---

30 Jun 2005 : Column 1702W—continued

Leadership Group on Behaviour and Discipline

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2005, Official Report, column 357W, on the leadership group on behaviour and discipline, what the costs were of the group's meeting in each year since it was established; and how often the group met. [8492]

Jacqui Smith: The leadership group has met once, on 21 June 2005. The accommodation cost of that meeting was some £1,260. Group members are also entitled to the costs of travel and of supply cover. The total claimed thus far under that heading is some £340.

New Schools

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2005, Official Report, column 360W, on new school provision, what criteria her Department will use to distribute the additional money to which she refers; [8485]

(2) pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2005, Official Report, column 360W, on new school provision, from which organisations her Department has received representations. [8486]

Jacqui Smith: We have received bids from the majority of maintained boarding schools for the £5 million available through targeted capital funding for boarding provision. Schools were invited to bid for funding towards:

Significant building projects to increase boarding provision;

Significant building projects to make essential improvements in boarding accommodation to meet, for example, health and safety or commission for social care inspection or other statutory requirements;

Significant remedial or enhancement work to boarding buildings; and the provision of equipment vital to the operation of the school.

No decision has yet been reached on the allocation of the funding.

In relation to new provision of small schools, we have received representations from the human scale education movement. As I made clear in my previous reply, decisions about the establishment of new schools are taken locally.

Out-of-hours Learning

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2005, Official Report, column 1012W, on out-of-hours learning, who monitors the extent to which the guidance on homework for school pupils set out in her Department's publication, Homework: Guidance for Primary and Secondary Schools is being followed by schools. [7941]

Jacqui Smith: The homework guidance does not have statutory force; therefore it is for schools to make their own decisions in this area. Ofsted inspectors evaluate the extent to which homework is effectively used to reinforce and extend what is learned in school, and reflect their findings in their report on the school. Ofsted
 
30 Jun 2005 : Column 1703W
 
inspections in 2003/04 found that the use of homework was satisfactory or better in 91 per cent. of secondary schools and 97 per cent. of primary schools.

Prison Education

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) 2003–04 budget and (b) 2003–04 expenditure was for prison education; and if she will make a statement. [8234]

Phil Hope: Funding for prison education and training in 2003–04 was £97.2 million. Expenditure was £96.3 million.

Pupil Behaviour Programmes

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements her Department has made to give professional training on issues facing gay and lesbian pupils to those delivering the programme for improving pupil behaviour. [8247]

 
30 Jun 2005 : Column 1704W
 

Jacqui Smith: We are committed to countering all forms of discrimination in schools, including homophobia. To achieve that:

The anti-bullying charter for action specifically mentions homophobic bullying;

The comprehensive guidance we have given schools on countering bullying includes advice on dealing with homophobic bullying;

The training materials available to staff in schools through our national secondary strategy also cover homophobic bullying;

Secondary strategy behaviour and attendance consultants, of which there is at least one in every local education authority, and primary national strategy leads, have been closely involved in our national Make The Difference" anti-bullying conferences. These conferences included a close focus on countering homophobic bullying.

Pupil Exclusions

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupil exclusions there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each London borough in each of the last five years. [8300]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
Number of pupils absent for at least one half day due to unauthorised absence, 2000 to 2004—maintained schools in England (excluding special schools and CTCs)

