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Schools (Outdoor Pursuits)

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he last discussed access to outdoor and adventurous activities for young people with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. [171604]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Outdoor and adventurous activities is one of six areas of activity for which programmes of study have been drawn up within National Curriculum Physical Education. The Secretaries of State for Education and Skills and for Culture, Media and Sport have regular bilateral meetings at which a range of issues are discussed, including provision for PE and school sport.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to promote adventure holidays and outdoor pursuits in schools; and if he will make a statement. [171606]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The extent to which schools incorporate adventure holidays, and outdoor pursuits in their provision (beyond the provision for outdoor and adventurous activities within National Curriculum Physical Education), is at their discretion. The Department will reflect fully on further advice from the Tomlinson Group on 14–19 reform about young people developing broader skills through wider activities.

Secondary Schools (Cambridgeshire)

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacant secondary school places there were in Cambridgeshire, broken down by (a) school year group, (b) district and (c) establishment, at the start of the spring term of school year 2003–04. [172637]

Mr. Miliband: The following table shows the number of surplus secondary school places in Cambridgeshire 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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Number of surplus places in secondary schools in Cambridgeshire at January 2003

School name	Surplus
Bottisham Village College	40
Impington Village College	61
Swavesey Village College	128
Parkside Community College	0
Chesterton Community College	122
Coleridge Community College	223
Cottenham Village College	114
Melbourn Village College	176
The Cromwell Community College	174
Sir Harry Smith Community College	5
Witchford Village College	38
The Manor Community College	281
The Netherhall School	156
St. Ivo School	13
Ernulf Community School	103
City of Ely Community College	244
The Neale-Wade Community College	34
Hinchingbrooke School	65
Ramsey Abbey School	0
St. Bede's Inter-Church Comprehensive School	21
Gamlingay Village College	54
Bassingbourn Village College	37
The Queen's School	198
Sawtry Community College	0
Comberton Village College	158
Sawston Village College	90
Ailwyn Community College	3
Longsands College	27
St. Peter's School	243
Soham Village College	36
Union Village College	32
Total	2,876

Teacher Numbers

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for   Education and Skills how many (a) teachers, (b) support staff and (c) teachers in secondary schools there were (i) in 1997 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available in (A) the London borough of Waltham Forest and (B) the London borough of Redbridge. [171992]

Mr. Miliband: The tables show the total number of full-time equivalent regular teachers in all maintained schools, support staff in maintained schools and regular teachers in maintained secondary schools in January 1997 and 2003 in the two local education authorities requested.
Redbridge LEA

	Regular teachers	Support staff	Regular secondary teachers
1997	2,100	600	1,060
2003	2,470	1,140	1,300

Waltham Forest LEA

	Regular teachers	Support staff	Regular secondary teachers
1997	2,010	740	840
2003	1,940	1,230	890

⁽²³⁾ Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
Sources:
Annual School Census (support staff) and the annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (618g) (teachers).




 
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Teacher Workload

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the change in teacher workload since the publication of Red Tape and Bureaucracy in Schools; and what progress has been made against the targets announced in the document. [171828]

Mr. Miliband: The main means by which teacher workload is monitored is through the regular diary surveys undertaken for the Office for Manpower Economics. Last year's survey was conducted in March 2003. The most recent one was conducted in March 2004, with results available in the autumn. The March 2003 survey showed some reductions in hours, but this was obviously too early to draw any conclusions. The "Making a Difference—Red Tape and Bureaucracy in Schools Second Report" was published in March 2003. The Report included 125 separate outcomes to be completed up to September 2005, of which 79 have now been completed.

The Implementation Review Unit (IRU) panel of 12 experienced practitioners drawn from schools across England was established in April 2003 to ensure that the bureaucratic and workload implications of both new and existing policies are kept under rigorous review, and to advise how red tape and bureaucracy can be minimised. Their first annual report was published on 30 April 2004, which provides an assessment of the progress that has been made, including the introduction of a system within the DfES to assess the impact of new initiatives before they are introduced. The report is available at www.dfes.gov.uk/iru.

Teenage Pregnancy

Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are being taken in schools to (a) promote the safer sex message and (b) reduce unplanned pregnancies. [172577]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Teaching about safer sex is a key element of the Government's sexual health strategy and is covered by our Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) guidance which was sent to all schools in July 2000. All maintained secondary schools have a statutory responsibility to teach SRE including sexual health, contraception and the range of advice and support services which are available.

Effective SRE should ensure that young people understand the reasons for delaying sexual activity, including unwanted pregnancies, and give them the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions.

Truancy (Nottinghamshire)

Mr. Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average truancy rate for secondary schools in Nottinghamshire was in each of the last five years. [171517]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is as follows.
 
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Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absences for secondary schools in Nottinghamshire

Academic year (September-May)	Percentage
1998	1.49
1999	1.38
2000	1.34
2001	1.24
2002	1.30
2003	1.49

Unemployed Graduates

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many graduates claimed unemployment benefit for (a) one to three months, (b) four to six months, (c) seven to nine months and (d) 10 to 12 months directly after graduation in each year since 1997. [172628]

Alan Johnson: Administrative data relating to claims of jobseekers' allowance in the year after graduation are not available.

Information on economic activity more generally is collected, though not at the detailed level requested. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on the employment position of students six months after graduation, through the annual First Destination Survey. Summary results are available in the relevant Statistical First Releases which are placed in the House of Commons Library.

The Department also commissioned the Institute of Employment Research to analyse the early careers of 1995 graduates. The published report ¹ provides more detail of labour market transitions in the first year post-graduation. This research is currently being extended in an analysis of 1999 graduates which we expect to be published later this year.

¹  Elias, P. & K. Purcell (1999) Moving On—Graduate Careers Three Years After Graduation DfEE-CSU-AGCAS-IER

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