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17 May 2004 : Column 703W—continued
Failing Schools
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the schools categorised as (a) subject to special measures, (b) having serious weaknesses, (c) underachieving and (d) having inadequate sixth forms as of 9 April were placed in those categories. [173139]
Mr. Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools Office for Standards in Education categorised as (a) subject to special measures, (b) having serious weaknesses, (c) underachieving and (d) having inadequate sixth forms between 1 January and 9 April. [173140]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 14 May 2004]: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Family Fund Trust
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many families have been provided with grants through the Family Fund Trust; what funding will be provided for the Trust over the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [170606]
Margaret Hodge: The Family Fund was set up by the Government in 1973 to give practical help to families with severely disabled and seriously ill children under the age of 16. Since 1998 the charity has received separate funds from the Governments of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales amounting to over £27million in 2003–4. The number of families assisted in England was £35,226 in 2002–3. England has allocated funding of £22.773 million. for 2004–5. The budgets for the years 2005–6 and 2006–7 are yet to be determined.
Family Support Grant
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many organisations have applied for funding from the family support grant in 2003–04; and how many were successful in their application. [172498]
Margaret Hodge:
A total of 287 applications were received for the family support grant (FSG) 2003–04, of which 26 were successful. In addition, three organisations
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continued to receive core funding from FSG 2003–04, together with another 55 organisations who received on-going funding originally awarded in previous years. Total funding was £6.3 million.
I announced details of FSG 2004–05 projects on 10 May 2004.
Fostered Children
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children within the foster care system were born outside the UK. [172492]
Margaret Hodge: This information is not collected centrally.
Ministerial Visits
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list visits made by each Minister in the Department between December 2003 and April 2004, broken down by (a) date, (b) constituency visited and (c) cost. [171559]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: For domestic visits, the Department does not hold this detailed information centrally. To provide this information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
For overseas visits, the Government publishes on an annual basis the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Information for 2003–4 is currently being collected and will be published as soon as it is ready.
Older People
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what (a) initiatives, (b) campaigns and (c) advisory bodies relating to older people his Department (i) is responsible and (ii) has provided funding since 2001; and what the cost in each year was for each one. [166237]
Alan Johnson: The tables set out the work the Department for Education and Skills has undertaken or funded since 2001 to promote learning for older people (50+). The main work is support for projects under (a) initiatives.
The Department has not been responsible for or funded any (b) campaigns. Likewise the Department has not established or funded any national advisory bodies for older people under (c).
17 May 2004 : Column 705W
| Title | Cost (£) | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| DfES/BGOP conference | 9,000 | Better Government for Older People |
| Senior Peer Physical Activity Motivator Programme | 9,700 | British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health |
| Peer Group Training for Older People | 80,000 | Community Education Development Centre |
| Days out! Days in!—4th age learning at home and in day care provision | 33,000 | NIACE |
| Fred Moore Institutional Award | 21,300 | NIACE |
| Why, Where, What and How Older People Learn | 37,800 | NIACE |
| Spotlight 2002 | 146,440 | Meridian Broadcasting Charitable Trust |
| Senior Learner Awards | 28,942 | NIACE |
| USA Development Projects | 26,680 | The Third Age Trust |
| Learning Support for Older People | 70,000 | NIACE |
| Involving adults in learning through sport | 3,000 | Youth Sport Trust |
| LiveAge cd-rom | 13,105 | Leicester Adult Education College |
| e-Finance Project | 2,000 | Coventry City Council |
| Total Funding | 480,967 |
| Title | Cost (£) | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Learner Awards | 31,430 | NIACE |
| Fred Moore Institutional Awards for 2004 | 21,300 | NIACE |
| USA Development Projects | 17,180 | The Third Age Trust |
| Older and Bolder | 71,750 | NIACE |
| Total Funding | 141,660 |
Pre-schools
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the requirements are for pre-school assistants to be able to work in pre-schools; and if he will make a statement. [173382]
Margaret Hodge: The criteria supporting the national standards for under 8s day care and child minding indicate:
that all pre-school staff should be subject to checks to ensure that they are not disqualified from registration because of previous criminal convictions;
that they are suitable, both mentally and physically, to care for children; and
that they have the appropriate skills and ability to do their jobs.
Reading Disability
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to improve the availability of reading material for those with reading disabilities. [171265]
Margaret Hodge:
During the past three financial years £220 million has been made available to schools through the Schools Access Initiative; a further £100 million per annum is available for the current year
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and for 2005–06. This funding can be used to produce materials in alternative formats to enable access to the curriculum for pupils who have reading disabilities.
It is for schools and local education authorities (LEAs) to ensure that such materials are produced in good time, so that children with reading disabilities are not disadvantaged. Schools and LEAs can use the Department for Education and Skills' Special Educational Needs inclusion site to share information about materials that are required; in production; or already available in different formats.
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