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20 Mar 2006 : Column 109W—continued
Single-sex Schools
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of single sex Muslim schools likely to be established over the next decade as a consequence of the Government's promotion of diversity of provision; and if she will make a statement. [59416]
Jacqui Smith: Promoters of new schools may bring forward proposals at any time in response to local parental demand. Before publishing proposals they must consult widely. The decision whether or not proposals are approved is made locally. Decision makers must have regard to guidance from the Secretary of State when considering proposals for new schools. The guidance requires them to take into account a range of factors, including the effect on standards, views of interested parties and the extent to which the proposals address the need to promote community cohesion. In particular, decision makers are required to consider any sex discrimination issues in relation to proposals for a single sex school. The number of new schools of any type which are established in future will continue to depend on local circumstances.
Special Educational Needs
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps, in addition to research, the Government are taking to address the over-representation of some minority ethnic groups among children who have been identified as having special educational needs; and if she will make a statement. [55960]
Maria Eagle:
We have taken steps to consult with key professionals in this area in order to identify gaps in knowledge, gain an understanding of their professional experiences and develop further awareness of issues in relation to the incidence of special educational needs among minority ethnic groups. The Department has commissioned research to establish the existence of any links between ethnicity and special educational needs. We will consider carefully the results of our consultations and the findings of the research in order to
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identify the most appropriate ways of addressing any issues of over-representation of some minority ethnic groups among children with special educational needs.
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children with a special educational need who had been excluded from school were readmitted in the last period for which figures are available. [58941]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases of exclusions for children with a special educational need have been referred to the Special Educational Need and Disability Tribunal. [58942]
Jacqui Smith: Since September 2002, when the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal first heard claims of disability discrimination, they have registered eight cases involving permanent exclusion and 53 cases involving fixed period exclusions from school. These are listed by year in the following table.
| Type of exclusion | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Fixed period | 10 | 16 | 27 |
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children with a special educational need have been given an individual education plan. [58944]
Maria Eagle: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in England have a special educational needs co-ordinating officer. [58945]
Maria Eagle: This information is not collected centrally. Under The Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) (England) Regulations 1999 the governing body of every maintained mainstream school must publish prescribed information, including the name of the person who is responsible for co-ordinating the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), whether or not the person is known as the SEN co-ordinator.
Staff Vetting
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what staff (a) vetting procedures and (b) mandatory criminal investigation checks are in place to safeguard children who attend (i) after school clubs held off school premises, (ii) drop-in cre(r)ches and nurseries and (iii) holiday clubs. [48379]
Ruth Kelly:
Ofsted registers after school clubs, creches, nurseries and holiday clubs which cater for children under the age of eight. As part of the registration process, Ofsted undertakes a range of checks on the person providing the facility and the person in day-to-day charge to ensure that they are suitable to look after children. These checks include identity checks, checks through the Criminal Records
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Bureau, checks with the person's GP, and checks against local authority social services records. During inspection Ofsted checks that the registered person has appropriate systems in place for Criminal Records Bureau checks for all new employees.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill, introduced on 28 February 2006 will provide the legislative framework for a new vetting and barring scheme. This scheme will include those working in childcare not registered by Ofsted, such as childcare for children aged over eight. Under the new scheme, where work, either paid and unpaid, involves frequent teaching, caring for or otherwise working closely with children, the employer will be required to check employees are not barred from working with children, and will be committing an offence if they employ a person so barred.
Sure Start
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on (a) Sure Start and Children's Fund regional teams and (b) the Sure Start task force in each year since 1999; and what the estimated expenditure is for the next three years. [59082]
Beverley Hughes: The role of the Sure Start and Children's Fund regional teams is to support and monitor the delivery of Sure Start and the Children's Fund by Local Authorities. The available administration expenditure figures for these teams are set out in Table 1. Part of the role of these teams has been transferred to Government Offices from April 2006. My Department is considering how best to deliver support to Local Authorities in rolling out Children's Centres in the period from now to 2010.
| Sure Start/Children's Fund (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 0.76 |
| 2001–02 | 1.47 |
| 2002–03 | 3.16 |
| 2003–04 | 4.03 |
| 2004–05 | 4.82 |
| 2005–06 | 4.50 |
Notes:
1.The figure for 2005–06 is an estimate.
2.Children's Fund figures are included from 2003–04 onwards.
The Sure Start Taskforce was set up in April 2005. There are currently 11 consultants in the Taskforce and their role is to support particular Local Authorities with issues related to the delivery of Sure Start. The budget for the Taskforce for the financial year 2005–06 was £800,000. The taskforce will be dissolved on 31 March 2006.
Mr. Hurd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many under-fives have participated in the Sure Start programme in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England since the programme's inception; [59644]
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(2) many under-fives entitled to free places on the Sure Start scheme are on waiting lists in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England; [59616]
(3) how many empty places there are in Sure Start nurseries in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England. [59617]
Beverley Hughes: Sure Start local programmes offer services to children under 4 years of age. Programmes were set up between 1999 and 2003. Information about the number of children seen is available from 2001 but is incomplete because reporting, in the early stages of the programme, from some programmes was irregular.
There are no Sure Start local programmes in the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood. The London borough of Hillingdon has one Sure Start local programme covering a 'catchment' area where 640 children under 4 live. This programme saw 593 children 1 between 2001 and 2005. There are 96 Sure Start local programmes in London. There are around 88,500 children under 4 in the 'catchment' areas for these programmes. 60,406 1 children were seen between 2001 and 2005. There are 524 Sure Start local programmes in England. There are over 420,000 children under 4 living in the 'catchment' areas for these programmes. 249,954 1 children were seen between 2001 and 2005.
Information on the number of children on waiting lists for Sure Start services or empty places in Sure Start nurseries is not collected centrally.
Sure Start Local Programmes monitoring returns between 2001 and 2005. The dataset is incomplete, and therefore presents a partial view only, as some programmes did not submit regular returns across the whole period.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what projects in Aylesbury constituency have received Sure Start funding; how much each received; and over what period of time the funding was paid in each case. [59713]
Beverley Hughes: There are no Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLP) in the Aylesbury constituency. However, within Buckinghamshire local authority, there is a SSLP situated in Wycombe. The authority also receives funding for Sure Start Children's Centres and it decides, in consultation with its delivery partners, how and where the funding is spent within its area. Funding for each of the programmes was as follows:
In addition, the SSLP in Wycombe was allocated capital of £835,000. This is not included in the table as it was not allocated to specific financial years.
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