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29 Apr 2004 : Column 1254W—continued
Child Guardians
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects the President of the Family Law Division to issue her latest practice note regarding the appointment of child guardians in private law proceedings. [167633]
Margaret Hodge: The President of the Family Division issued a Practice Direction on 5 April 2004. Copies of this Practice Direction and the CAFCASS Practice Note, which explains it, have been placed in the Library of the House.
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the closing date was for applications for new board members for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service; [169022]
(2) what criteria his Department used in determining appointments to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service board; [169023]
(3) how many people applied for positions on the board of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service; [169024]
(4) whether applications for the board of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service were considered which had been received after the official closing date. [169025]
Margaret Hodge: The published closing date for applications to the new board of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) was 28 January 2004. After 28 January the exercise was extended, to widen the range of skills and experience offered by candidates, and four further applications were considered. A total of 336 applications for the positions were received. The published criteria for new board members were as follows:
"Successful candidates will have demonstrated skills and experience in one or more of the following:
Experience of working at a senior level in, or close to, the family justice system or social services for children.
National level experience of children's charities or responsible organisations representing families and parents or mediation services.
A background in research relevant to CAFCASS customers and the operation of family law.
Experience of a top level executive position in a large organisation, public or private sector, delivering high quality services to the public.
Experience of being a non-executive board member or director in an NDPB, company or charity.
Senior experience in financial management, not necessarily as a professionally qualified person, with expertise in budgeting, resource management and audit.
Board expertise in information technology.
In addition, candidates will demonstrate commitment to customer care and valuing diversity. They will have integrity and be able to work well as a member of a team."
Children's Centres
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres have been set up; and if he will make a statement. [167875]
Margaret Hodge: There are 67 children's centres in England all of which are based in disadvantaged areas. We have now begun to receive children's centres implementation plans from local authorities and are considering these on an individual basis. We will be in a position to announce more centres by the middle of June 2004. Further announcements will be made at regular intervals as we work towards our goal of 1,700 children's centres by March 2008 and our aspiration for one in every community in the longer term.
Computers Within Reach (Wigan)
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) families in Wigan have benefited from the Computers within Reach programme. [169291]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Computers Within Reach (CWR) scheme closed on 31 October 2001 having delivered over 24,000 recycled computers to people in 22 pilot areas, at a cost of £7.1 million over two years. Those eligible were in receipt of certain working age benefits or a State Pension with minimum income guarantee.
At the same time as funding was made available for the Computers within Reach scheme, funding was also provided for the Computers for Teachers programme. For teachers who met certain criteria, this programme subsidised the cost of a computer. It was subsequently replaced by the current Laptops for Teachers scheme which dispensed with subsidies, and through which sufficient funding will be provided to enable two thirds of teachers to receive a laptop by March 2006.
Wigan was not one of the pilot areas for the CWR scheme.
Connexions Service
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of students who have visited a Connexions branch since the launch of the service. [167991]
Margaret Hodge:
Information on the number of students who have visited Connexions branches since the launch of the service has not been collected centrally.
29 Apr 2004 : Column 1256W
A departmental survey in 2003 found that, on average, young people made 40,000 visits to Connexions one-stop-shops and community based access points each week. This equates to over two million visits per year.
East of England Centre for Playwork Education and Training
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the (a) total set up and (b) latest annual operating costs were for the East of England Centre for Playwork Education and Training; and what the sources of those funds are; [168779]
(2) what the aims and objectives are for the East of England Centre for Playwork Education and Training; and how many staff are involved in this organisation. [168795]
Margaret Hodge: The East of England Centre is one of nine regional centres for Playwork Education and Training operated by the Playwork Unit of Skillsactive, the Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure and Learning. The Government, through the SureStart Unit and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, contributes to the funding of the Playwork Unit. In 2003–04, £50,000 of this contribution went to the East of England Centre and a similar amount will again go to the Centre in 2004–05.
The aims and objectives of the Playwork Unit and its regional centres are to: raise the level of understanding about the importance of children's play; improve the access to good quality play provision throughout England; and improve children's lives by setting standards of excellence in education, training and qualifications and developing opportunities for playworkers to access education, training and qualifications.
The total set up costs, annual operating costs and staff numbers of the East of England Centre are the responsibility of the Playwork Unit of Skillsactive, which is a charitable organisation.
Education (Bootle)
Mr. Benton: 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 Bootle in each of the last seven years. [169080]
Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.
Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds in Sefton 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.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
Since the beginning of April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all three-year-olds in England whose parents want one, are eligible for a free, part-time early education place.
29 Apr 2004 : Column 1257W
| Position in January each year | 3-year-olds | 4-year-olds |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2,100 | 3,200 |
| 1998 | 2,000 | 3,300 |
| 1999 | 2,100 | 3,200 |
| 2000 | 2,400 | 3,100 |
| 2001 | 2,900 | 3,200 |
| 2002 | 2,700 | 3.200 |
| 2003 | 2,700 | 3,000 |
(32) Part-time equivalent number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-old children.
(33) A free nursery education place comprises five two and a half hour sessions of early years education per week, for 33 weeks of the year, usually three terms of 11 weeks.
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