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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 23 May 2005

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Council Directive (EU) 338/97

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for the public consultation on Article 8.2 of Council Directive (EU) 338/97. [270]

Jim Knight: The Government plan to go out to public consultation on their proposals regarding the use of the powers under Article 8.2 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 by the end of July.

Primates

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her timetable is for public consultation on Article 8.2 of Council Directive (EU) 338/97, with particular reference to the (a) conservation and (b) animal welfare implications of the trade in primates as pets in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [338]

Jim Knight: The Government plan to go out to public consultation on their proposals regarding the use of the powers under Article 8.2 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 by the end of July. The Regulation is essentially a conservation measure and its powers cannot be used to address animal welfare issues. Although we shall certainly consider whether it would be appropriate to use these powers to restrict the keeping of primates, the purpose of the consultation exercise is to seek views on how these powers should be used, rather than presenting a detailed list of protected species at this stage.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Licence Fee Evasion Rates

Mr. Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to provide licence fee evasion rates on a local authority area basis. [352]

James Purnell: The BBC is responsible for the administration of the television licensing system and maintains the statistical model used to estimate licence evasion. As explained in response to previous Questions from the hon. Member on this subject including 20 January 2005, Official Report, column 1053W, the BBC has indicated that the data required to produce accurate evasion estimates includes external sources which are unavailable at local levels. The BBC has also indicated that information on evasion rates by local authority area is in any case not required for the efficient
 
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and effective enforcement of the licensing system. The Government have no plans to collect such information separately.

Licensing Fees

Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from sporting clubs about the changes to licensing fees in relation to serving alcohol; and if she will make a statement. [160]

James Purnell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and my Department, have received many representations on this subject from amateur sports clubs, the organisations which represent their interests, and Members of this House.

As has been demonstrated by the tax and other financial benefits introduced over recent years for Community Amateur Sports Clubs, and the significant sums in Lottery support for them which is channelled through sport's governing bodies, the Government continues to support the estimated 140,000 amateur clubs across England and Wales. In introducing the new licensing regime, there is no intention to penalise those involved in running clubs, or to affect the important roles such clubs play in local communities. This was made clear during the passage of the Act, and thereafter.

My Department is working closely with the Central Council of Physical Recreation, and other sports bodies, as implementation continues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made a commitment to an independent review of fee levels and associated costs, within a reasonable period after the new framework is fully introduced. The results of that review will inform any necessary adjustments to the levels of fees introduced under the Act.

PRIME MINISTER

Deputy Prime Minister

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Deputy Prime Minister has responsibilities in Government for matters other than those for which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is responsible. [526]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the press notice issued on 6 May 2005, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Queen's Speech

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons the comprehensive press briefing on the content of the Queen's Speech was not made available to hon. Members in the Vote Office at the start of the debate on 17 May. [388]

The Prime Minister: Information relating to the Queen's Speech was made available almost immediately at the website of the Leader of the House of Commons, www.commonsleader.gov.uk. However, I have noted Mr. Speaker's comments and copies of the information referred to have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. I shall ensure that this is the practice in future years.
 
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academic Boycott (Israel)

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the likely impact on academic standards of the academic boycott on Israel proposed by the Association of University Teachers; and if she will make a statement. [418]

Bill Rammell: The Government have made clear that they are opposed to academic boycotts.

Education Statistics (Cheshire)

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average amount spent per pupil in (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in Cheshire was in each year between 2001 and 2005. [120]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested for the years 2001–02 to 2003–04 is given in the table.

The information for 2004–05 is not due to be collected until October 2005.
School based expenditure^{(1)(5507770002)(3)} per pupil⁽⁴⁾ in Cheshire LEA since 2001⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ £

	School based expenditure per pupil
	Primary	Secondary
2001–02	2,060	2,890
2002–03	2,340	2,990
2003–04	2,540	3,280

⁽¹⁾ School based expenditure includes only expenditure incurred directly by the schools. This includes the pay of teachers and school based support staff, school premises costs, books and equipment, and certain other supplies and services, less any capital items funded from recurrent spending and income from sales, fees and charges and rents and rates. This excludes the central cost of support services such as home to school transport, local authority administration and the financing of capital expenditure.
⁽²⁾ 2002–03 saw a break in the time series following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the Section 52 Outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by the blank row. For 2002–03 and 2003–04, school based expenditure is taken from Section 52 Outturn Table A Schools Net Current Expenditure. For 2001–02 the expenditure is calculated as lines one to 12 less lines 29, 30, 35 and 37 of Section 52 Outturn Table 3.
⁽³⁾ The 2001–02 calculation is broadly similar to the calculation in subsequent years. However, 2001–02 includes all premature retirement compensation (PRC) and Crombie payments, mandatory PRC payments and other indirect employee expenses, while in 2002–03 and 2003–04 only the schools element of these categories is included. Also, for some LEAs, expenditure that had previously been attributed to the school sectors in 2001–02 was reported within the LEA part of the form in 2002–03 and 2003–04 and would therefore be excluded, though this is not quantifiable from existing sources.
⁽⁴⁾ Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DfES Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 in cash terms as reported by Cheshire LEA.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils from Wales attended schools in Cheshire in each year since 2001. [122]

 
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Jacqui Smith: The information requested is shown in the following table:
Number of pupils, aged five to 15, attending maintained primary and secondary schools in Cheshire LEA who are resident in Wales

	Primary	Secondary
2005	292	421
2004	299	340
2003	226	356
2002	247	370

Notes:
1. The data is derived from the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC).
2. The first year in which PLASC data was collected was 2002.

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