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Chief Mathematics Adviser

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) human and (b) financial resources he plans to make available to the post of chief mathematics adviser to enable the successful applicant to fulfil the responsibilities listed in the job description. [184108]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The post of Chief Adviser for Mathematics will be a highly influential and pivotal role and the successful candidate will work together with senior officials and Ministers to take forward the work detailed in our response to Professor Adrian Smith's report Making Mathematics Count, which I announced in the House on 28 June. Our response document contained a number of specific financial commitments and I am considering additional resources in the light of this week's Spending Review announcements.

Child Abuse

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how his Department monitors parental child abuse cases in the UK. [184173]

Margaret Hodge: This Department does not monitor parental child abuse cases. Rather, the Department collects information relating to children who are listed on the child protection register.

Children are placed on the child protection register when a multi-agency child protection conference considers them to be at continuing risk of significant harm. That risk may arise from a number of factors, one of which may be parental abuse, but the register does not record the source of the risk.

Children should be registered under one or more of the categories of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or neglect, according to a decision by the chair of the child protection conference. The categories used for registration help indicate to those consulting the register the nature of presenting concerns. Recording information in this way also allows for the collation and analysis of information locally and nationally.

The Department publishes, on an annual basis, information relating to registrations, de-registrations and re-registrations of children on the child protection register.
 
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Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are residing in children's homes in West Sussex. [178491]

Margaret Hodge: Information on the total number of children residing in children's homes in West Sussex is not collected centrally.

At 31 March 2003, the latest date for which information is available, it is estimated that West Sussex County Council had responsibility for 20 looked after children residing in children's homes and hostels within their local authority. A further 30 are in children's homes outside their local authority boundary. Information on the number of looked after children from other councils who are residing in residential accommodation within West Sussex is not collected centrally.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children's homes in West Sussex were subject to (a) scheduled and (b) unannounced inspections in each of the last three years. [178492]

Margaret Hodge: According to information provided by the Commission for Social Care Inspection there are 32 children's homes in West Sussex, of which nine are run by the Local Authority. Since 1 April 2002 all of the homes have been inspected twice a year (one announced and one unannounced inspection in each year).

Departmental Staffing

Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many non-Civil Service staff have worked on projects in the Department in each year since 1997. [183977]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department does not hold this information centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Disabled People (Services)

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the efficacy and efficiency of services provided by his Department to disabled people; and if he will make a statement. [183253]

Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 12 July 2004]: The Government are committed to improving the position of disabled people in society and believe that public bodies should take the lead in promoting equal opportunities. That is why the draft Disability Discrimination Bill extends the DDA to the functions of public bodies and introduces a duty on public bodies to promote equality for disabled people.

Accordingly, my Department keeps the efficacy and efficiency of services provided to disabled people under constant review. The Sure Start Unit has published and disseminated guidance and training materials to Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in local authorities, which will guide and empower them to support early identification, intervention, develop inclusive early learning environments and existing
 
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service provision. These materials will help them to support children in removing barriers to learning wherever these exist.

The Children Act Report 2002, published by DfES in June 2003, pulls together the latest information from statistical returns, inspections and research on social services support for children. This report includes a chapter on support for disabled children and their families. See the DfES website at http://www. dfes.qov.uk.Ofsted inspections of schools and LEAs include a requirement to look at and report on the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. In addition, Ofsted also undertake reports on specific themes. It is due to report in September 2004 on the initial impact of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and will also be reporting at regular intervals on progress being made as a result of the Government's Strategy for SEN: Removing Barriers to Achievement. Ofsted also has the lead responsibility for inspecting Connexions partnerships. All Ofsted inspections focus on the experience of young people and evaluate and report on quality and effectiveness of the partnership. Ofsted's framework for inspection states that they should report on how responsive the partnership is to the range and diversity of young people in the area. In making their judgments, Ofsted report on the relevance of programmes provided and whether they provide for the diverse needs of young people within the target age group, taking into account such features as sex, link ethnicity and disability and ensuring equality and equity. See the Ofsted website at http://www. ofsted.gov.uk.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provides funding to the higher education institutions and further education colleges it funds to widen access and improve provision for disabled students. It publishes an annual series of performance indicators that cover access, progression, retention, research, graduate employment and disability. The allocation of funds reflects the proportion of students that each institution recruits who are in receipt of the disabled students allowance (DSA). See "Explanation of how the mainstream disability allocation for 2004–05 is calculated" at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/widen/sldd/allocat.asp

HEFCE also distributes special initiative funding in support of students with learning difficulties and disabilities. In the current round, they have funded 54 projects in two strands. Funding for this round of projects began in January 2003 and the programme ends in December 2005. See HEFCE's "2003–05 Special funding programme: Improving provision for disabled students" at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/widen/sldd/fund03-O5.asp

HEFCE also funds the National Disability Team to support projects and provide guidance to the higher education sector on disability issues and legislation. More details can be found at http://www.natdisteam.ac.uk/

In May 2003 HEFCE published "Project capital round three: invitation to apply for funds". Of the £494 million allocated to improve capital and IT infrastructure to support learning and teaching, £117 million is allocated to improve provision for
 
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disabled students, in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and its extension in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/circlets/2004/cl02 04/

In addition, the Department has published guidance on the additional student support that students with disabilities are entitled to. This guidance ("Bridging the Gap; A guide to the Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) in higher education") can be downloaded from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/students/stu students with d.shtml.

A review of the administration of disabled students allowances was carried out by SKILL: the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities at the request of DfES. A summary of SKILL'S findings and recommendations can be found on the Department's website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/dsa . shtml

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) published its Annual Equality and Diversity Report for 2002–03 in November 2003, including an assessment of progress in providing equal access to Further Education and adult learning for disabled people. This publication is available in electronic form on the LSC's website: www.lsc.gov.uk

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