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4 Mar 2005 : Column 1411W—continued
Post Office Card Accounts
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what provisions are made for those who
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withdraw their pension using the Post Office account card and forget their pin; and if she will make a statement. [218608]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Where a customer has forgotten their PIN when in the Post office branch they are asked to call the customer service helpline 08457 22 33 44 to order a replacement PIN. The account holder should receive a replacement PIN within four working days. The terms and conditions document for the card account which customers are required to read before opening an account also gives this information.
As with most card accounts, Post Office card account customers can change the PIN originally allocated to them to a set of numbers that they might find easier to remember.
Wind Turbines
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many wind turbines she anticipates will be erected in the UK by 2010. [217348]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government's target of renewable energy sources contributing 10 per cent. of our electricity by 2010 is for all forms of renewables, not just wind, although it is clear that wind will make the main contribution. At this stage it is difficult to predict precise numbers. There are already just under 1,200 wind turbines currently in operation. Generating 10 per cent. of UK electricity from renewables could mean an increase of possibly another one and half times that number. There will also be a rather smaller number of offshore turbines.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Complaints about Schools
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many complaints the Commissioner for Local Administration in England has received concerning schools in Sittingbourne and Sheppey. [212345]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills does not keep a record of the number of complaints the Commissioner for Local Administration has received concerning schools in Sittingbourne and Sheppey.
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action the Commissioner for Local Administration in England has taken in relation to complaints that he has upheld concerning schools in Sittingbourne and Sheppey. [212346]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Department does not keep a record of any action taken by the Commissioner for Local Administration in relation to complaints that he has upheld about schools in Sittingbourne and Sheppey and on which he expects the organisation to provide a suitable remedy.
Post-16 Education (York)
Hugh Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of
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young people in York continuing in education and training after GCSE was in (a) each year since 1996–97 and (b) 2004–05. [220284]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information for 16-year-olds (i.e. the first year of post compulsory education) in education and work based learning (WBL—including apprenticeships) by local education authority (LEA) is currently only available as at the end of the calendar year 2001.
The number of 16-year-olds participating in education or WBL in York LEA at end 2001 was around 1,900, or 88 per cent.
Figures for end 2002 and end 2003 will be published, alongside an historic time series, on 31 March 2005 on the Department's website.
Education Maintenance Allowances (York)
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students at education institutions in York are receiving education maintenance allowances; what the average weekly value of those allowances is in York; and what the total expenditure on the allowances in York is expected to be in the 2004–05 academic year. [220283]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: At 1 March 2005 a total of 916 young people who are studying in institutions in York LEA area have received at least one EMA payment since the start of the 2004/05 academic year.
Data is not available at LEA level as to the actual expenditure. Payments are, and vary between £10, £20 and £30 per week according to household income, and are dependent upon whether the student has attended college or school in each week. There are also bonuses, which are linked to progression and retention. Taking account of these factors, and applying national averages, the estimated expenditure on students in York for the 2004/05 academic year is around £915,000.
Permanent Exclusions
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what change there has been in the level of unsatisfactory behaviour leading to permanent exclusions since 1997. [220102]
Derek Twigg: We are unable to indicate what change there has been in levels of behaviour leading to exclusion since 1997 as schools use a range of measures to tackle poor behaviour before it reaches a point where exclusion is the only appropriate response. There were 12,668 permanent exclusions in 1996/97. In 2002/03, the last school year for which we have data, exclusions had fallen to 9,290, which is around 25 per cent. below the 1996/97 peak. The following table provides information on the levels of permanent exclusion from 1996/97 to 2002/03:
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Primary Teachers (London)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many primary school teachers were on permanent contracts in London in September in each year since 1997; and how many unfilled vacancies there were in each of these years. [212374]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Information on the numbers of teachers employed on permanent contracts in primary schools is not collected centrally.
The following table provides the number of nursery and primary teacher vacancies in London in January of each year from 1997 to 2004, the latest information available.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 450 |
| 1998 | 630 |
| 1999 | 590 |
| 2000 | 520 |
| 2001 | 820 |
| 2002 | 600 |
| 2003 | 410 |
| 2004 | 250 |
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies (Form 618G Survey).
Pupil Referral Units
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what security measures are implemented in pupil referral units; and what the costs of those measures were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) costs of security personnel, (b) costs of security features including alarm systems, metal detectors, fencing and CCTV cameras and (c) other costs. [218044]
Derek Twigg: Security measures in schools, including in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), are arranged locally. The Department for Education and Skills does not collect implementation details or figures showing the security costs in PRUs. Money made available to local authorities in England (as Grant 317) or from the Capital Modernisation Fund from 1997–08 to 2002–03 could be used to improve security in PRUs as well as in other maintained schools. Ring-fenced funding totalled £120 million and was all drawn down.
School Budget Deficits (London)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in each borough in Greater London ran a budget deficit in the year ended 31 March 2004; and how much this deficit was for each school. [219749]
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Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
School Playground Schemes
Hugh Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what support the Government are giving to school playground schemes. [218004]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [pursuant to the reply, 24 February 2005, Official Report, c. 756W]: The funding being provided by the Big Lottery Fund (BLF), towards playground improvements in England, is around £8.1 million. This is distributed through the New Opportunities for Physical Education and Sport programme.
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