	Primary
	2000		2001		2002
LEA	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age
London, City of	75	42.4	60	32.8	24	13.5
Camden	2,633	28.3	3,503	37.5	3,596	38.5
Greenwich	6,141	35.6	6,205	35.5	6,050	34.9
Hackney	5,187	34.7	5,422	36.7	5,121	34.5
Hammersmith and Fulham	2,588	31.0	1,867	24.1	2,057	25.6
Islington	4,206	32.4	4,265	32.2	4,443	33.9
Kensington and Chelsea	1,721	34.9	1,592	27.6	1,663	29.2
Lambeth	5,424	36.6	5,647	35.2	4,489	28.7
Lewisham	7,199	39.7	8,376	42.3	7,440	38.5
Southwark	7,713	42.2	7,912	41.7	8,816	43.9
Tower Hamlets	8,581	49.7	8,779	49.9	8,265	48.0
Wandsworth	3,035	21.1	2,841	19.9	2,680	19.0
Westminster, City of	2,623	35.2	2,481	29.4	2,505	28.7
Barking and Dagenham	5,758	38.2	5,602	36.9	6,124	40.6
Barnet	3,826	17.9	4,070	18.4	4,393	20.0
Bexley	2,286	13.4	1,861	10.2	2,098	11.4
Brent	3,971	21.2	3,198	17.4	3,262	17.4
Bromley	3,090	14.0	2,941	13.1	2,943	13.4
Croydon	4,156	16.2	4,829	18.1	4,704	17.8
Ealing	3,722	17.3	3,142	14.6	2,378	11.1
Enfield	6,444	29.5	6,559	28.8	7,149	30.6
Haringey	6,016	38.7	6,723	39.1	7,210	40.3
Harrow	3,145	17.8	2,782	16.1	2,274	13.5
Havering	1,414	7.9	1,573	8.7	1,727	9.8
Hillingdon	5,292	25.8	5,330	27.8	4,875	24.4
Hounslow	4,213	26.5	4,921	31.9	4,920	31.4
Kingston upon Thames	1,158	12.7	907	9.4	933	9.7
Merton	2,543	20.8	1,875	15.8	1,677	14.1
Newham	12,319	51.0	12,254	48.0	11,584	44.6
Redbridge	4,962	27.4	6,214	31.3	5,402	26.8
Richmond upon Thames	778	7.5	796	7.7	896	8.7
Sutton	1,636	12.7	1,839	14.6	1,794	14.1
Waltham Forest	4,192	23.0	4,286	22.9	3,289	18.1

 
30 Jun 2005 : Column 1705W
 

	Primary
	2003		2004
LEA	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age
London, City of	0	0.0	25	14.2
Camden	2,874	30.8	2,691	28.6
Greenwich	6,674	38.1	6,254	35.9
Hackney	4,943	33.5	5,023	33.9
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,510	19.7	1,752	22.6
Islington	4,716	36.5	3,864	30.5
Kensington and Chelsea	1,505	26.4	1,108	19.1
Lambeth	5,348	31.7	4,996	29.9
Lewisham	6,753	34.6	7,151	36.6
Southwark	9,472	46.2	8,753	41.5
Tower Hamlets	8,173	46.8	8,364	47.5
Wandsworth	2,831	19.6	2,794	20.1
Westminster, City of	2,346	26.3	1,889	21.4
Barking and Dagenham	6,265	41.2	5,568	36.6
Barnet	4,318	19.4	5,328	24.1
Bexley	1,967	11.0	2,016	11.3
Brent	3,036	16.2	3,246	17.2
Bromley	3,180	14.5	4,405	20.6
Croydon	5,456	21.2	5,727	22.1
Ealing	2,166	10.1	2,490	11.8
Enfield	7,446	32.0	6,514	27.7
Haringey	7,351	40.2	6,455	35.4
Harrow	1,675	9.7	1,514	8.7
Havering	1,745	10.0	1,732	10.0
Hillingdon	4,370	22.1	4,207	21.7
Hounslow	5,539	35.7	5,373	34.9
Kingston upon Thames	834	8.7	950	10.0
Merton	1,640	14.9	1,355	12.1
Newham	9,962	38.3	7,389	28.7
Redbridge	5,377	26.7	5,745	29.1
Richmond upon Thames	1,150	10.9	1,576	14.5
Sutton	1,594	12.7	1,609	13.0
Waltham Forest	3,500	19.6	3,759	21.3

