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17 Nov 2004 : Column 1530W—continued
Education Finance (Selby)
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding per head for secondary school pupils in the Selby constituency (a) was in 1997 and (b) is in 2004. [198790]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is produced according to local education authority areas rather than districts within an area. The Selby constituency includes parts of both York and North Yorkshire local education authorities. The following table sets out the figures.
| 1997–98(£) | 2004–05(£) | Percentage increase from 1997–98 to 2004–05 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| York | 3,020 | 3,850 | 27 |
| North Yorkshire | 3,050 | 3,820 | 25 |
Notes:
1. Price Base: Real terms at 2003–04 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30 June 2004
2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of education SSA/EFS settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.
3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 11–15 and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level.
4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £10 per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations.
5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.
6. Status: 2004–05 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.
7. 1997–98 figures for LEAs subject to Local Government Reorganisation in that year have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures.
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Class Sizes (Wandsworth)
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the class sizes are in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the London borough of Wandsworth; and if he will make a statement. [197716]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is shown in the table.
(34) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(35) Classes as taught during one selected period in each school on the day of the census in January.
(36) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Computers
John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the computer to pupil ratio in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools was in Greater London in 1997. [196711]
Mr. Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested.
Figures for England, which were derived from a sample of schools, are shown in the table. Figures at sub-national level are not available as the sample was not large enough to provide reliable estimates.
(37) Full-time equivalent numbers of pupils
(38) Provisional data.
n/a = not available
Note:
Figures for 1997 are not available as the survey was biennial until 1998.
The latest information on ICT in schools was published in the Statistical First Release "Survey of Information and Communications Technology in Schools 2004", which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
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Family Law Cases
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in how many of the family law cases in which it was unclear, at the time of the Association of Directors of Social Services survey in July, whether there was serious disagreement between medical practitioners as to the causes of harm to children, it is now clear that such disagreement is present. [195175]
Margaret Hodge: We do not have this information, in the form that is requested. However I am confident that the courts and local social services will have regard to the recent court judgments in their consideration of cases. Where courts have made recent determinations in cases, these will have reflected the advice given to civil courts in the family Appeal Court cases of Re LB and Re LU, following the judgment in the criminal Appeal Court case of R. v. Cannings , on how to approach the evidence given by medical expert witnesses in family proceedings.
I would like also to draw my hon. and learned Friend's attention to my reply to her question 194996, and to the completion of the second stage survey of the review of children's cases, who were already the subject of a care or related order. The results of this further survey, carried out by the Association of Directors of Social Services, have been placed in the Library.
Integrated Children's System
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the relationship will be between the proposed Integrated Children's System and the databases proposed in the Children Bill. [195290]
Margaret Hodge: The Integrated Children's System (ICS) will be quite different from the information database(s). The ICS is a national framework for Councils with Social Services Responsibilities (CSSRs) to support their work with children in need and their families. It provides a single approach for assessment, planning, intervention and reviewing based on an understanding of children's developmental needs in the context of their families and communities. It is designed to improve outcomes for children in need. The information gathered in the course of working with children and their families is recorded by social services. These records have traditionally been paper-based although a growing number of councils have electronic record keeping systems in place. As part of implementing the Integrated Children's System, social service records will all be kept electronically, replacing paper-based systems. This will provide a more effective way of keeping and accessing records relating to social services work with children and families than exists at present.
The information database(s) provided for by the Children Bill will not contain detailed case information such as this. The information sharing databases will be broader in their coverage than the ICS (they will cover all children in England, whereas the Integrated Children's System will record information about the 4 per cent. of children in need known to social services at any one time), but narrower in terms of the information they will hold about the child. They will
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contain basic information about all children and the contact details of practitioners working with them across the board. This will be a valuable tool in aiding a wide range of practitioners in working together to meet children's needs.
