigration
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on Government policy on the support available to unaccompanied asylum seeker children in respect of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000; and what the implications of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 are for unaccompanied asylum seeker children. [159192]
Margaret Hodge
[holding answer 8 March 2004]: Local authorities have duties placed on them by the Children Act 1989 and the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 to continue to care for children beyond their 16th birthdays, either as 'eligible' children who remain in care or as 'relevant' children who have left care but still receive their support from the local authority. Section 55 of the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 does not affect the support that is provided to these or any other children. There are no implications arising from section 55 for the continuing local authority care of any unaccompanied asylum seeker child.
19 Apr 2004 : Column 31W
The duties of local authorities are also extended by the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 to include planning for and where necessary supporting young people who are no longer children, having passed their 18th birthdays. Care leavers aged 18 or over (up to 21 or, in some circumstances, 24) are defined in the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 as "former relevant children". The access to leaving care support from responsible local authorities for "former relevant children" who were unaccompanied asylum seeking children is not affected by section 55.
In order to provide additional support to local authorities with responsibilities for former unaccompanied asylum seeking children, I have announced an additional £17 million funding for 2004/05, to be directed towards those local authorities with the greatest responsibilities for such young people. The arrangements are set out in Local Authority Circular LAC (2004) 6 (formerly numbered (2004) 1). I have placed a copy of this circular in the House of Commons Library.
When an unaccompanied asylum seeker child is approaching their 18th birthday the person may apply for support to the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), provided they are not eligible for DWP benefits and they have an outstanding asylum claim. Each case is considered on its merits, taking account of the age and other relevant circumstances of the young person. If support was refused under section 55, the person would in most cases continue to be supported by the responsible local authority. In the small minority of cases where such support is not available, NASS will provide support if it is necessary to avoid a breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Chief Scientific Adviser
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has a chief scientific adviser. [162481]
Alan Johnson: The Department for Education and Skills does not have a designated chief scientific adviser. The Department does, however, have expertise on the role of science as a subject throughout the education system. Sir Alan Wilson, who was recently appointed Director General for Higher Education in my Department, will also be an effective point of contact for all science-related matters across the education system.
Children in Care
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children with parents who have learning disabilities were taken into care in (a) 1992, (b) 1997 and (c) the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [162911]
Margaret Hodge:
The information requested is not collected centrally.
19 Apr 2004 : Column 32W
Children's Commissioner
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether children will be involved in the process for choosing a Children's Commissioner. [164194]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 1 April 2004]: Yes. The exact form that their participation will take is currently under consideration.
Citizenship
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the citizenship curriculum includes the teaching of (a) the words of the National Anthem and (b) knowledge of the flags and patron saints of the nations of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [165334]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The flags, patron saints and the national anthem of the United Kingdom are not a separate element of the Citizenship National Curriculum. However, understanding the origins and implications of the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom is an important part of the Citizenship curriculum, which became statutory for 11–16 year olds in September 2002. In this context pupils have the opportunity to explore the unique qualities that are part of the shared identities of the countries of the United Kingdom. They may consider the political, religious, social and constitutional systems that affect their lives and communities.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many advanced skills teachers for citizenship have been recruited (a) in total and (b) in St. Helens, South; [165331]
(2) how many specialist citizenship teachers have been recruited in (a) England and (b) St. Helens, South in each of the last three years; [165336]
(3) how much has been made available to (a) enable schools to buy resources and (b) train teachers for the teaching of citizenship in each of the last three years. [165337]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: There are currently 60 citizenship Advanced Skills Teachers. Eight of these are based in the North West Government Office Region, though none specifically in St. Helens, South. Around 400 individuals have completed initial teacher training for citizenship education since 2002 and this will rise to around 600 at the end of the 2003/04 academic year. The Department does not hold records on appointments of Newly Qualified Teachers.
£15 million was made available to schools to support citizenship and personal, social and health education in 2001–02. Since 2002–03 schools have decided how much to spend from their total budgets to support citizenship. Schools are able to spend this in the way that best met their needs, including spending on teachers' professional development. Since the financial year 2000–01 the Department has spent £3 million to support the development of a range of resources and activities for citizenship education, many of which have been made available to schools free of charge.
19 Apr 2004 : Column 33W
Departmental Officials
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which former officials of the Department have asked for permission to join (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG. [156909]
Alan Johnson: All civil servants are subject to the Business Appointment Rules, which set out the circumstances in which they must seek permission to accept outside appointments within two years of leaving the service. A copy of the Rules is available in the Libraries of the House. Information about appointments taken up by the most senior staff is published in the annual reports of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. The next annual report will be published shortly.
Since 2001, my Department has received two requests for permission to take up employment with the firms listed, one for PricewaterhouseCoopers and one for KPMG. Both requests received unconditional approval in 2001.
Devon LEA
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students living in the Devon Local Education Authority area have gone into full-time higher education in each of the last seven years. [164784]
Alan Johnson: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admission Services (UCAS) and covers 18-year-old applicants accepted through UCAS to full-time first degree and HND courses. Figures are given in the table.
| Year of entry | Devon LEA | Plymouth LEA | Torbay LEA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 2,264 | — | — |
| 1997 | 2,447 | — | — |
| 1998 | 1,617 | 478 | 267 |
| 1999 | 1,708 | 455 | 233 |
| 2000 | 1,676 | 513 | 264 |
| 2001 | 1,710 | 537 | 278 |
| 2002 | 1,738 | 547 | 300 |
(20) For figures recorded for 1998 entry onwards, Devon LEA split into Devon LEA, Plymouth LEA and Torbay LEA.
Source:
UCAS.
19 Apr 2004 : Column 34W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |