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Agency Staff

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff were employed by non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which she has responsibility in (a) total and (b) each region and (c) London in 2004–05. [35934]

Maria Eagle: The total number of staff employed by Executive NDPBs sponsored by my Department in 2004–05 was 10,671. Numbers for each nation of the UK and English region, including Greater London are listed as follows:
 
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	Number
UK
England	9,338
Scotland	1,120
Wales(85)	206
Northern Ireland	7
England
Greater London	1,803
South West	827
South East	733
North West	808
North East	460
West Midlands	1,984
East Midlands	748
East	1,213
Yorkshire and Humberside	762

⁽⁸⁵⁾ Under the Children Act 2004, the Children And Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) function in Wales was devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government on 1 April 2005.

Broadcast and Print Media Analysis

Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the use of broadcast and print media analysis. [36040]

Bill Rammell: The Department does not have a policy on the use of broadcast and print media analysis.

Building Schools for the Future

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding has been allocated to schools in Brent under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if she will make a statement. [40390]

Jacqui Smith: Building Schools for the Future (BSF) aims to renew all secondary schools in England in 15 waves of investment starting from this year. Brent has been informed that it may expect to start in the programme in waves seven to nine. Prioritisation in BSF is based on the relative educational and social needs of geographical groups of schools proposed by the authority, which in the case of Brent is for a single project for all its secondary schools. Funding is not allocated until authorities start in the programme, and details of their projects, including a strong educational vision which supports Government priorities, are agreed.

Child Protection Offences

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria social services use in deciding whether to refer alleged child protection offences to the police for investigation. [40155]

Maria Eagle: The Government's inter-agency guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children" states that whenever the social services department encounters or has a case referred to it which constitutes, or may constitute, a criminal offence against a child, it should always inform the police at the earliest opportunity. This will enable both agencies to consider jointly how to proceed in the best interests of the child.
 
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Children with Disabilities

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding was allocated for the provision of after school care for children with disabilities in each London borough in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [39059]

Beverley Hughes: We are making funding available to all local authorities and schools up to 2008 to support them in setting up and embedding extended services in mainstream and special schools. The Government do not specify how much of this funding should be spent on disabled children. It will be for individual local authorities, in discussion with all schools in their area, to take a strategic approach to developing access to after school care through schools.

The Extended Schools prospectus issued in June 2005 makes it clear that children with disabilities or special educational needs must be able to access all new services, and schools have a responsibility to ensure this happens. The needs of children in particular schools will vary. Schools will need to work closely with parents to ensure that services are shaped around the needs of children and the wider community.

Class Sizes

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children aged between 11 and 16 years are taught in classes with a pupil-teacher ratio of more than one teacher to (a) 12, (b) 15 and (c) 18 pupils. [39226]

 
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Jacqui Smith: Pupil-teacher ratios are not available at class level.

In January 2005 the within school pupil-teacher ratio for maintained secondary schools was 16.7.

Information on the number of pupils in secondary schools, in classes taught by one teacher, by class size is shown as follows.
Maintained secondary schools^{(86)(5508580087)}: classes as taught by one teacher⁽⁸⁸⁾: January 2005

England
	Taught by one teacher
	Number of classes	Number of pupils
Classes of size:
One to12	19,997	156,767
13 to 15	10,077	141,705
16 to 18	13,008	221,974
19 plus	100,413	2,587,573
Total	143,495	3,108,019

⁽⁸⁶⁾ Includes middle schools as deemed.
⁽⁸⁷⁾ Includes secondary schools with a sixth form.
⁽⁸⁸⁾ Classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January.
Source:
Annual School Census

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children aged between five and 11 years are taught in classes in state run schools with a size of more than (a) 20, (b) 25 and (c) 28. [39250]

Jacqui Smith: The age of individual pupils in classes is not collected centrally. The available information is shown in the table.
Maintained primary and secondary schools ⁽⁸⁹⁾ classes as taught by one teacher ⁽⁹⁰⁾—January 2005

England
	Taught by 1 teacher
	Key Stage 1 (91)(5508580092)				Key Stage 2
	Maintained primary		Maintained secondary		Maintained primary		Maintained secondary
	Number of classes	Number of pupils	Number of classes	Number of pupils	Number of classes	Number of pupils	Number of classes	Number of pupils
Classes of size:
1 to 20	7,509	126,157	2	40	5,718	90,240	1	16
21 to 25	15,048	350,486	0	0	15,127	355,002	1	23
26 to 28	13,906	376,462	0	0	17,956	486,472	0	0
29 to 30	18,705	554,968	0	0	19,343	572,352	0	0
31+	695	22,077	1	34	15,340	498,546	1	31
Total	55,863	1,430,150	3	74	73,484	2,002,612	3	70

⁽⁸⁹⁾ Includes middle schools as deemed.
⁽⁹⁰⁾ Classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January.
⁽⁹¹⁾ Includes reception classes.
⁽⁹²⁾ Key Stage 1 classes of 31 or more may contain pupils who have been admitted as exceptions.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census

Compensation Claims

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the 10 most frequent types of compensation claims made against the education system since 1997. [39881]

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not collect this information.

Consultants

Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what change there has been in the use of consultants since the National Audit Office and Department for Education and Skills Internal Audit Report compiled in March entitled Engagement and Use of Consultants in the DfES. [39388]

Maria Eagle: Since the issue of the joint Internal Audit/National Audit Office report a range of steps have been taken to enhance the use and monitoring of consultants. These focus mostly on ensuring that managers are better aware of and comply more fully with best practice, including that sound and properly approved business cases are in place and contracts are robustly managed and evaluated. A Good Practice Guide has been produced, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library. We are also introducing better arrangements to collect information on
 
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consultants, what they are doing, the classification of costs and the implementation of consultants' recommendations.

Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the trade union side in her Department will receive a copy of the National Audit Office and Department for Education and Skills Internal Audit Report compiled in March 2005, entitled Engagement and Use of Consultants in the DfES. [39392]

Maria Eagle: The Department's Trade Union Side are aware that Internal Audit Reports are produced for internal management purposes and are not published. However, emerging findings form the Report were shared with the Trade Union Side in December 2004. An outcome of the report was the publication of a Good Practice Guide on the Engagement and Use of Consultants in the Department. This guidance has been welcomed by the Trade Union Side and is available to all staff via the Department's intranet. A copy of this guide has been placed in the House Library.

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