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17 Jun 2004 : Column 1049W—continued
Ship-to-ship Transfers
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department first started reviewing draft proposals concerning the regulation of ship-to-ship transfer activities within UK waters; and when his Department expects to complete the review. [178921]
Mr. Jamieson: Draft legislation and guidelines to control ship-to-ship transfer operations within UK waters were developed in 1998. Since that time, owners and operators of ships carrying out ship-to-ship transfer operations in UK waters have adhered to guidelines based on the draft legislation.
With the increased traffic in heavy fuel oil coming out of the Baltic area, we are reconsidering this draft legislation. I anticipate that revised draft legislation will go out to consultation in the autumn.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Attainment Gap
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to decrease the gap in attainment between children from higher and lower socio-economic groups. [177941]
Mr. Miliband: All our education policies are based on the conviction that every child should be able to achieve at the highest level of their potential, irrespective of background. Our national key stage strategies have an essential role to play in narrowing the attainment gap by raising expectations of all our children.
But we also have targeted programmes aimed at narrowing the gap. We are investing heavily in our Sure Start programmes, with additional funding of
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£669 million by 2007–08 compared with 2004–05, because we know that the early years of a child's life are crucial in determining the outcomes for children when they grow up.
The Excellence in Cities programme which now includes Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG) and Behaviour Improvement Plans (BIP) is making a real difference—as are measures to tackle underperformance which provide support and challenge to schools and authorities falling below floor targets. In terms of five good GCSEs, schools in EiC whole authority areas improved at more than twice the average of non-EiC schools. And after the first year of the BIP (2002–03), unauthorised absence across secondary schools in the programme in the initial 34 LEAs dropped from 3.03 per cent. to 2.94 per cent. In primary schools the corresponding figures were a drop in unauthorised absence from 1.29 per cent. to 1.17 per cent. Fixed term exclusions dropped by 11 per cent. in secondary schools.
The number of schools below the Government's floor targets for attainment at Key Stage 4 has dropped sharply: in 2000, the number of schools below 20 per cent. was 241—that figure had dropped to 114 in 2003.
Child Care
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition the Government use of a child care place; and if he will make a statement. [175695]
Margaret Hodge: Child care places are defined to include: places for pre-school children in day nurseries or with child minders which last four hours or longer per day 1 ; places for children receiving nursery education which, combined with the nursery education, last at least four hours per day 2 ; and places for statutory school age children aged up to 14 (16 for those with special educational needs or disabilities) in breakfast or after school clubs or with child minders for any length of time, or in holiday play schemes of four hours or longer per day. In addition, the Government also provide a guarantee of a free nursery education place for every three and four-year-old whose parents want one. A nursery education place consists of a minimum of five two and half hour sessions per week for 33 weeks of the year.
The number of child care places created between April 1997 and March 2004 is 1,006,000 helping some 1,812,000 children. This shows an increase in the stock of child care places, taking into account turnover, of 541,000 helping some 991,000 children.
1 Where places are provided for pre-school children as part of the Children's Centre or Neighbourhood Nurseries programme, the provision must have the capacity to deliver a minimum of 10 hours care per day.
2 Prior to April 2004 the definition of a child care place for pre-school children included any place lasting at least three and a half hours per day.
Children's Homes
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what quality standards have to be met for privately-run children's homes to operate and to accommodate children placed by local authorities. [178493]
Margaret Hodge: All children's homes are statutorily required to comply with the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and are expected to meet the Children's Homes National Minimum Standards. The standards are intended to be qualitative in that they provide a tool for judging the quality of life experienced by children cared for in a home, but they are also designed to be measurable. The Commission for Social Care Inspection is responsible for the registration and inspection of children's homes against these standards and encourages improvement in the quality of the care provided.
Domestic Violence
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what work his Department has undertaken on the potential for domestic violence work to be done via the new children's centres. [178993]
Margaret Hodge: Children's centres have the flexibility to develop family support services according to local need. Many Sure Start local programmes already operate a range of initiatives related to tackling domestic violence, and we will look to build on this good practice as the children's centre network expands.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skill (1) what assessment he has made of the availability of materials to educate children and young people about domestic violence; how many schools had access to such material in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003; and how many now have access to such material; [178819]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary with regard to including information about domestic violence in the personal health and social education curriculum. [178822]
Margaret Hodge: Within Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship there is already scope to discuss domestic violence, including how families deal with it and where to go for help. Individual schools and teachers decide on the materials they use in the delivery of PSHE. The Department does not assess the availability of materials.
Last year the DfES supported the production of a resource pack for schools called "Watch Over Me" which deals with a range of personal safety issues including a domestic violence scenario. The resource was sent to all secondary schools and pupil referral units. A teaching pack called "Does Sex Make a Difference?" which includes a module on domestic violence, is available to all schools through the teachernet website.
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Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what work the Minister for Children has undertaken to ensure that information sharing systems provide adequate protection for children whose mothers have experienced domestic violence and moved away from a violent partner. [178820]
Margaret Hodge: The information-sharing databases that we propose to establish and operate under clause 8 of the Children Bill will have stringent security arrangements to ensure that only appropriate practitioners are able to access a child's record. Audit trails will enable those managing the databases to identify attempts to gain inappropriate access. Regulations will be made in due course governing the disclosure of information from the databases. Detailed guidance will be produced for practitioners and those managing the databases, to ensure that information on the databases is handled properly and consistently. This guidance will draw on the experience of the Trailblazer pilots currently under way.
We will also examine with these pilots what is the best way to handle the details of children whose mothers have experienced domestic violence and have moved away from a violent partner. A number of pilots have the facility for certain details, such as address, to be blocked out where that is considered necessary to provide reassurance. Subject to the passage of the Children Bill, the proposed regulations and guidance for wider roll-out of information-sharing databases will include any specific arrangements we conclude are necessary for the records of children in such circumstances.
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