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26 Apr 2004 : Column 790W—continued
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Accountancy Services
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all contracts, consultancies or other services placed with the accountancy firms (i) Deloitte and Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iii) KPMG and (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers since 2000–01 by the Department and its agencies. [166089]
Mr. Leslie: From 1 January 2000 until 31 March 2004, my Department has let contracts for consultancies and other services with these accountancy firms on a number of occasions for a variety of reasons.
Our net expenditure with these companies, for the period in question, together with examples of the type of services they provided and the projects they supported are set out.
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| Service provider | Net spend 1 January 2004 to 31 March 2004 (£) | Examples of services provided |
|---|---|---|
| Deloitte and Touche | 535,000 | Consultancy support on the Tribunals for Users Programme and the IT Shared Services Project. Risk management training. |
| Ernst and Young | 760,000 | Consultancy support on the Courts and Tribunals Modernisation Programme. Financial advice linked with the Libra Project and the Queen Anne's Gate Project. Financial advice on major construction schemes. |
| KPMG | 361,000 | Consultancy support connected with the Unified Courts Administration Programme. Support in connection with work to develop leadership capability. Financial advice on major construction schemes. |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | 3,900,000 | Consultancy support on the Consumer Strategy Project. Risk management advice and the provision of Interim Managers. Financial advice on major construction schemes. |
This expenditure reflects the wide-ranging and fast-paced programme to modernise the Department's work, to increase efficiency, provide better customer service, and value for money for the taxpayer.
Debt Recovery
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) state-employed bailiffs and (b) enforcement agents are employed by county and magistrates courts for the enforcement of debts; and how many of them have been certificated through a court procedure. [166804]
Mr. Leslie: 609 bailiffs are employed in the county courts. County court bailiffs do not require certification as this is only necessary for certificated bailiffs who, among other things, levy distress for rent under the Distress for Rent Rules 1988; this is not an activity undertaken by county court bailiffs. No other enforcement agents are employed by the county courts, and no enforcement agents are employed by the magistrates courts for the enforcement of debts.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the bailiff firms and enforcement agencies each magistrates court uses; and what fees and charges agreement each court has in place with the relevant firms. [166805]
Mr. Leslie : Responsibility for the employment of bailiffs and other enforcement agencies in the magistrates court system lies with individual Magistrates Court Committees (MCC), of which there are 42 in England and Wales. A list of the bailiff firms or other enforcement agencies used in each MCC area is set out in the following table. Fees and charges for the employment of bailiffs and enforcement agencies is a matter for each individual MCC and is therefore commercial in confidence.
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
British National Party
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether British National Party members have become school governors. [168286]
Mr. Miliband: The Department does not collect details of individual governor appointments or the political affiliations of governors. The British National Party is not a proscribed organisation and, therefore, its members are free to stand for election or appointment to school's governing bodies. Once elected or appointed all school governors must comply with the laws including the legislation on race discrimination. Governing bodies have a specific duty to promote equality of opportunity and to promote good relations between persons of different racial groups.
Capita
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools Capita has entered as part of the Fresh Start scheme in each year since 1997; and how much funding they received for this. [167562]
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Mr. Miliband: Capita has not entered any schools for the Fresh Start scheme. It is for local education authorities to propose schools for this scheme to the Department.
Child Care
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) free nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four year olds in Manchester Gorton in each of the last seven years. [167450]
Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested. Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year olds in Manchester local education authority area are shown in the table. The latest figures on provision for three and four year olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin 'Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.aov.uk/rsaatewav/.
From April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all three year olds in England whose parents want one, will have access to a free, part-time early education place.
| Three year olds | Four year olds | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3,700 | 6,000 |
| 1998 | 4,400 | 5,600 |
| 1999 | 4,200 | 5,500 |
| 2000 | 4,600 | 5,400 |
| 2001 | 4,600 | 5.400 |
| 2002 | 4,600 | 5,300 |
| 2003 | 4,600 | 5,200 |
(19) Part-time equivalent number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year old children.
(20) A free nursery education place comprises five two and a half hour sessions of early years education per week, for thirty-three weeks of the year, usually three terms of eleven weeks.
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places providing wraparound care linked to early education have been provided since 2000. [167555]
Margaret Hodge: We had created, at December 2003, over 50,000 new wraparound care places linked to early education since 2001, and expect continued progress.
In addition, we have now adopted a significant new approach to encouraging the integration of early years services. Since this manifesto commitment was made, the Children's Centres initiative has been launched and is now our key contributor to the growth of integrated early learning and childcare provision. Our intention is that 43,000 new integrated places will be created in Children's Centres by 2006. By 2008 we are committed to having Children's Centres in the most disadvantaged areas in England. Our long term aim is to have a Children's Centre in every community.
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Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many child care places have been created in Manchester, Gorton since 1997; [167436]
(2) how many children in Manchester, Gorton have benefited from the National Childcare Strategy. [167453]
Margaret Hodge: The Department is unable to provide details of child care places for Manchester, Gorton. However, from April 1999 to December 2003 Manchester local authority created 6,115 new child care places helping some 11,153 children. This shows an increase in stock of child care places, taking into account turnover, of 3,629 helping some 6,772 children.
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