	Secondary
	2000		2001		2002
LEA	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age
London, City of	0	—	0	—	0	—
Camden	1,774	20.5	2,093	24.2	1,985	22.8
Greenwich	2,818	22.3	3,345	26.0	3,715	28.6
Hackney	1,945	28.2	2,595	33.5	2,876	35.0
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,268	24.5	1,302	21.0	1,375	22.1
Islington	2,371	33.5	2,739	36.1	2,360	29.9
Kensington and Chelsea	1,080	34.6	1,077	34.4	925	30.0
Lambeth	1,418	19.9	1,674	23.4	1,746	24.3
Lewisham	4,224	38.8	4,595	40.8	4,474	43.4
Southwark	2,581	25.5	2,566	24.4	3,311	30.8
Tower Hamlets	5,567	42.2	5,592	41.5	5,831	42.9
Wandsworth	1,910	21.3	2,155	24.1	2,218	24.9
Westminster, City of	3,066	43.5	1,799	25.2	2,331	32.6
Barking and Dagenham	2,804	28.7	3,181	31.7	3,614	34.5
Barnet	2,601	15.2	3,148	17.6	3,939	22.1
Bexley	2,546	17.0	3,224	20.6	3,361	21.0
Brent	1,875	15.4	1,930	15.6	1,874	15.0
Bromley	2,030	11.8	3,519	19.9	3,188	17.6
Croydon	2,323	14.7	2,314	13.5	2,688	15.2
Ealing	2,062	15.4	2,804	20.7	2,545	18.5
Enfield	5,509	31.5	6,238	35.2	5,864	32.9
Haringey	2,697	26.3	2,786	30.0	4,150	37.5
Harrow	862	9.7	1,111	12.2	1,097	11.9
Havering	1,753	11.9	2,112	14.0	2,101	13.7
Hillingdon	3,434	24.8	3,125	22.1	3,541	23.8
Hounslow	1,866	13.6	1,681	12.1	2,494	18.2
Kingston upon Thames	1,280	17.9	997	13.6	1,143	15.3
Merton	2,168	28.5	2,156	28.9	2,106	29.2
Newham	7,622	43.7	7,831	44.5	7,363	41.5
Redbridge	1,654	10.8	2,072	13.7	2,800	18.2
Richmond upon Thames	1,478	19.2	2,332	30.1	2,700	35.7
Sutton	1,026	8.8	1,512	12.4	2,106	17.0
Waltham Forest	3,476	27.5	3,715	28.9	3,749	28.5

 
30 Jun 2005 : Column 1707W
 

	Secondary
	2003		2004
LEA	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age	Number absent	As percentage of pupils of compulsory school age
London, City of	0	—	0	—
Camden	1,755	23.2	1,628	21.6
Greenwich	4,426	33.5	4,913	36.9
Hackney	2,112	26.2	2,727	37.6
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,492	23.7	1,580	25.6
Islington	2,811	35.2	2,876	36.1
Kensington and Chelsea	890	28.8	568	18.3
Lambeth	1,685	23.2	870	11.5
Lewisham	4,137	36.6	5,340	47.2
Southwark	3,897	35.6	2,831	25.2
Tower Hamlets	6,501	48.2	6,186	45.6
Wandsworth	2,322	25.7	1,705	21.6
Westminster, City of	2,992	41.4	3,302	44.7
Barking and Dagenham	3,851	35.4	4,019	35.5
Barnet	3,324	18.5	4,090	23.4
Bexley	2,944	18.8	3,556	21.1
Brent	2,705	19.8	2,240	16.1
Bromley	4,302	23.8	3,428	18.7
Croydon	4,733	26.2	3,931	21.9
Ealing	2,279	16.3	2,990	21.3
Enfield	6,443	35.2	8,062	42.7
Haringey	4,666	41.7	4,325	38.2
Harrow	1,125	12.1	1,100	11.8
Havering	1,993	12.8	2,237	14.2
Hillingdon	4,729	31.4	4,992	31.9
Hounslow	2,317	16.5	3,074	22.0
Kingston upon Thames	845	11.1	724	10.8
Merton	2,295	27.8	2,073	25.2
Newham	6,969	38.3	6,367	35.0
Redbridge	2,630	16.6	4,203	26.3
Richmond upon Thames	2,419	31.8	2,737	35.9
Sutton	1,938	15.1	2,518	19.2
Waltham Forest	3,316	24.9	5,012	36.6

'—'=not applicable

---