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23 May 2006 : Column 1720W—continued
Dyslexic Children
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what resources are allocated in (a) Southend on Sea and (b) England to the training of teachers in detecting and teaching dyslexic children; and if he will make a statement; [71983]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of dyslexic (a) children and (b) adults in each of the last 10 years; [71984]
(3) what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on dyslexia; and if he will make a statement; [71985]
(4) what figures his Department collects on the number of children under 16 years of age with dyslexia; and if he will make a statement. [72451]
Mr. Dhanda: To be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS), all trainee teachers must demonstrate that they understand their responsibilities under the statutory SEN code of practice, know how to seek advice from specialists where necessary, and can differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of pupils, including those with SEN.
The National Standards for qualified teachers status and the Induction Programme for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT) both cover SEN, including specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. NQTs are required to demonstrate that they can plan effectively to meet the needs of pupils in their class with SEN, with or without a statement, and in consultation with the school's SEN Co-ordinator, contribute to the preparation and implementation of individual pupils’ education plans or the equivalent.
The Department is working with the Training and Development Agency for Schools to take forward a range of specific initiatives designed to improve the skills and confidence of trainee, newly qualified, and established teachers in supporting pupils with SEN and disabilities.
All schools have a school development grant that they can use, amongst other things, for the purposes of supporting the continuing professional development of teachers in relation to their understanding and knowledge of SEN and disability issues. A wide variety of courses are available covering SEN, including dyslexia, ranging from awareness-raising through to in-depth studies leading to specific qualifications. It is, however, a matter for individual teachers and their schools to determine their own particular training and development needs.
No information is collected centrally which would enable the Government to make an estimate of the number of children and adults with dyslexia. However, since 2004, the Department for Education and Skills have collected data on pupils by type of SEN as part of the annual school census. Dyslexia is included within specific learning difficulties (SpLD)—which also covers dyscalculia and dyspraxia. We have data on pupils with SEN at ‘School Action Plus’ and with a statement of SEN where SpLD is recorded as their primary need. The number of pupils aged under 16 with SpLD in maintained schools in 2006 was just under 77,000. We do not have data on pupils whose needs are met at ‘School Action’ or where SpLD is a secondary or other need.
The Department has not commissioned any recent research on dyslexia.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the capacity of further education institutions to administer the education maintenance allowance in-house from 2007-08. [50934]
Mr. Dhanda: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance
allowances for the DfES. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive has written to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 15 February 2006:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked ‘how much has been spent on administration of
educational maintenance allowance in each year since the scheme was piloted; and how much is expected to be spent in each year until 2009-10'.
EMA Pilots
It is not possible to be precise about the expenditure on administration during the pilot period. The table below shows the total expenditure and the approximated administration expenditure on the Education Maintenance Allowance pilots by financial year.
| £ million | |||||
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | |
EMA pilots were administered through local authorities in areas identified as having low percentages of young people staying on in education post-16. Administration costs were agreed on the basis of type of pilot and volumes, and were subject to audit. Payments varied across the local authorities but on average administration costs were around 3-4 % of the full claim made by the local authority.
EMA Main Scheme
The table below shows the main scheme EMA provision for future years made in Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) by financial year.
| £ million | ||||||
| (Actual) | (Planned) | (Planned) | (Planned) | (Planned) | (Planned) | |
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09( 1) | 2009-10( 1) | |
| (1 )The figures for 2008-09 and 2009-10 are dependent on the outcomes of the Comprehensive Spending Review. |
The EMA main scheme commenced from the beginning of the 2004/05 academic year and is administered through schools and colleges. The costs shown include set-up and publicity expenditure, payments to colleges and schools for them to set up administrative arrangements, and payments to the Assessment and Payment Body for processing.
Roll-out of the scheme is continuing, with consequent planned increases in volumes. From April EMA is also being extended to young people on Entry to Employment (E2E) and Programme Led Pathways. This expansion is covered within the figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08, and unit costs decrease as the scheme beds in.
