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4 May 2006 : Column 1760W—continued
Extended School Hours
Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is available to ensure extended school hours are available to children in Burnley and Padiham. [66484]
Beverley Hughes: Over 2003–08 we are making available £840 million nationally to support the development of extended services accessed in or through schools. £9,871,039 of this will go to Lancashire over the period 2005–08. Local authorities are responsible for the distribution of funding in their area so that they can plan services across schools and communities. We do not breakdown funding by parliamentary constituency.
Lancashire has to date received £1.8 million, and will receive £3,531,061 in 2006–07 and £4,515,291 in 2007–08. Funding will be released to schools in accordance with each local authority's strategy for extended services.
Looked-after Children
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total number of looked after children was in each local authority in each year since 1997. [65451]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is provided in a table entitled Children looked after at 31 March by local authorities, 1997–2005" which can be accessed on the DfES website at:
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have been taken into care in each local authority in each year since 1997. [65452]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is provided in a table entitled Children who started to be looked after by local authorities in the years ending 1997 to 2005" which can be accessed on the DfES website at:
Ministerial Cars (Fuel Costs)
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the fuel costs were for ministerial cars used by her Department in each of the last five years. [67023]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Transport on 27 April, Official Report, column 1226W.
Nuffield Speech and Language Unit
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health about the future of the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit. [65289]
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will place in the Library copies of letters she has received about the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit. [66671]
Ruth Kelly: I have not received any letters about the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit.
Prison Education
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will list the mentoring programmes run by charitable organisations in prisons; [65575]
(2) if she will increase the role of mentoring in prison education. [65576]
Phil Hope: Information is not collected on the individual programmes run by the voluntary and community sector in prisons. The use of mentors is promoted in the 'Offender's Learning Journey' that sets out the offer to prisoners.
Plans to increase the role of mentoring are set out in our recent Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending through Skills and Employment'. This will play an important part of our new and stronger focus on employment for prisoners as well as supporting the delivery of literacy, numeracy and communications skills.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research has been undertaken by her Department into the impact of education and training on reconviction. [65805]
Phil Hope: Research on reconviction rates is a matter for the Home Office and they are undertaking a research study 'Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction' (SPCR). In our recent Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment' we outlined that there is research evidence to indicate that improving skills and employment for offenders can have a positive impact on the incidence of re-offending. In particular, evidence strongly suggests that employment and offending are linked, although this relationship is complex.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department has taken to inform the general public of the purpose and importance of prison education. [65806]
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Phil Hope: A communications campaign is being conducted to inform the public about the importance of learning and skills for all offenders, whether in prison or under supervision in the community. This is promoted through the DfES website, newsletters, conferences and seminars.
The recently published Green Paper 'Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment' set out our future plans and its launch was covered in local, sectoral and national media.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of education staff turnover rates in prisons in each year since 1997. [66551]
Fiona Mactaggart: Educational staff are generally employed under contract by educational providers. The information requested is not held by the Prison Service or by Department for Education and Skills or could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Pupils (Lincolnshire)
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils attending Lincolnshire county council schools reside in North East Lincolnshire; and if she will make a statement. [67032]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been provided in the following table.
(8)Includes middle deemed primary
(9)Includes middle deemed secondary.
(10)Includes special and non-maintained special.
(11)Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 years, solely registered or main registration of dually registered pupils, excludes boarders.
Source:
Annual Schools Census 2005.
Faith Schools
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what requirements are placed on maintained faith schools in relation to respecting the wishes of non-religious pupils and parents; [65144]
(2) what the legal responsibilities of (a) faith and (b) non-faith trust schools are in relation to (i)discrimination by religion in the employment of staff, (ii) the religious education syllabus, (iii) the holding of a daily act of worship and (iv) parental excusal from religious education and collective worship. [65174]
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Jacqui Smith: Religious education must be provided for all registered pupils in maintained schools, including trust schools.
All maintained schools, including trust schools, are under a statutory duty to provide a daily act of collective worship for all pupils. This will be of a general Christian nature unless the school is designated as having a religious character in which case the collective worship will be in the tenet of the faith school.
Parents of pupils at all maintained schools can request that their children be withdrawn from any or all parts of religious education and collective worship and the school is expected to comply with the request.
All schools, including trust schools but excluding voluntary aided schools with a religious designation, will follow the locally agreed syllabus for religious education as drawn up by Standing Committee on Religious Education and agreed by the local authority.
Trust schools are foundation schools with a foundation. Where this is a religious foundation and the school is designated as having a religious character the Governing Body, as employers, may take into account any candidates' suitability and ability to preserve and develop the religious character of the school in the appointment of the headteacher and reserve teachers in the schools.
The aforementioned flexibilities do not apply to non-faith schools. There are no such provisions for the appointment of other teaching staff or non-teaching staff.
In addition, all employers need to have regard to their responsibilities under employment and European law relating to equal opportunities.
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