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4 Feb 2005 : Column 1137W—continued
Looked-after Children
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the
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number of looked-after children who entered university or further education in each year between 1997 and 2004. [212081]
Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the number of 19-year-old former care leavers in education on their 19th birthday. The information included in this table was not collected prior to the year 2001–02.
(13) Figures are taken from the OC3 return.
(14) Figures exclude former care leavers who were looked after on 1 April aged 16 who were looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.
(15) Figures over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
(16) Includes those in higher education and those in education other than higher education.
Source:
Children Looked After in England (including adoptions and care leavers) 2003–04.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of looked-after children who achieved five or more high grade passes (A-C) in each year between 1997 and 2004. [212083]
Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the number of children in school year 11 who were looked after for at least 12 months for the years ending September 2000 to 2003 and who obtained five GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade A* to C. Information was not collected centrally for the years between 1997 and 1999.
| England | ||
|---|---|---|
As at 30 September | Number of children looked after in Year 11 for at least 12 months | Number with 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade A* to C |
| 2000 | 3,900 | 280 |
| 2001 | 4,200 | 330 |
| 2002 | 4,300 | 320 |
| 2003 | 4,600 | 400 |
Source:
DfES
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of looked-after children who suffer from drug or alcohol related problems. [212085]
Margaret Hodge: This information is not held centrally.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her most recent estimate is of the number of looked-after children who have become homeless after leaving care. [212087]
Margaret Hodge:
The latest available data, published on 17 November 2004 (http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000533/index.shtml), relates to those care leavers who were aged 19 in the year ending 31 March 2004. There were 5,100 care leavers in that
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period. Councils were in touch with 4,400 of these and only 320 of them were living in bed and breakfast or emergency accommodation. It is not possible to comment on the housing arrangements of those young people that were not in touch with their council.
Low Income Families
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children lived in low income households in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [211585]
Mr. Pond: I have been asked to reply.
Poverty is about more than low income, it also impacts on the way people live—their health, housing and the quality of their environment. The sixth annual "Opportunity for all" report (Cm 6239) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress against this strategy.
Data on the number of children in Great Britain living in low income households are published in the Department for Work and Pensions' Households Below Average Income series. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting absolute and relative trends in low income.
According to the latest data, in 2002/03 2.6 million children in the United Kingdom were living in households below 60 per cent. median income on the Before Housing Costs measure, and 3.6 million children were living in low income on the After Housing Costs measure. Data for 2003/04 are not available until spring 2005, when they will be published as part of Households Below Average Income publication.
In December 2003, we published "Measuring child poverty" which outlines the Government's new measure of child poverty which will be used from 2004/05.
All publications listed are available in the Library.
Private Children's Homes
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) announced and (b) unannounced inspections of private children's homes have taken place in each of the last five years. [210360]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 24 January 2005]: Information on the number of announced and unannounced inspections that have taken place of all children's homes, including private homes, from 1 April 2002 to 19 January 2005 is shown in the following table. We do not hold information specifically relating to the inspection of private children's homes.
| 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Announced inspections | 1,702 | 1,761 | 1,660 |
| Unannounced inspections | 1,030 | 1,660 | 1,109 |
| All inspections | 2,732 | 3,421 | 2,769 |
Note:
1 April 2004 to 19 January 2005 only
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Information is not available prior to 1 April 2002, the date when the National Care Standards Commission was created.
Protection of Vulnerable Adults
Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills why Protection of Children Act (PoCA) and Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) referrals are not automatically cross-checked; and if he will require the automatic cross-checking of PoVA and PoCA lists. [213296]
Margaret Hodge: There is provision for cross referral between the two schemes. Where an individual is added to one of the lists, they will also be considered for inclusion on the other list, if the misconduct means that they may be unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. This means that, where appropriate, some individuals are included on both lists, therefore removing the need for cross-checking.
Security Industry Association (Funding)
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether Learning and Skills Council funding is available for the Security Industry Association's training programmes. [213881]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 3 February 2005]: Decisions by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) about the training courses they fund are a matter for the council and individual learning providers. I understand the LSC does fund the British Security Industry Association's programmes through a number of further education providers in England.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost is per pupil of compiling a statement of special education needs by a local education authority. [213175]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 1 February 2005]: The Department does not collect this data. However, the Audit Commission report "Statutory assessment and statements of SEN: in need of review?", published in spring 2002, estimated the cost to be £2,500. This estimate was based on a sample of data from fieldwork sites.
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what average number of hours of intervention a pre-school child with special educational needs receives; and if she will make a statement. [213363]
Margaret Hodge: Information on the number of hours of intervention received by pre-school children with special educational needs is not collected centrally. Early years services are determined locally to meet the needs of individual children. This would include any specific intervention to address particular needs.
The Government's strategy to improve services for children with special educational needs "Removing Barriers to Achievement", published in February 2004, includes proposals to improve support to families who have pre-school children with special needs and disabilities. We are, for example, supporting a range of
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initiatives through our Early Support Programme designed to improve the support offered to disabled children aged under three and their families.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils with special needs attended each secondary school in Buckinghamshire in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [200729]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 30 November 2004]: The requested information has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
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