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12 Jan 2006 : Column 818W—continued
Special Advisers
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the special advisers in post in his Department, broken down by pay band; and what the total budgeted cost to his Department of special advisers is for 2005–06. [29418]
Mrs. McGuire: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office on 16 November 2005, Official Report, column 1258W.
Information relating to costs for 2005–06 will be published after the end of the current financial year.
State Pension
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of the basic pension would have been for (a) individuals and (b) couples in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 2006–07 if it had been increased in line with average earnings each year from April 1980. [41722]
Mr. Timms:
The information is in the table.
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| 1997–98 | 2006–07 | |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | 95.45 | 136.75 |
| Couples | 152.95 | 219.10 |
Notes:
1.All figures are in cash terms.
2.In April 1980 the rate of Basic State Pension was £23.30 (£37.30 for a couple).
3.There are no singles or couples rate as such, the basic state pension is an individual benefit; although the Category A rate is commonly referred to as the singles rate, and the combination of the Category A and Category B rate paid to married women is commonly referred to as the couples rate.
4.Figures are based on the April 1980 rate of basic state pension uprated in line with growth in the seasonally unadjusted Average Earnings Index (including bonuses) to September in each year, They take account of the convention that rates of basic state pension are rounded to the nearest 5p.
5.The actual level of the basic state pension was £62.45 (£99.80 for a couple) in 1997–98. The proposed rate is £84.25 (£134.75 for a couple) in 2006–07.
Winter Fuel Payments
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many eligible pensioners failed to claim winter fuel payments in the last three years for which figures are available. [40737]
Mr. Timms: Most people who qualify for a winter fuel payment do not need to make a claim because they are paid automatically from DWP records. Some people aged 60 or over who are not in receipt of a benefit administered by DWP do need to claim. Many men aged 60–64, for example, fall into this category and need to claim. It is, however, not possible to estimate how many eligible pensioners have not claimed.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
School Sports
12. Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to improve the teaching of physical education in schools. [41073]
Jacqui Smith: In the five years up to 2008, the Government is investing over £1.5 billion in delivering the national PE and school sport strategy. Within this strategy the PE and school sport professional development programme is raising the quality of teaching in PE by ensuring that teachers are able to deliver a broad, balanced and inclusive programme of PE and sport in schools. The programme is free to all teachers in maintained schools in England. So far this year, over 43,000 teacher places have been taken up on the programme.
Universities
13. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government is taking to enable the most popular universities to expand. [41074]
Bill Rammell:
We have increased the total annual funding for Higher Education by some £2 billion since taking office to enable institutions to educate over 250,000 more students a year over the same period. Popular institutions wishing to expand are free to
12 Jan 2006 : Column 820W
submit proposals for growth to the Higher Education Funding Council for England which distributes the grant we make available for them.
Schools (Out-of-hours Facilities)
14. Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to improve out-of-hours facilities provided by schools. [41075]
Jacqui Smith: We have committed £840 million to help develop extended services, including high quality child care, study support, and before and after school clubs, so that they are accessible through all our schoolsby 2010. We have also appointed the National Remodelling Team to provide support to schools and local authorities in developing extended services. Good progress is being made with 4,400 schools, thus far, indicating their willingness to work on developing extended services.
Looked-after Children
15. Mrs. Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to improve the life chances of looked-after children. [41076]
Maria Eagle: Since the £885 million Quality Protects initiative, we have taken further steps to improve chances for looked after children, including: investing an extra £113 million through the Choice Protects initiative to improve placement choice, particularly foster care. In addition to our wide reforms of children's services, we are seeking to improve placement stability and have introduced a duty to promote educational achievement. We will be consulting this year on further proposals for improving outcomes for Looked After Children.
Small Classes
16. David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will fund smaller classes for children who are not reaching the required educational standard; and if she will make a statement. [41077]
Jacqui Smith: The Schools White Paper, Higher Standards, Better Schools For All", announced our plans for personalised learning, and in particular for catch-up lessons for pupils who are falling behind. £335 million has been earmarked within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2006–08, to provide the resources secondary schools need to start delivering personalised learning for pupils in Key Stage 3, particularly for those who have fallen behind in literacy and numeracy and for those who are gifted or talented.
£230 million of DSG for 2006–08 was earmarked in the Schools Funding Announcement on 7 December 2005 to personalise learning in primary schools. This will enable schools to provide more effective small group and one-to-one tuition.
In addition, an extra £60 million in each of 2006–07 and 2007–08 will be shared among the primary and secondary sectors, targeted at schools with the largest numbers of pupils who have fallen behind in English and maths.
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School Admissions
17. Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills Whether, as part of further schools reform, she intends to require all schools to follow the existing admissions code of practice; and if she will make a statement. [41078]
Jacqui Smith: All schools must have regard to the existing statutory School Admissions Code of Practice and comply with the legislation on school admissions which prevents the introduction of new selection by ability. Schools cannot introduce unlawful arrangements. If they introduce arrangements which are not in line with the good practice in the Code, their local authority should object to those arrangements to the school adjudicators. Adjudicator decisions are binding.
Special Needs
18. Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills What steps she plans to take to improve the co-ordination of services for children with special needs and their families. [41079]
Maria Eagle: The Every Child Matters" Change for Children Programme aims to improve the coordination of services for children and families through children's trust arrangements, children's centres and extended schools. The programme will enable us to better deliver improved services for children with special needs and disabled children and their families, as set out in the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People".
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were recorded as having a requirement for (a) a statement of educational need, (b) School Action and (c) School Action Plus in (i)2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05. [40723]
Maria Eagle: The available information is given in the tables.
(32)Incidence of pupils—the number of pupils with statements expressed as a proportion of the number of pupils on roll.
(33)Placement of pupils—the number of pupils with statements expressed as a proportion of the number of pupils with statements in all schools.
(34)Including general and special hospital schools.
(35)Excluding dually registered pupils.
(36)Includes direct grant nursery schools and city technology colleges and academies.
Note:
Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Annual Schools Census
12 Jan 2006 : Column 822W
(37)Excludes general hospital schools. Data for pupils with SEN without statements is not collected from these schools.
(38)Incidence of pupils—the number of pupils with SEN without statements expressed as a proportion of pupils on roll.
(39)Placement of pupils—the number of pupils with SEN without statements expressed as a proportion of pupils with SEN without statements in all schools.
(40)May include some pupils recorded at statutory assessment stage.
(41)Excludes dually registered pupils.
(42)Includes pupils with other providers.
(43)Includes Direct Grant Nursery schools, City Technology Colleges and Academies.
(44)Less than 5.
Note:
Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Annual Schools Census
12 Jan 2006 : Column 823W
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