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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Academies
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria will be used to determine where new Academies will be placed. [4094]
Jacqui Smith:
The location of Academies is determined on an individual basis taking into account historic educational performance, the level of
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deprivation in the area concerned, parental demand as well as the quality and suitability of each specific proposal.
Adult Education Funding
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what budgets have been agreed between her Department and the Learning and Skills Council for adult education for each region of England for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [3243]
Maria Eagle: The Department allocates funds for education and training in the post-16 learning and skills sector to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Of the LSC's 2004–05 budget, £2.466 billion was allocated to adult education, including adult FE provision, Adult Community Learning and Work Based Learning. Of the 2005–06 budget, £2.499 billion was allocated to adult education. It should be noted however that allocations for 2005/06 academic year are still being finalised, and the figures for both FE and Work Based Learning may change.
The Department does not agree specific regional budgets with the LSC for adult education.
A-levels
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what actions her Department is taking to develop extended projects at A-level; [3850]
(2) when she intends to introduce extended projects at A-level. [3851]
Jacqui Smith: We have asked the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to take forward work on developing extended projects in consultation with employers and higher education institutions. Consultation will extend into the autumn.
Different models of the extended project will be piloted from September 2006, and QCA will evaluate the outcomes in 2007 and 2008.
Autism
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the schools which provide specialist education for children with autism; and which are (a) residential and (b) non-residential. [3662]
Maria Eagle: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
Building Schools for the Future
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what account was taken of the school repair backlog when prioritising schools under the Building Schools for the Future programme; [3779]
(2) what the target dates are for agreeing the Education Vision for projects in (a) waves 4–6, (b) waves 7–9, (c) waves 10–12 and (d) waves 13–15 of the Building Schools for the Future initiative. [3989]
Jacqui Smith:
We have set up Building Schools for the Future to change the 'patch and mend' approach to the school repair backlog, which unfortunately built up
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over many decades of underinvestment. Repair backlog was not a criterion for choosing projects. But local authorities were asked to reflect repair backlog at their schools in their proposals for wave 1 and expressions of interest for waves 2 and 3. This information fed into our allocations to each project. We expect each local authority to carry out options appraisals to decide how best to address the condition and other issues at each school, and to invest appropriately.
Assuming that spending reviews continue in the current pattern, we intend to announce two further waves of investment after each spending review. So, for example, waves four and five would be announced in late 2006, waves 6 and 7 in 2008, and so on. Our planning assumption is that local authorities will submit education visions for agreement within three months of a project starting.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) new schools, (b) replacement schools and (c) refurbished schools are to be provided in each of the (i) Pathfinder and (ii) wave one Building Schools for the Future projects. [3780]
Jacqui Smith: For Building Schools for the Future pathfinder projects the breakdown of new build and refurbished schools, (all of which are replacement schools) is as follows:
| Authority | Number of new build schools | Number of refurbished schools |
|---|---|---|
| Bradford | 3 | — |
| Bristol | 4 | — |
| Greenwich | 3 | 2 |
| Lewisham | 1 | 2 |
| Sheffield | 3 | 6 |
For Building Schools for the Future wave one projects, current plans indicate that there will be one new school (as in additional provision) provided in Waltham Forest, with the breakdown of new build and refurbishment in replacement schools as follows:
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the private sector partners involved in each successful bid for Building Schools for the Future. [3782]
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Jacqui Smith: Eight projects in wave one of Building Schools for the Future are currently in procurement but none has reached the stage of appointing a preferred bidder yet. We expect the most advanced projects to appoint preferred bidders in October this year
Bullying
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the prevalence of bullying in schools in England. [3286]
Jacqui Smith: Data on bullying are not collected centrally and there is no reliable basis for an estimate of prevalence. Bullying cases appear to be reported more often now than previously but we have no hard evidence that bullying is increasing or that it is affecting more children. Indeed, as children and young people increasingly feel safe at school to report bullying, and confident that it will be tackled effectively and sensitively, it is likely reporting will rise.
However, any level of bullying is too high and we are determined to help schools tackle the problem. Our guidance pack 'Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence', the anti-bullying Charter and the anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying offer detailed advice on preventing and addressing bullying. We also offer specific advice to schools on tackling homophobic bullying and are developing advice on racist bullying.
