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25 Oct 2004 : Column 979W—continued
Out-of-school Clubs
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in the West Suffolk constituency run out of school clubs as part of the 4Children scheme. [191174]
Margaret Hodge:
I am informed by 4Children that none of the schools in the West Suffolk constituency is running Make Space clubs.
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Parenting
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has recently (a) published and (b) commissioned on the effects of parenting on life chances for children. [193595]
Margaret Hodge: The Department has recently published the following research reports and reviews which investigate how parenting can affect outcomes for children. These can be viewed on the DfES website: www.dfes.gov.uk/research.
The Early Years Transitions and Special Educational Needs (EYTSEN) Project (research report 431).
The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievement and Adjustment: A Literature Review (research report 433).
Support from the Start (research report 524).
What works in Parenting Support? A review of the International Evidence (research report 574).
The DfES has also commissioned research which has been published by the researchers themselves.
Measuring the Impact of Pre-School on Children's Social/Behavioural Development over the Pre-School Period. Technical Paper 8b (Institute of Education, University of London). (www.surestart.gov.uk/ensuringquality/research/earlyyears/eppe)
A Model of Inter-generational Transmission of Educational Success (Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning). This is available from the DfES website.
A report on improving children's behaviour and attendance through the use of parenting classes will be published in November 2004.
In collaboration with the Department of Health the DfES has published Supporting Parents: Messages from Research. This is a review of fourteen Government funded research studies on this topic.
The DfES has recently commissioned the Centre for Research for the Wider Benefits of Learning to undertake several research studies using longitudinal data to look at issues such as the effect of parenting on child development. Additional research projects in this area are likely to be commissioned by the Department in the next year.
Plumbing
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of qualified assessors in plumbing. [190015]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government have set up the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) with responsibility to monitor shortages, including those of assessors, in a sector and anticipate future needs. I expect SummitSkills, the SSC for the building services engineering sector and therefore the plumbing industry, to be addressing the issue of assessor shortages as part of their Strategic Plan.
Free Tuition
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many people in (a) the North East and (b) the South East have taken up the entitlement of free tuition for a first Level 2 qualification in 2003–04; what each figure is as a proportion of the
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eligible population; what qualifications have been achieved; and into what age range successful applicants fall; [191814]
(2) what preparations are being made, and what funding will be provided, to give every adult skills up to Level 2 free of charge as announced by the Prime Minister in his speech of 28 September 2004; and if he will make a statement. [191818]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Skills Strategy White Paper, published in July 2003, made a commitment to give low skilled adults more support to help them achieve a platform of skills for employability. It said that we will create a new guarantee of free tuition for any adult without the good foundation of employability skills represented by a full level 2 qualification, to get the training they need to achieve such a qualification.
In September 2004 the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) North East and South East regions introduced this Level 2 Entitlement as part of linked trials of key components of the Skills Strategy, including the extension of the new Adult Learning Grant (ALG) and Employer Training Pilots (ETPs). It is still too early to gauge the level of take up of the entitlement. Data will be gathered on progress with and impact of the trials.
Romania (Adoptions)
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Government have reached an agreement with the Romanian Government to re-enable intercountry adoptions between the two countries; and if he will make a statement. [192457]
Margaret Hodge: The Government have not made any agreement with the Romanian Government to re-enable intercountry adoptions between the United Kingdom and Romania. The Department for Education and Skills, which acts as the lead central authority for the United Kingdom for the purposes of the 1993 Hague Convention of Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption, has not received any communication from the Romanian Central Authority regarding any change to their policy regarding intercountry adoption.
Sector Skills Development Agency
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much grant he has made to the Sector Skills Development Agency from its inception to date; and what proportion has been (a) spent, (b) retained and (c) returned to the Department. [193644]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) was established in June 2002.
The Department's Grants to SSDA since then have been as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 22.5 |
| 2003–04 | 49.5 |
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In 2002–03 SSDA expended £16.8 million, returned £2.6 million to the Department and was permitted to carry forward the balance of £3.1million of unexpended resource into 2003–04 (included in the £49.5 million shown in the table).
