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4 May 2004 : Column 1430W—continued
Schools (External Controls)
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list (a) each of the external controls over schools referred to in the document, "Devolved Decision Making: Delivering Better Public Services: Refining Targets and Performance Management", and (b) the purpose of each. [165293]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The definition of external control used in the document is a very broad one. The list identified includes very few direct requirements of schools, but rather a wide range of school performance measures, the majority of which are attributable to Ofsted and their arrangements for conducting section 10 inspections. These place no performance management requirements on schools as nearly all of them are graded judgments made by inspectors when they visit a school on, currently, a six-year cycle.
Ofsted have recently consulted on and are reviewing their current arrangements for school inspection to ensure that parents, teachers, Government and the public continue to receive full, frank, relevant and more frequent information about the performance of schools whilst reducing the burden of inspection. The Department is also currently consulting on an approach to a school profile through which the schools' performance would be recorded.
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Secondary School Places
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacant secondary school places there were in Northamptonshire, broken down by (a) school year group, (b) borough or district area and (c) individual establishment, at the start of the spring term of the school year 2003–04. [169941]
Mr. Miliband: The following table shows the number of surplus secondary school places in Northamptonshire broken down by individual establishment. The figures state the position at the beginning of the calendar year beginning 2003 rather than the school year.
We do not collect surplus place data by school year group, or borough or district area.
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Student Statistics
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the staying-on rate at 16 years is for (a) Canvey Island, (b) Castle Point, (c) Essex and (d) England. [169796]
Mr. Miliband: Data on the percentage of students staying on in full-time education and education and training is not calculated for areas smaller than local education authorities (LEAs) as reliable estimates cannot be made.
Canvey Island and Castle Point are part of Essex LEA. The percentage of 16-year-olds participating in full-time education, and in education and training in Essex LEA and in England for the latest academic year, as at end 2001, are shown in the table.
| Essex LEA | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time education | 70 | 71 |
| Education and training(21) | 79 | 82 |
(21) Includes participation in full-time education, part-time education and government supported training.
Source:
DfES Statistical Bulletin 01/2004, published 26 February 2004.
Participation rates by LEA for 16-year-olds are published in an annual statistical bulletin, 'Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17-year-olds in Each Local Area in England'.
Teachers' Visas
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether at any future Ofsted inspection of schools account will be taken of the consequences of the moratorium on issuing visas to teachers appointed to meet the teaching skills and recruitment shortage in schools in Essex and Thurrock, pending the result of the inquiry and visits to Sofia of Mr. Ken Sutton; and if he will make a statement. [170029]
Mr. Miliband
[holding answer 30 April 2004]: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of his letter in the Library.
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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Leaseholders (Buildings Insurance)
Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will implement the parts of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 that will allow leaseholders to choose their own buildings insurance; and if he will make a statement. [169923]
Keith Hill: Our original intention was to make an Order by May 2004 bringing into force the remaining provisions of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. These provisions include those relating to property insurance for leasehold houses, accounting and forfeiture. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister needs to consult on the accounting provisions that form part of this Order, allowing a three-month consultation period. We now anticipate the Order being made in November 2004.
Civil Servants
Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list for each civil service grade within his (a) Department and (b) Department's executive agencies, the total number of staff employed, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) ethnic group and (iii) age group; and how many are registered disabled. [166387]
Yvette Cooper: Data on staffing levels in the civil service is collected by the Cabinet Office and published in Civil Service Statistics. A copy of Civil Service Statistics, 2002 is available in the Library of the House, and at; www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics. The 2003 edition will be published in summer 2004.
In addition, our Departmental Annual Report also contains staffing information. A copy of the 2004 report is available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by his Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each. [163957]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. Since that date the following renovation and maintenance projects have been undertaken at the properties (i) owned and (ii) rented by the office. All figures are exclusive of VAT.
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The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister records an item of work as a project if it exceeds £15,000. Work of lower value is funded from bulk maintenance. The number of projects has prevented detailing each, as this could have been provided only at disproportionate cost.
The figures provided are gross expenditure and do not reflect receipts from other building occupants. Although the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the buildings occupied by Government offices, they carry out functions on behalf of 10 Departments.
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