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22 Feb 2005 : Column 526W—continued

Staff Surveys

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how much was paid to consultants carrying out staff surveys in the Department in each year since 1997; [213662]

(2) what the cost of staff surveys in the Department was in each year since 1997. [213685]

Mr. Miliband: The Cabinet Office and its agencies carry out regular Staff Surveys as part of good management practice in developing people to deliver more efficient and better quality services. Staff Surveys are usually carried out by external consultants.

Consultant costs are set out in the table.
 
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Consultant costs of staff surveys in the department from 1997

£
Year of staff surveyCabinet OfficeCentral Office of InformationGovernment Car and Despatch Agency
1997**
1998
199929,963*
200026,554
200125,350
200227,83325,873
2003
200435,97332,900




Notes:
1. Survey not carried out in that year.
2. Fees inclusive of VAT.
3. A Staff Survey was developed, carried out and analysed internally. No external costs were incurred.




Stationery

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Department spent on (a) stationery and (b) office supplies in each year since 1997. [213850]

Mr. Miliband: Detail of the Department's spend on stationery in each year since 1997 are shown in the table.
Stationery expenditure (£000)
1997–98392
1998–99565
1999–2000823
2000–01756
2001–02610
2002–03712
2003–04637

The cost of office supplies is not separately identifiable on the Department's Accounting System.

Swan Hunter

Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Swan Hunter shipyard. [215820]

Mr. Miliband: My visit to the Swan Hunter ship yard was in my capacity as constituency MP for South Shields and not as Minister for the Cabinet Office.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adoption

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were adopted in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years. [209410]

Margaret Hodge: The tables show the number of adoptions in the UK for the last four calendar years for which numbers are available, and the number of looked after children adoptions in England for the last five years ending 31 March.
Number

Calendar year ending2000200120022003
United Kingdom5,5036,5886,2405,429
England4,6715,6575,2654,479
Wales269324416342
Scotland391468385468
Northern Ireland172139174140




Source:
Office for National Statistics





 
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Adoptions of looked after children in the year ending 31 March(36)

EnglandNumber
20002700
20013100
20023400
20033500
20033700


(36) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
Source:
DfES




While the total number of children adopted in England has fallen between the calendar years 2001 and 2003, the number of looked after children adopted in England has increased by 37 per cent. between the years ending 31 March 2000 and 2004.

Children Act

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment the Government have made of the impact of the Children Act 2004 on the costs of local authorities. [216268]

Margaret Hodge: Details of the costs associated with the Children Act 2004 are set out in the regulatory impact assessment which is available on the Department's website. The resources which the Government will be providing to support the reforms introduced by Children Act 2004 are set out in Every Child Matters: Change for Children (paragraphs 4.16–4.25), a copy of which is in the Library.

Class Sizes

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in reducing infant class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds in Leicestershire since 1997. [216932]

Derek Twigg: The age of individual pupils in classes is not collected centrally. The available information is shown in the table.
 
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Maintained primary schools(37): number of pupils in key stage 1 classes of 31 or more pupils taught by one teacher1997 to 2004
Position in January each year
Leicestershire local education authority
Number of pupils in classes of
31 or more
Total pupils in all classesNumber of pupilsPercentage of pupils(38)
1997(39)30,3247,09823.4
199820,3114,40721.7
199919,6963,49717.8
200019,9772,46412.3
200120,5601,0335.0
200220,1122801.4
2003(40)18,0774362.4
2004(40)17,7208184.6


(37)Includes middle schools as deemed.
(38)Percentage of pupils in those classes expressed as a percentage of pupils in all classes taught by one teacher.
(39)Before local Government reorganisation.
(40)From 2003 reception classes were returned alongside nursery classes as foundation stage for the first time. Therefore, reception classes have been included in the key stage 1 figures to produce a coverage as close as possible to that available for previous years.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census




Congestion Charge

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme. [213821]

Derek Twigg: Since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme the Department has spent,

Departmental employees incurring congestion charges while on official business claim these on an individual basis. Information regarding this expenditure
 
22 Feb 2005 : Column 530W
 
is not held centrally. Such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It is departmental policy that penalty charges are not reimbursed to individuals.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will reply to the letter dated 5 March 2004 sent to her predecessor by the hon. Member for Brent, East regarding Mr. Christopher McMahon. [215628]

Derek Twigg: My right hon. Friend the then Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education replied to the hon. Member's letter dated 5 March on 30 March.