I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question. If you would like further details please contact Philip Brewins at the LSC National Office on 0114 207 4513 or Philip. Brewins@lsc.gov.uk
Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of Wansdyke constituency are (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of the education maintenance allowance. [54391]
Mr. Dhanda: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom dated 15 March 2006:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question regarding Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received EMA is available at Local Education Authority (LEA) level, but not at constituency level. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payment in the academic year 2005/06.
Projections of the number of young people eligible for EMA are formed by applying income distributions (derived from the Family Resources Survey) and expected numbers in full-time further education. When applied to individual localities the figures may be subject to some variation but they provide a useful estimate.
The following table displays the data for South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset.
| Take-up of EMA in 2005/06 (by the end of January 2006) | ||
| LEA | Projected number eligible | Actual take-up |
In modelling EMA take-up we also produce projections for the number of young people expected to receive one or more EMA payment in each LEA. In producing these projections we have taken account of the take-up in the first year of the national scheme and factored an expected increase for year two. The following table displays this data.
| Take-up of EMA in 2005/06 (by the end of January 2006) | ||
| LEA | Projected take-up of EMA | Actual take-up |
I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question.
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in Cumbria are in receipt of the education maintenance allowance. [67331]
Mr. Dhanda: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council’s Chief Executive has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 5 May 2006:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked “How many pupils in Cumbria are in receipt of the education maintenance allowance?”
By the end of March 2006, 3,611 young people in the Cumbria local education authority area had applied, enrolled and received one or more EMA payment during the academic year 2005/06.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will raise the threshold of parental income for the payments of education maintenance allowance (EMA); and what assessment he has made of the impact of replacing the entry to employment scheme with EMA. [72246]
Mr. Dhanda: I can confirm that the household income thresholds that are used to determine eligibility for receipt of education maintenance allowance (EMA) have been increased. The household income thresholds (for applications based on the tax year 2005-06) have been increased in line with the retail prices index as follows:
| EMA award (£) | |
To respond to the second part of your question, I need to clarify that the Entry to Employment scheme is still being operated and will not be replaced by EMA.
From April 2006, the package of financial support provided to 16 to 19-year-old learners in school sixth forms/further education colleges, has been extended to young people participating in unwaged training programmes (Entry to Employment and Programme led Pathways) funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The extension of EMA to unwaged trainees should not be regarded as simply the replacement of the training allowance by EMA. It is a full package of financial support which will extend EMA to unwaged trainees and extend child benefit and child tax credit to their parents/carers. This will mean more money for the majority of unwaged trainees and their families, who are typically low to middle income households. Those young people who are estranged from their parents/carers, and entitled to claim benefits in their own right, will also be much better off as they will be able to claim income support in addition to their EMA.
The LSC will monitor and evaluate the impact of these reforms and will report progress on implementing them to my officials at the Department for Education and Skills.
Education Spending
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on (a) nursery, (b) primary and (c) secondary education in (i) Cornwall and (ii) England in 2005-06. [72783]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not yet available. The Department is due to collect the section 52 Outturn data relating to the 2005-06 financial year from August 2006.
Former Civil Servants (Consultants)
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many former members of his Department have notified the civil service authorities under civil service regulations that they are working for (a) lobbyists and (b) consultants; which companies are involved in each case; and whether the company is employed by his Department. [68627]
Mr. Dhanda: The information in the form requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
All staff who leave the Department are subject to the Business Appointment Rules issued by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.
A list of all Business Appointment applications considered by the advisory committee is published in the committee's annual report, copies of which can be obtained from the Library.
Foster Care
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in England are waiting to be placed with foster parents. [73175]
Mr. Dhanda: There is currently no central collection of data regarding the number of children in England who are waiting to be placed with foster carers.
However, work to develop an annual return on foster care is currently being taken forward by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, with a view to collecting data from all fostering providers from summer 2006.
Leased Land
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) land and (b) property his Department (i) leases and (ii) leased in (A) 1979, (B) 1983, (C) 1987, (D) 1992 and (E) 1997 in (1) the Southend, West constituency, (2) Essex, (3) Hertfordshire and (4) the Metropolitan Police area of London. [72119]
Mr. Dhanda: The Secretary of State for Education and Skills does not currently lease any land or property in any of the areas in question. Historical information is not available.
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