In 2003–04 SSDA expended £34.0 million returned £3.0 million to the Department and was permitted to carry forward £4.5 million of unexpended resource into 2004–05. The balance of £8 million will be expended in the years 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08.
Separated Fathers
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Government are planning action to give separated fathers greater access to their children. [192634]
Margaret Hodge: The Government believe that both parents should continue a meaningful relationship with their children after separation, so long as it is safe to do so.
In July this year, the Government launched the Green Paper, "Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parent's Responsibilities". The proposals in the Green Paper focus on what children need and how both parents can be better assisted to meet those needs when their relationship breaks down. The measures outlined in the Green Paper are intended to support mothers and fathers in minimising conflict and enabling them to reach agreements, leading to the best possible outcome for their children, preferably without recourse to the courts.
Skill Training
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has (a) to improve the skills of low-skilled workers and (b) to provide opportunities for unskilled workers to obtain skills in areas of higher than average unemployment. [190983]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Skills Strategy White Paper (published July 2003) introduced a range of policies to meet shortfalls in skills—especially at level 2, and in some sector-specific areas at level 3. These include mechanisms to identify and address sectoral and regional skill priorities, to engage employers better in training and enable providers to be more responsive to employers.
The strategy set out our intention to introduce a new entitlement for any adult in the labour force to have access to free tuition for their first full level 2 qualification. We started trialling the entitlement in the north east and south east regions in September 2004, and will start further roll-out from next year.
In September 2003, we started piloting the new Adult Learning Grant (ALG), offering up to £30 per week to adults on low incomes studying full time for a first full level 2 qualification, and for first level 3 qualifications for those under 30. We have now extended the ALG trials from 10 pilot regions into the SE and NE regions as part of linked trials of key initiatives announced in the Skills Strategy.
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18 Employer Training Pilots (ETPs) are testing new financial support measures to improve access to training and enable employees to attain basic and level 2 skills. As of 4 August, 11,787 employers and 82,539 learners had registered for ETP. 20,086 employees had successfully completed their training.
Trade unions and their Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) are making a major contribution to the Skills Strategy. After seven years of the Union Learning Fund, a further 46 new projects in 27 unions have been approved to start from April this year. These projects are in both small and large unions and in both public and private sectors. They will provide new learning opportunities for thousands of workers. In the last year alone, the fund helped to encourage over 25,000 workers back into learning.
For the economically inactive, we will improve the support to the low-skilled through the New Deal for Skills (NDfS) by creating a new intensive skills guidance service, co-located with JobCentre Plus where possible, and improving mechanisms of financial support for those for whom training provides a route back to work.
Skills for Life, the national strategy for improving adult literacy, language and numeracy skills, was launched in March 2001. It aims to help create a society where adults have the basic skills they need to find and keep work and participate fully in society, thereby increasing the economic performance and social cohesion of the country. So far we estimate that 550,000 adults achieved a qualification in literacy, language or numeracy and current projections show that we are on track to meet the target of 750,000 achievements by July 2004. In terms of participation, it is estimated that
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2.3 million learners will have taken up 4.7 million learning opportunities between April 2001 and July 2004.
We recognise that there are variations in the skills base of different regions. This is being addressed by regional skills partnerships which are being established in each region, co-ordinated by Regional Development Agencies and involving LSC, Jobcentre Plus, Small Business Service and Skills for Business Network. They are bringing together skills and workforce development with support for innovation and business development and labour market services in an integrated approach to deliver regional economic strategies.
The growing network of UK-wide, employer-led Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) has a key part to play in taking forward these national skills strategies. Each SSC has a key goal of increasing opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce, including taking action on equal opportunities.
While the skills strategy is primarily a strategy for England, it was developed in consultation with the Devolved Administrations and is consistent with the direction of their policies for skills. The Lifelong Learning Strategy in Scotland is a devolved matter for the Scottish Parliament.
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