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Education Maintenance Allowance

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her estimate is of the cost of the education maintenance allowance in each year from 2004–05 to 2008–09; and if she will make a statement. [1300]

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 May 2005, Official Report, column 48W.

EU Legislation

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what EU legislation was
 
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implemented by the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2000. [1712]

Bill Rammell: No EU legislation was implemented by the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2000.

Family Planning Funding

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money her Department has given in each of the last five years to (a) Brook, (b) Family Planning Association, (c) Marie Stopes International, (d) British Pregnancy Advisory Service and (e) Education for Choice; and for what purposes. [1516]

Beverley Hughes: The amounts paid by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to the organisations listed in the question, along with a summary of the purpose for which the payments were made, are included in the following table. This reply does not include payments which may have been made by the Department of Health in support of the teenage pregnancy strategy, before responsibility for the strategy was transferred to DfES in April 2004.

	Organisation	Amount (£)	Purpose
October 2004 to March 2006	FPA	250,637	Delivery of the 'Speakeasy' training programme, which enables parents and carers to have more confidence and knowledge in speaking to their children about sex and relationships
2004/05	FPA	10,000	To develop Good Practice Guidance for Primary Care Trusts on delivering young people friendly sexual health advice services
2004/06	FPA	58,000	To develop and deliver a training course for health and non-health professionals, to enable them to provide more proactive contraceptive advice to help young people to avoid second unplanned pregnancies—estimates suggest that 20 per cent. of births conceived to under-18s are second pregnancies
2004/06	FPA	20,565	To deliver courses on sex, relationships, pregnancy and parenthood for those working with looked after children and young people
2004/05	Brook	11,282	To develop a new contraception information leaflet for young parents to help support them in preventing second unplanned pregnancies
2004/06	Education for Choice	38,000	Delivery of training programmes for health and education professionals to facilitate discussion about pregnancy and abortion; revision and development of EfC website; work with boys and young men; and support for parents to help them discuss pregnancy choices and abortion

Foster Placements

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of foster placements ended in adoption in each year since 1997. [1686]

Maria Eagle: The table shows the number and proportion of children ceasing to be looked after from a foster placement in England after being adopted in the years 2000–01 to 2003–04.
Children ceasing to be looked after in a foster placement^(19)(20)(21) Numbers and percentages

	Year ending 31 March:
	2001	2002	2003	2004
Adopted by former foster carer(22)	430	550	540	510
Foster placement ceased for other reason(23)(24)	14,100	13,900	13,000	13,500
Percentage of children ceasing care from a foster placement adopted	3.0	3.8	4.0	3.6

⁽¹⁹⁾Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.
⁽²⁰⁾Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the year has been counted.
⁽²¹⁾Figures under 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 10. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
⁽²²⁾Figures are taken from the AD1 return.
⁽²³⁾Figures for 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 are derived from the SSDA903 one third sample.
⁽²⁴⁾Figures for 2003–04 are taken from the SSDA903 return, which for the first time since1996–97 covered all children looked after.
Source:
Table I 'Children Looked After in England (including adoptions and care leavers) 2003–04', Table Z 'Children Looked After by local authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2004'.





 
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Freedom of Speech

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's policy is on freedom of speech in universities. [1782]

Bill Rammell: Higher Education Institutions are autonomous bodies responsible for the management of their own affairs. Their governing bodies have a duty to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure freedom of speech within the law for students and members of staff of the institution and for visiting speakers. Governing bodies must also ensure that use of the institution's premises is not denied to any individual
 
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or body of people on the grounds of their beliefs, views, policies or objectives.

GCSEs

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Educationand Skills how many pupils sat GCSE examinations in (a) science, (b) biology, (c) chemistry, (d) physics, (e) French and (f) history in each year since 1995. [1259]

Jacqui Smith: GCSE (Full Course) attempts ¹ of 15-year-old pupils ² in schools in selected subjects can be found in the following table:

Number of attempts(25) in year	Single(28) Award Science	Double(28) Award Science	Other(28)(30) Science	Biological Sciences(29)	Chemistry	Physics	French	History
2003/04(27)	54,977	479,528	2,732	44,755	43,037	42,447	289,549	205,399
2002/03	53,035	474,451	2,745	43,623	40,865	40,064	304,472	194,801
2001/02	51,662	466,469	2,785	40,526	39,067	38,640	311,847	193,945
2000/01	49,896	464,403	2,977	40,456	38,797	38,455	321,207	195,231
1999/2000	48,565	445,100	3,106	39,376	37,699	37,532	313,146	190,279
1998/99	50,182	441,897	3,423	38,785	37,640	37,205	311,384	188,934
1997/98	52,383	431,348	3,826	37,890	36,544	36,205	307,293	189,070
1996/97	54,631	439,480	4,881	36,641	35,154	34,541	306,055	207,486
1995/96	62,844	434,946	5,344	37,576	36,279	35,727	315,746	212,407
1994/95	59,836	426,573	4,987	34,604	33,598	33,229	316,847	223,357

⁽²⁵⁾For each subject, only one attempt per pupil is counted—that which received the highest grade.
⁽²⁶⁾The figures reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
⁽²⁷⁾Numbers for 2003/04 are revised figures, for 1995/96–2002/03 are final figures.
⁽²⁸⁾Figures are not available for Science GCSE but we are able to provide figures for Single Award Science, Dual Award Science and Other Science.
⁽²⁹⁾Biological Sciences includes Human Biology and Social Biology.
⁽³⁰⁾Other Science includes: Science—Biology and Chemistry; Science—Biology and Physics; Science—Chemistry and Physics; Aeronautics; Agricultural Science; Applied Science; Astronomy; Botany; Electronics; Engineering Science; Environmental Science; Geology; Horticulture; Meteorology; Physical Science; Psychology (as a Science); Robotics; Rural Science; Science in society; Science Technology; Zoology.

Gershon Review

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes in expenditure her Department expects to arise from the plans outlined in her Department's technical note produced for the Gershon review proposing (a) a reduction in the number of teachers and their replacement with interactive whiteboards and classroom supervisors and (b) replacing supply teachers with classroom supervisors. [983]

Jacqui Smith: The Department's technical note does not propose (a) a reduction in the number of teachers and their replacement with interactive whiteboards and classroom supervisors or (b) replacing all supply teachers with classroom supervisors.

The Gershon review focuses on improving efficiency and recycling such gains into the frontline. The Department's expenditure therefore remains unaffected and the Department will continue to invest in schools at the record levels already announced.

The effective use of information and communications technology (ICT), such as electronic interactive whiteboards, is a significant and powerful tool for increasing teachers' productive time and improving the quality of learning and teaching. ICT supports and enhances quality teaching and is not a substitute for it. The January2005 figures show that the number of teachers increased by 4,000 during the previous year.

Schools spent around £800 million in 2003–04 on agency staff and supply teachers. As part of remodelling the school work force the Department is supporting schools in developing and implementing more effective and cost efficient solutions. For example, the Department does not believe that it is a good use of teachers' time to cover for absent colleagues. The use of established cover staff for short-term absences provides better supervision by staff who belong to the school and know the children concerned, and at less cost.

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