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16 Mar 2006 : Column 2386W—continued
Child Care
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the availability of child care for parents who work at weekends; and if she will make a statement. [57868]
Beverley Hughes: We do not collect centrally data for the availability of child care for parents who work at weekends. However, the Repeat Study of Parents' Demand for Childcare (2002)" survey captures information on the use of child care. It reported that around 22 per cent. of lone parent households and 11 per cent. of couples used weekend child care.
The Childcare Bill, which had its 3rd reading in the House of Commons on the 9 March, places a duty on local authorities to secure, as far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient child care in order to enable parents to take up or remain in work or education and training.
Local authorities will be required to assess the needs of parents, including for child care at weekend and other atypical working patterns, and take them into account when deciding how to develop strategies for meeting local need.
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Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many childminders have been registered since the introduction of the new light touch voluntary accreditation scheme announced in Budget 2004. [59083]
Beverley Hughes: 9,102 childminders have registered with Ofsted since 6 April 2005 when voluntary accreditation was introduced. The Childcare Approval Scheme (GAS) is for two groups:
1,632 carers were approved under the (CAS) in the same period. We do not distinguish between these two groups in the data collection.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital investment from her Department has been spent on the provision of child care services for three and four-year-olds; and if she will make a statement. [59084]
Beverley Hughes: The General Sure Start Grant made available £335.8 million capital in 2004–06 for the delivery of children's services. Local authorities have been given the freedom to use funding to develop a range of provision including creating children's centres, expanding playgroups and nurseries; this includes child care provision for three and four-year-olds.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what child care services the additional capital investment in (a) 2006–07 and (b) 2007–08 will fund; and if she will make a statement. [59085]
Beverley Hughes: The General Sure Start Grant will make available £420.7 million in 2006–07 and £392.4 million in 2007–08 in capital funding. Local authorities have been given the freedom to determine how best to invest these funds to deliver the Ten Year Childcare Strategy, including the development of children's centres, extended schools and other child care.
Children's Centres
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what types of early interventions children's centres are expected to offer families with a disabled child; [58736]
(2) how many disabled children, as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, have received a service from Sure Start local programmes. [58737]
Beverley Hughes:
The Sure Start Children's Centres Practice Guidance, published in November 2005, states clearly that disabled children should be fully included in all services provided by children's centres. It highlights the need to tailor services to meet the needs of individual disabled children. It outlines appropriate services, including: family support, portage and home-visiting; key workers to help parents of severely disabled children access services; therapy; early years provision and information. It also indicates that children's centres should use the Early Support resources and approaches to provide effective early intervention.
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Information on how many disabled children have received a service from Sure Start local programmes is not available centrally.
Degree Systems
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she plans to take to reconcile (a) the two year accelerated degrees proposed in the 2003 Higher Education White Paper and (b) the five and six year medicine and dentistry courses with the three cycle degree system proposed in the Bologna process. [58978]
Bill Rammell: The Bologna process is about responding to the challenge of globalisation and improving the competitiveness of European higher education. While it seeks to improve the compatibility and comparability of European higher education systems, it is not about harmonisation.
Work on the feasibility of two year accelerated degrees in England is being taken forward through a series of pilot exercises in a number of individual higher education institutions (HEIs). Before we take any decision about enabling HEIs to offer accelerated degrees more widely, we will need to be satisfied that the learning outcomes from such courses are equivalent in terms of the knowledge, competences and skills acquired by students to those of a more traditional course.
Medicine and dentistry courses prepare students not only in the theory of their subject but also give them a range of practical experience leading ultimately to a licence to practise. The arrangements in other European countries are similar. The implications of the Bologna process for medical and dental qualifications also need to be considered alongside EU directives on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications within EU countries. The higher education sector is currently considering, with expert stakeholders from both the medical and dental fields, whether any further action is needed to align these courses more closely to the Bologna principles.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to protect four-year mechanical engineering courses following the proposed three cycle degree system under the Bologna process. [58980]
Bill Rammell: Four year courses leading to a Masters qualification exist in a number of higher education institutions in several scientific disciplines. I understand that they are popular with both students and employers. Decisions on whether or not to offer such courses are a matter for individual institutions. Provided these courses achieve learning outcomes that are equivalent to those of the more traditional Bachelors/Masters model, that they conform to the Bologna principles.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance she has issued to higher education institutions on how best to engage with the Bologna process. [58982]
Bill Rammell:
The Department works closely with the sector-wide UK Higher Education (HE) Europe unit to raise awareness of the Bologna process among higher
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education institutions (HEIs) in the UK. Last year the Europe unit produced a guide to the Bologna process for the sector. The unit holds regular discussion groups and conferences on Bologna themes and issues policy position statements and newsletters. The Department also works with the network of UK Bologna promoters that is funded by the European Commission. They are based in individual HEIs and are active in supporting the implementation of Bologna process across the UK.
European Institute of Technology
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received from higher education establishments on the European Commission's proposal to establish a European Institute of Technology. [58976]
Bill Rammell: I have received direct representations from Universities UK (UUK) on the Commission's proposal to establish the European Institute of Technology (EIT). I understand that some UK universities also wrote directly to the Commission about this. The universities raised a number of concerns about the proposal, including the risk that the EIT would unhelpfully divert funding from the Framework Programme 7 or the European Research Council.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the European Commission's proposal to establish a European Institute of Technology. [58981]
Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 530W.
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