There is no explicit relationship between the IT system which supports the use of the Integrated Children's System and the information databases. The IT system for the Integrated Children's System is designed to hold information about children in need and their families, who are in receipt of services from social services. It is, therefore, a specialist system for holding case based data.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provisions are being made to allow children who would not be on the Child Protection Register to be placed on the Integrated Children's System. [195321]
Margaret Hodge: By December 2005, information on all children referred to local authorities with social services responsibilities as potential children in need, regardless of whether their names are on the child protection register, will be being recorded on the IT system which supports use of the Integrated Children's System.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) which children will be listed on the Integrated Children's Register; [195322]
(2) when the Integrated Children's System will be implemented. [195336]
Margaret Hodge: By December 2005, information on all children referred to local authorities with social services responsibilities will be being recorded on the IT system which supports use of the Integrated Children's System.
The Integrated Children's System (ICS) will be quite different from the information database(s). The ICS is a framework for Councils with Social Services Responsibilities (CSSRs) to help in their work with children in need and their families. It provides a single approach for assessment, planning, intervention and reviewing based on an understanding of children's developmental needs in the context of their families and communities. It is designed to improve outcomes for children in need. The information gathered in the course of working with children and their families must be recorded by social services. These records have traditionally been paper-based although a growing number of councils have electronic record keeping systems in place. As part of implementing the integrated children's system, social service records will all be kept electronically, replacing paper-based systems. The ICS is simply a better way to maintain and meet existing record keeping requirements and, therefore, requires no legislative provision.
The ICS will provide a more effective way of keeping and accessing records relating to social services work with children and families than exists at present. This will help improve standards of service to children and families.
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The information database(s) provided for by the Children Bill will not contain detailed case information such as this. The information sharing databases will be broader in their coverage than the ICS (they will cover all children in England, whereas the ICS will record information about the 4 per cent. of children in need known to social services at any one time), but narrower in terms of the information they will hold about the child. They will contain basic information about all children and the contact details of practitioners working with them across the board. This will be a new and valuable tool in aiding a wide range of practitioners in working together to meet children's needs.
There is no explicit relationship between the IT system which supports the use of the ICS and the information databases. The IT system which CSSRs purchase for the ICS are designed to hold information about children in need and their families, who are in receipt of services from social services. It is, therefore, a specialist system for holding case based data.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in what ways the Integrated Children's Register is different from the Child Protection Register. [195323]
Margaret Hodge: A child protection register is a central register which is maintained for each area covered by a social services department. The register should list all the children resident in the area (including those who have been placed there by another local authority or agency) who are considered to be at continuing risk of significant harm, and for whom there is a child protection plan.
Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999) sets out that the principal purpose of the register is to make agencies and professionals aware of those children who are judged to be at continuing risk of significant harm and in need of active safeguarding. Agencies and professionals who have concerns about a child are able to make inquiries of the register. It is essential, therefore, that both police and health professionals have access to the register through the custodian of the register both in and outside office hours.
The Integrated Children's System provides a single approach to undertaking the key processes of assessment, planning, intervention and review based on an understanding of children's developmental needs in the context of their families and communities. The Integrated Children's System is for use by social services, in collaboration with other agencies with responsibility for children in need under the Children Act 1989.
The Government explained, in Keeping Children Safe (2003), its response to the Victoria Climbié report that we will phase out the child protection register as the ICS is introduced. The ICS will hold all the necessary information about the child, including whether any child protection inquires under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 have ever been undertaken about the child, whether they are considered to be in ongoing need of protection, and whether they have a child protection plan. As a result, the child protection register will become unnecessary.
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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the purpose is of the Integrated Children's System. [195338]
Margaret Hodge: The Integrated Children's System is intended to improve outcomes for children in need. The ICS is a national framework for Councils with Social Services Responsibilities (CSSRs) to support their work with children in need and their families that provides a single approach for assessment, planning, intervention and reviewing based on an understanding of children's developmental needs in the context of their families and communities. The information gathered in the course of working with children and their families is recorded by social services. These records have traditionally been paper-based although a growing number of councils have electronic record keeping systems in place. As part of implementing the integrated children's system, social service records will all be kept electronically, replacing paper-based systems. The ability to record, retrieve and analyse information contained within electronic social services records will enable better assessments and more effective interventions for children in need than exists at present. It will also ensure consistent and comprehensive case records kept on individual children.
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