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Private Finance Initiative

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department have spent on electricity use for each year from 1997 to date. [181395]

Mr. Pond: Since DWP came into being, its total spend on electricity was £10,097,555 and £11,394,575 in 2001–02 and 2002–03 respectively. Figures are not yet available for 2003–04.

It is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of spend to Agency level, as invariably DWP buildings are occupied by a number of the Department's businesses.

Underfunded Pension Schemes

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 30 June 2004, Official Report, columns 15–16WS, on underfunded pension schemes (insolvency), what assessment he is undertaking of the number of people who lost pension rights when their scheme was wound up, where the sponsoring employer was solvent, but would have been insolvent had full pension rights been provided. [184355]

Malcolm Wicks: The data gathering exercise undertaken to inform the report published on 30 June focused on underfunded schemes sponsored by insolvent employers. The information requested is not available although we are seeking further information and consulting on the circumstances of schemes winding up underfunded with solvent employers prior to making final decisions on eligibility for the Financial Assistance Scheme.

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 30 June 2004, Official Report, columns 15–16WS, on underfunded pension schemes (insolvency), how many people have lost (a) any and (b) 10 per cent. or more of their expected pension benefits from underfunded schemes wound up by insolvent employers since 1997; and if he will list the schemes whose members were included in the research exercise. [184356]

Malcolm Wicks: It is estimated that (a) some 70,000 members may have lost any of their expected pension benefits and that (b) some 65,000 members face losses
 
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of 10 per cent. or more of their expected pension benefits from underfunded schemes being wound up by insolvent employers since 1997. These estimates are consistent with those published on 30 June and exclude any non-pensioners' indexation offered by their schemes as well as excluding those with the very smallest cash losses of less than £5 a week. They are rounded to the nearest 5,000 members and so the estimates of the numbers losing 10 per cent. or more of their expected pension benefits are the same as those previously published for the numbers losing 20 per cent. or more.

We are unable to list the schemes whose members were included in the research exercise as this information was provided by scheme trustees in confidence.

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 30 June 2004, Official Report, columns 15–16WS, on underfunded pension schemes (insolvency), what steps
 
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he is taking to ensure that the data gathered covers all cases where companies sponsoring defined benefit schemes have become insolvent since 1997. [184357]

Malcolm Wicks: The report that was published on 30 June provides estimates of the numbers of people facing significant reductions in their expected pensions as a result of schemes starting to wind up underfunded with insolvent employers since 1997. Those estimates were based on a combination of new information collected, for the purpose of the estimates, from independent trustees, and information already available in the Occupational Pension Regulatory Authority's Pension Schemes Registry. While the new information collected did not itself cover all such schemes, the two sets of information combined provided a firm basis for the global estimates published.

We are, however, working with the pensions industry to collect more information on affected schemes to assist the development and implementation of the Financial Assistance Scheme.
 
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Residential Accommodation

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of establishments registered to provide residential accommodation for children were the subject of (a) scheduled and (b) unannounced inspections in each of the last three years. [178495]

Margaret Hodge: Data are only available for the years 2002–03 and 2003–04 and have been provided by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

In 2002–03 a total number of 1,172 children's homes were registered. In that period there were 1,031 announced inspections (88 per cent. of all registered children's homes) and 639 unannounced inspections (54.5 per cent. of all registered children's homes).

In 2003–04 a total of 1,956 children's homes were registered. In that period there were 1,683 announced inspections (86 per cent. of all registered children's homes) and 1,678 unannounced inspections (85.8 per cent. of all registered children's homes).

It must be taken into account that homes that have not been registered until the latter part of the year might not achieve the second (unannounced) inspection within the same year, although it should occur within the annual timeframe.

Accountancy Costs

Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department has spent on accountants in each year since 1997. [183972]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on spend on accountants is not collected separately from that of other expenditure. The number of accountants employed by the Department since 1997 is shown in the table. The figures for each year are not directly comparable because of machinery of government changes in 2001 and 2003.

Period	Number
1997–98	71
1998–99	64
1999–2000	66
2000–01	41
2001–02	56
2002–03	39
2003–04	36

Adult Skills

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost of (a) an A-level, (b) an Advanced GNVQ and (c) a NVQ level 3 or equivalent vocational qualification are; and how many people achieved each of these qualifications in 2003. [174370]

 
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Mr. Miliband [holding answer 25 May 2004]: The cost of examination entry is set by the independent awarding bodies. The typical cost of entry and the number of people achieving (a) A-levels (b) Advanced GNVQs and (c) NVQ level 3 or equivalent in England in 2003 are as follows:

Qualification	Typical cost of entry(50) (£)	Number of candidates achieving qualification(51)
(a) GCE A-level	66.00	244,426
(b) VCE AS-level	42.00	10,622
VCE A-level	79.00	27,870
VCE Double Award	150.00	34,349

As part of the Curriculum 2000 reforms the Advanced GNVQ was replaced by the Vocational Certificate of Education (VCE) group of qualifications.

Using the most recent data available the number of level 3 NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and VRQs (Vocationally Related Qualifications) achieved in 2002/03 are shown in the following table.

Qualification	Typical cost of entry(50) (£)	Number of qualifications achieved 3
(c) NVQ Level 3	110.00	85,196
VRQ Level 3	—	45,076

⁽⁵⁰⁾ Typical cost of entry is based on entry through Edexcel. These figures have been taken from information provided on the Edexcel website.
⁽⁵¹⁾ Information on candidates attempting GCE A levels and VCE qualifications is taken from information collated for the 2003 Performance Tables.
⁽⁵²⁾ Information on achievements for level 3 NVQs and VRQs is taken from the 2002/03 National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ).
Note:
For VRQs the cost is not shown as this would be dependent upon the exact qualification.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the private contractors participating in the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement. [184866]

Mr. Miliband: The first schemes to be procured under the Building Schools for the Future programme are not due to come to the market until later in the summer.

However, several contractors have been engaged in accordance with public procurement processes to assist in the creation and development of Partnerships for Schools (PfS), which is the non departmental public body established by the Department to manage and co-ordinate the Building Schools for the Future programme.

These contractors are Bevan Ashford, KPMG, Capita, Precept, Anders Elite and Fujitsu. In addition, the following have had engagements which have now been concluded; Augmentis, Bridge and Beyond.
 
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PfS is also in the process of procuring framework contacts for the following range of services on behalf of itself, local authorities, schools and other stakeholders:

Legal advisory services

Financial advisory services

Programme Management

Communications

Technical advisory services

Education advisory services

Team Development.

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