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18 Nov 2004 : Column 2126W—continued
Entry to Employment
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on funding reduction in Entry to Employment courses and training opportunities. [197938]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have received correspondence from MPs, training providers, and members of the public about the reduction in funding to the E2E programme. However, there is no reduction in the funding allocated by the LSC for 2004/05: £238 million, the same level as last year.
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total budget was for the Entry to Employment programme for the year 2003–04; and what funding will be available for the programme for the year 2004–05. [196478]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, will write to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
Examination Results
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average A-level points score was for (a) school sixth forms, (b) sixth form
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colleges and (c) general further education colleges in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [197267]
Mr. Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 November 2004, Official Report, column 368W.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) individual students were awarded level three qualifications and (b) level three qualifications were awarded in English further education colleges in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [197824]
Mr. Miliband: Figures are only available on a broadly consistent basis from 1994/95 onwards. The following tables show particular qualification types and combinations which equate to a full level 3 qualification. The information in the tables comes from a variety of data systems over time and it is not possible to match data across these sources for individual students. Therefore, it is possible that some individual students appear in more than one column.
n/a = Not available.
Notes:
1. The number of GNVQs are not fully consistent over time, figures from 2000/01 onwards are taken from the Secondary School and College Performance Tables Database, figures for earlier years are taken from NISVQ.
2. The figures for two or more GCE A Levels includes those gaining a combination of one GCE A Level and 2+ GCE AS Levels in the same year. Those gaining four AS Levels within the year are excluded and shown separately given they will be double counted when they complete their full A Level course. For this reason, it is not appropriate to add across the rows to form a total figure.
3. The Full VRQ Level 3 figure is for Vocationally Related Qualifications accredited by QCA as having 80 to 100 per cent. width.
4. Advanced GNVQ/VCE includes Advanced GNVQs, VCE 12 Unit, 2 VCE 6 Unit qualifications or equivalent combinations of VCE 6 unit and 3 unit qualifications.
Source:
Secondary School and College Performance Tables Database and National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ)
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Foster Carers
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he plans to take to address the shortage of foster carers. [195086]
Margaret Hodge: In February this year we produced a Fostering Publicity Pack designed to help local authorities to run targeted local campaigns to recruit new foster carers for looked after children. We have also awarded a 3-year grant of £180,000 to the Fostering Network to support Foster Care Fortnight, which has a particular focus on recruitment.
In addition, the Choice Protects grant, which provides funding of £113 million over three years, has a specific emphasis on fostering services. £1.5 million of the funding available through the grant in the current financial year is being used to develop a number of new initiatives to improve the status, support and training of foster carers. These include the development of a national award ceremony, a national advice line, measures to improve the support given to foster carers who are subject to allegations and new training resources for foster carers.
Most recently, the Government have tabled amendments to the Children Bill which would enable regulations to be made prescribing a national minimum allowance to foster carers in England and Wales.
Free School Meals
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to assess alternatives to eligibility to free school meals as the trigger point to other benefits, with particular reference to free transport. [198548]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: We are investigating with the Department for Work and Pensions the increase in family income that results from a move from unemployment into work on the minimum wage and above. In doing so we must consider what can be done for the many low income working and non-working families who are not eligible for school transport, as many are paying commercial bus fares for their children to travel to school. Our aim is to develop a system that helps as many low income families as possible to have access to affordable transport on the home to school journey, where walking or cycling is impractical.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to improve take-up of free school meals, with specific reference to rural areas; and what measures he plans to take to reduce the stigma attached to take-up of free school meals. [198549]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
We are currently in discussion with the Inland Revenue and the Department of Work and Pensions about ways in which the system for checking free school meal entitlement might be streamlined. Key to these discussions is the need to agree
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a system that will be easy for parents to access and to remove the need for specific details of Government support payments to be shown to school or local authority staff in order to have their child's free school meal eligibility assessed.
A DfES sponsored research report, commissioned by the Child Poverty Action Group, entitled "Improving the Take-up of Free School Meals" was published in May 2001. The findings of the research suggested that a major factor in poor take-up was parents' perception that school meals were of poor quality. We are revising secondary school lunch standards to reduce sugar, salt
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and fat content and are considering if primary school meals require similar changes. Changes when implemented will improve quality and, therefore, will encourage greater take up of free as well as paid for school lunches in both rural and urban areas.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in (a) Leicester South and (b) each unitary authority in England claim free school meals; and what estimate he has made of those eligible to claim free school meals in each case. [198657]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the table.
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(78) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(79) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
(80) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
(81) Not applicable. No schools of this type.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Pupils are recorded as being eligible for free school meals if a claim has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility or the school or LEA have seen the necessary documentation. Eligibility requires the parent (or pupil) to be in receipt of either income support, or income-based jobseekers allowance, or support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or child tax credit but not working tax credit and have
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an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) that which for when the above information was collected in the tax year 2003/04, would have been £13,280.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children living in the London borough of Wandsworth were entitled to free school meals during the last 12 months. [198883]
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Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested is shown in the following table.
(82) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(83) Includes City Technology Colleges.
(84) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
Source:
Annual Schools Census.
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