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4 Feb 2005 : Column 1141W—continued
Special Schools
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding streams are available to (a) maintained special schools, (b) non-maintained special schools operated by the not-for-profit sector and (c) non-maintained special schools operated by the commercial sector. [214412]
Margaret Hodge:
Funding for maintained special schools is provided through local authorities. The majority of local authority funding is provided by government with the rest from council tax. It is for local authorities to determine how best to distribute government funding between and within services. Funding for schools, including special schools, is distributed by application of a funding formula, which calculates the budget share for each school. It is for each authority to devise and revise its own school funding formula taking into account local needs and circumstances. In general terms the funding per pupil for maintained special schools is higher than that for
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pupils in maintained mainstream reflecting the greater needs of those pupils. Access to funding for capital projects is also provided through local authorities.
The prime source of funding for non-maintained special schools operated by charities or charitable trusts on a not-for-profit basis and approved under Section 342(1) of the Education Act 1996 is through fees paid by local authorities placing children in schools. However, approximately £8 million of funding is made available to the sector from the Department. This funding is paid direct to schools by the Department and includes capital and revenue funding. Capital funding covers Devolved Formula Capital, Electronic Learning Credits and an Annual Capital Round that is usually run on a competitive bidding round for projects that meet specific criteria set by the Department. Revenue funding includes access to Schools Standard Grant, Standards Fund, Teacher Threshold and Laptops for Teachers.
No government funding is provided directly to non-maintained special schools operating in the commercial sector. The primary source of funding for these schools is through the charging of fees for pupils placed at the school. Almost all pupils are placed by local authorities who are responsible for any fees.
Students
Mr. Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students admitted to (a) Staffordshire University and (b) the University of Keele were (i) overseas non-EU, (ii) EU and (iii) UK students in each year between 1997 and 2004; and what percentage of the total number of such students each of these figures represent. [212297]
Dr. Howells: The available information is given in the following table.
Note:
Numbers are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
Teenage Pregnancy
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made about the number of girls aged under 18 years in (a) children's homes and (b) foster care who became pregnant in each year between 1997 and 2004. [212084]
Margaret Hodge:
This information is not held centrally.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of antisocial behaviour orders served in 2004 had been breached by 31 December 2004; [211749]
(2) what percentage of applications for antisocial behaviour orders have been turned down; [211750]
(3) what percentage of antisocial behaviour orders have been served to people with a diagnosed mental illness. [211751]
Ms Blears: Information on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBO) issued in 2004 that were breached by 31 December 2004 will be available in the autumn of 2005.
ASBOs are heard on application in the civil and county courts. Data on numbers applied for, granted and refused are collected centrally. Of the 2,035 applications notified to the Home Office up to 30 June 2004 (latest available), 2 per cent. (42) were refused. The Crown Prosecution Service may also make an application for an ASBO to be imposed in a criminal case. My Department does not collect data on such applications.
Information is not collected centrally about the characteristics of persons issued with an ASBO.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals are still resident in the UK more than six months after all appeals against their removal have been exhausted; and if he will make a statement. [211598]
Mr. Browne: Information on the number of individuals who are still resident in the UK more than six months after all appeals against their removal have been exhausted is not available. In part this is because some individuals leave the country without notifying the Immigration Service.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the asylum registration card issued by his Department establishes a right of abode in the UK. [212101]
Mr. Browne: No. The application registration card provides an acknowledgement of a claim for asylum in the United Kingdom and certifies the holder's status as an asylum seeker. The card neither confers nor implies a right of abode within the UK.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's responsibilities to asylum seekers under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. [212261]
Mr. Browne:
As a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the United Kingdom must not remove any asylum applicant if to do so would
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expose them to a well founded fear of persecution. We are proud of the United Kingdom's record in providing a safe haven for refugees, many of whom are fleeing in fear of their lives from the most desperate human cruelty. Like all other developed countries, we will continue to meet our obligations under the Refugee Convention which is part of a legal and ethical framework that enshrines basic principles of human decency.
The European Convention on Human Rights imposes various obligations on States in their treatment of everyone within their jurisdiction, which includes asylum seekers. ECHR case law also prohibits the return of anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Belmarsh Detainees
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2005 Official Report, column 276W, on the Belmarsh detainees, whether subsistence costs for "G" are paid from Government funds. [210168]
Paul Goggins: It would not be appropriate for me to discuss details of any benefits or other support payments made by the Government to an individual.
Burglary (Householder Prosecutions)
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many householders have been prosecuted for alleged offences arising out of the burglary of their homes in each of the last 10 years; and how many have been convicted. [211723]
Paul Goggins: It is not possible to identify those persons prosecuted for offences arising out of the burglary of their homes, as circumstances surrounding an offence are not centrally collected on the Home Office Court Proceedings database. However the DPP would look for clear evidence of very excessive force before considering a prosecution.
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