Early Years Education

Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many free nursery and pre-reception class places have been created for three, four and five-year-olds in the constituency of Stockton, South since 1997. [215305]

Margaret Hodge: All four-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since September 1998. All three-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since April 2004.

The available information on the numbers of free part-time early education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in Stockton-on-Tees local education authority area and parliamentary constituencies within Stockton-on-Tees local education authority area since 1997 is shown in the tables.

The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 39/2004 Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2004 (final)", which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
Number of free nursery education places(41)taken up 3 and 4-year-olds—Stockton local education authority area
Position in January each year

3-year-olds
4-year-olds
Maintained nursery and primary schools(42)Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providersTotal 3-year-oldsMaintained nursery and primary schools(43)Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providersTotal 4-year-olds
19972,400n/a2,400n/an/a(44)2,500
19982,200n/a2,200n/an/a(44)2,400
19992,000n/a2,000n/an/a(44)2,200
20001,900(45)702,000n/an/a(44)2,200
20011,800(45)1001,900n/an/a(44)2,300
20021,700(45)2201,9002,100(44)902,200
20031,600(45)1101,7002,100(46)1202,200
20041,600(45)2201,8002,100(48)1402,200




n/a = Not available.
(41)Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
(42)Headcount of children aged three at 31st December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
(43)Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
(44)Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
(45)Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
(46)Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
(47)Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
(48)Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.



 
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Number of free nursery education places(49)taken up 3 and 4-year-olds by parliamentary constituencyStockton local education authority area
Position in January 2004

3-year-olds
4-year-olds
Maintained nursery and primary schools(50)Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(51)Total
3-year-olds
Maintained nursery and primary schools(52)Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(53)Total
4-year-olds
Stockton North76070830940601,000
Stockton South8601501,0001,100801,200
Stockton LEA Total1,6002201,8002,1001402,200


(49)Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
(50)Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
(51)Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
(52)Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
(53)Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.


Changes in pupil figures may arise from changes to the underlying population in the local education authority area and other factors. However, my Department does not publish population figures for individual age cohorts at sub-national level because of the unreliability of the underlying population estimates. The Office for National Statistics publish sub-national population estimates in five-year age bands.

Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many free early years education places were taken up in Bedford and Kempston in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004. [207222]


 
22 Feb 2005 : Column 532W
 

Margaret Hodge: All four year olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since September 1998. All three-year-olds in England have been entitled to a free part-time early education place since April 2004.

The available information on the numbers of free part-time early education places taken up by three and four year olds in Bedford parliamentary constituency and Bedfordshire local education authority area is shown in the tables. Information for private and voluntary providers is available for Bedfordshire but not for Bedford constituency.
Number of free nursery education places(54)taken up by 3and 4year olds Bedfordshire local education authority area 1997 and 2004
Position in January each year

3-year-olds
4-year-olds
Maintained nursery and primary schools(55)Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providersTotalMaintained nursery and primary schools(57)Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providersTotal
19971,30001,300n/an/a(59)4,700
20041,250(56)2,5103,7604,020(58)7704,790




n/a = Not available.
1Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 places.
2Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools Census.
3Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
4Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools Census.
(54)Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census data collection exercise and the Annual Schools Census.
(55)Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.



Number of free nursery education places(56)(5507400057)taken up by three and 4-year-olds in maintained nursery and primary schools, Bedford parliamentary constituency area 1997 and 2004
Position in January each year

3-year-olds
4-year olds
Maintained
nursery schools
Maintained primary
schools
TotalMaintained
nursery schools
Maintained primary
schools
Total
19971501900340100130700910
2004100250034050130640820


(56)Headcount of children aged three and four at 31 December in the previous calendar year.
2Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 places.
3Includes reception classes and classes not designated as nursery classes.
Source: Annual Schools Census.




 
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Changes in pupil figures may arise from changes to the underlying population in the local education authority area and other factors. However, my Department does not publish population figures for individual age cohorts at sub-national level because of the unreliability of the underlying population estimates. The Office for National Statistics publish sub-national population estimates in five-year age bands.

The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 39/2004 Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2004 (final)", which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.


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