CAFCASS
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to reform the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. [2817]
Maria Eagle: We are continuing to develop CAFCASS's role as a key contributor to the Government's work to improve the support available to children and families. In particular, the Green Paper Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities", published in July 2004, and the subsequent Next Steps" document, published in January 2005, set out a major change of approach for CAFCASS practitioners working with families, by moving their work away from report writing to a more active, problem-solving role in facilitating agreement between parents over contact and residence arrangements in the best interests of their children. The Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill will underpin this new role, by giving CAFCASS a clear part to play in facilitating contact and monitoring contact orders.
This shift in the nature of CAFCASS's work closely reflects the view of the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, in its March 2005 report on Family Justice, which recommended an emphasis on 'overcoming problems' in CAFCASS interventions.
In addition, CAFCASS is currently undergoing internal restructuring in order further to renew and strengthen its operational front-line focus for all aspects of its work with children and families.
Greg Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases remain to be allocated to a case worker in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS); and
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what the average length of time is for allocation of new cases to a case worker, broken down by CAFCASS region in England. [3622]
Maria Eagle: The total number of CAFCASS unallocated Public Law Children Act 1989 cases (applications for local authority care and supervision orders and applications for adoption) at 31 March 2005 is 316, representing 2.7 per cent. of the caseload. This meets CAFCASS' key performance indicator target that the number of cases unallocated for the month should be no more than the target of 3 per cent. of the workload.
A regional break-down of Public Law cases is provided in the following table which shows the number of unallocated cases by region.
In Public Law, CAFCASS' key performance indicator states that at least 98 per cent. of all public allocations each month for all case types should be within 28 days of receipt of request. In 2004/05 CAFCASS allocated 92.7 per cent. of it cases within 28 days.
The total number of CAFCASS Private Law reports (as a consequence of applications for parental responsibility, residence and contact, where parents have been unable to reach agreement on these matters) unallocated less than 10 weeks before filing date as at 31 March 2005 is 168, representing 2 per cent. of the total caseload. In addition CAFCASS hold managed unallocated" cases where the court has agreed a filing time later than the standard 10 to12 weeks.
CAFCASS does not collect information on the length of time taken to allocate new Private Law cases to case workers by region. CAFCASS' key performance indicator states that the number of private law reports unallocated less than 10 weeks before the court filing date for the month should be no more than 4 per cent. of the total workload.
A regional break-down for Private Law work unallocated less than 10 weeks before filing date is provided in the following table.
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Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact on families who are affected by delays at the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. [3623]
Maria Eagle: The impact of delay on the welfare of children and their families is a concern for all of the agencies involved in family proceedings and we are concentrating on addressing the causes of delay. It is also a top priority for CAFCASS and, together with the Department for Constitutional Affairs, we are working closely with CAFCASS, the judiciary, local authority social services and others in order to reduce delays in Public Law Children Act 1989 cases (cases that involve social services—mainly care proceedings and adoptions).
CAFCASS itself is making progress in this area. For example, for the CAFCASS Key Performance Indicator Target for 98 per cent. of public law work to be allocated within 28 days, 93.5 per cent. was achieved in March 2005, compared with 90.6 per cent. in March 2004.
Progress is also being made in Private Law work (mainly disputes between separating parents over contact and residence arrangements for their children). CAFCASS has a Private Law Key Performance Indicator Target, where the number of reports unallocated less than 10 weeks before court filing date for the month should be no more than the target of 4 per cent. of the workload. In March 2005 2.0 per cent. of cases were unallocated, compared with 3.2. per cent. in March 2004. There is an expectation that private law reports are completed within 10 to 12 weeks of the date of request being made to CAFCASS. CAFCASS also have managed unallocated" cases where the court has agreed a filing time later than the standard 10 to 12 weeks. In March 2005 10.8 per cent. of cases were managed unallocated", compared with 15.5 per cent. in March 2004. The CAFCASS waiting list is continuously reviewed and re-prioritised.
A change in the role of CAFCASS practitioners willalso contribute to reducing court delay in Private Law cases. The Green Paper Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities", published in July 2004, and the subsequent Next Steps" document, published in January 2005, set out a major change of approach for CAFCASS practitioners working with families, by moving their work away from report writing to a more active, problem-solving role in facilitating agreement between parents over contact and residence arrangements in the best interests of their children.
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