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EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academic Performance

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on academic performance by (a) primary and (b) secondary pupils in (i) Somerset schools, (ii) England and (iii) the south west. [41452]

Jacqui Smith: The 2005 national results show that standards in both primary and secondary schools are continuing to rise, with improvements at every key stage this year. Since 1997 at key stage 2, English has increased by 16 percentage points (pp) to 79 per cent. and in maths by 13 pp to 75 per cent.. Provisional results
 
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at key stage 3 show English has increased by 17 pp to 74 per cent.; in maths by 14 pp to 74 per cent.; in science by 10 pp to 60 per cent.; and in ICT by 19 pp to 69 per cent. At key stage 4 provisional results show the percentage of pupils achieving 5+A*-C GCSEs has increased by 10.6 pp to 55.7 per cent.

Standards of educational attainment in both primary and secondary schools in (a) Somerset and (b) the south west show that performance is above that of the national average. A summary of the 2005 outcomes is set out in the following table.

Information about education and skills by constituency is made available by the Department through the 'In Your Area' web site, available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea.
Performance level⁽¹⁵⁾

	Primary—KS2 percentage achieved level 4+			Secondary—KS3 percentage achieved level 5+				Secondary—KS4 percentage achieved 5+ A*-C
	English	Maths	Science	English	Maths	Science	ICT	GCSE or equivalent
Somerset(16)	80	76	88	77	77	75	75	57.9
National	79	75	86	74	74	70	69	55.7
South West	79	75	87	75	75	73	72	55.8

⁽¹⁵⁾Data for KS2 is amended. For KS3 and KS4 data are provisional.
⁽¹⁶⁾Overall figures for Bath and NE Somerset, North Somerset and Somerset local authorities.

Administrative Costs

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which functions of her core Department are carried out in (a) England and (b) London; and what administrative costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year. [39828]

Maria Eagle: All the core functions of the Department of Education and Skills are carried out in England at four locations, one of which is London. The Department and HM Treasury do not monitor administration costs by region. Further details of the Department's expenditure, including administration expenditure, are outlined in the Department for Education and Skills' Departmental Report 2005, a copy of which is available in the House Library (Cm6522).

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total administrative costs for her core Department are; and whether these are regarded as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses. [39839]

Bill Rammell: The total administration costs for the Department are outlined in Annex E of the Department for Education and Skills' Departmental Report 2005, a copy of which is available in the House Library (Cm6522). All administration costs are identifiable for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses.

Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the administrative costs were of each agency for which she has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs areregarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [39856]

Bill Rammell: The Department for Education and Skills is not responsible for any agencies. Further details of the Department's expenditure are outlined in the Department for Education and Skills' departmental report 2005, a copy of which is available in the House Library (Cm6522).

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the administrative costs were of each non-departmental public body for which she has responsibility in the last year for which figures are available; what the total of such costs was in that year; and whether the costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as (a) identifiable and (b) non-identifiable. [40066]

Bill Rammell: The administrative costs for 2004–05 of those non-departmental public bodies for which the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has responsibility are listed as follows. All of these costs are regarded for the purposes of public expenditure statistical analyses as identifiable costs.
Net administration costs of non-departmental public bodies^{(17)(5508620018)}

	£000
Adult Learning Inspectorate	25,818
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency	15,460
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service	105,304
Higher Education Funding Council for England	18,304
Investors in People	2,297
Learning and Skills Council	212,257
National College for School Leadership	17,677
Office for Fair Access(19)	410
Partnership for Schools(19)	7,667
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority	41,141
Sector Skills Development Agency	5,715
Student Loans Company(20)	48,337
Training and Development Agency for Schools	14,476
Construction Industry Training Board(21)	39,844
Engineering Construction Industry Training Board(21)	93
Total	554,800

⁽¹⁷⁾Receipts relating to administration costs have been deducted.
⁽¹⁸⁾Out-turn figures are from individual NDPB annual accounts.
⁽¹⁹⁾The Office for Fair Access and Partnership for Schools are new NDPBs set up in 2004–05.
⁽²⁰⁾The SLC administration figures are for the whole of the UK and include contributions from Scotland and Ireland.
⁽²¹⁾Funded by industry levies and not from DfES funds.



 
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Cassels Report

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to implement the recommendation of Sir John Cassels in 2001 that a clearing house be developed for prospective apprentices and employers; when she expects to implement such a system; and if she will make a statement. [42329]

Phil Hope: We are committed to implementing the recommendation of a clearing house from the Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee report in 2001, and are currently working with the Learning and Skills Council to build on good practice from the various local, regional and sector-based models that are already operating. Our plans for 14–19 reform include significant engagement with employers, and we are considering a form of clearing house which will incorporate other opportunities for young people to gain experience in the workplace, such as work placements. The recently published 14–19 Implementation Plan states our intention to develop a clearing house by 2007/08.

Child Care Bodies

Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many regulatory bodies for which her Department has responsibility regulate child care; and if she will make a statement. [42119]

Beverley Hughes: One. Ofsted regulates child care in England for children under eight. Through the Childcare Bill currently before Parliament, we are taking forward the commitments in our 10-year child care strategy published in December 2004 on reforming the regulation and inspection of child care.
 
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Children's Centres

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres opened in each year from 1999–2000; how many she expects will open in each year to 2010–11; and if she will make a statement. [41296]

Beverley Hughes: No Sure Start Children's Centres were opened between 1999–2002. Local authorities were asked to start planning the development of Children's Centres in February 2003 and 67 centres were designated in 2003–04. An additional 163 centres were designated in 2004–05, and we expect a further 600 centres to be designated in 2005–06. Local authorities are still developing plans for children centre delivery for 2006–08, and a breakdown of numbers of centres to be opened in these years is not centrally available. However, by the end of this period we expect at least 2,500 to be designated. The Government intend to develop 3,500 Sure Start children's centres by 2010. This will mean every community in England will have a children centre co-ordinating a range of integrated services for pre-school children and their parents.

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