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27 Jun 2006 : Column 312W—continued
School Milk
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) whether participants in the school milk scheme are required to supply equal amounts of whole and skimmed dairy products; [77761]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of participation in the school milk scheme on schools' ability to meet school meals nutritional standards. [77762]
Mr. Dhanda: The new nutritional standards for school food, announced on 19 May 2006, allow only skimmed or semi-skimmed milk to be provided or made available to pupils.
There is no requirement on participants in the EU milk subsidy scheme in relation to the proportion of whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk products that should be provided.
There are currently different rates of subsidy for whole milk and semi-skimmed milk. Officials in the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Rural Payments Agency are considering the impact on levels of subsidy of the new nutritional standards.
Sure Start
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he is taking to guarantee funding of the Sure Start scheme in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [80494]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Waltham Cross Sure Start mini programme has become a Sure Start Children’s Centre. We have made a total of £20,242,933 revenue available to Hertfordshire county council as part of the council’s 2006-08 General Sure Start Grant, which includes funding for Sure Start Children’s Centres. How revenue is distributed to individual centres is a matter for Hertfordshire. However, we have asked local authorities to ensure that revenue funding is continued to be made available to Sure Start local programmes including mini programmes in their Sure Start Children’s Centres plan.
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to promote the retention of health visitors by Sure Start initiatives in Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [80495]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The recent Department of Health White Paper, “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services” encouraged the delivery of health visitor and midwifery through Sure Start Children’s Centres. We have been working closely with the Department of Health to ensure consistent messages to local authorities and PCTs. Health visitors and midwives, whether based in a Sure Start Centre or operating some sessions from it, will provide ante-natal and post-natal support to families of young children in the area. The precise way in which these services are organised is a matter for an individual local authority to determine, working with their local primary care trust and other health sector partners.
Teachers (Criminal Records)
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether newly appointed teachers will be allowed to commence work pending a response from the Criminal Records Bureau. [79805]
Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 26 June 2006]: Yes. Head teachers will continue to have discretion to allow staff to start work before they receive their disclosure, provided that they have been checked against List 99 and that all other necessary pre-appointment checks have been carried out on them. Head teachers should also reach a judgment on the appropriate level of supervision for such staff.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he expects all required Criminal Records Bureau checks on teachers to be completed for the commencement of the autumn term. [79807]
Mr. Dhanda
[holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has informed the Department that it expects to meet requirements for
processing applications under existing arrangements, for new appointees to take up positions in the autumn term, provided that all applications have been completed correctly and the required identity checks have been made.
In response to Ofsted’s recent report, “Safeguarding Children-An evaluation of procedures for checking staff appointed by schools”, which identified that some schools did not maintain complete records of employee checks undertaken, the Secretary of State has asked all schools and colleges to make sure they have the records they need to demonstrate that they have undertaken identity, qualifications and List 99/CRB checks on their staff. We expect schools to be able to obtain the necessary information that checks have been undertaken from the individuals concerned or from their local authority or human resources provider. It is only where records cannot be obtained for checks of staff who have joined the school after 1 March 2002 that a new CRB check will need to be undertaken. The CRB will provide its full support to the Department for Education and Skills in managing any additional intake.
Duchy of Lancaster
Aliens' Employment Act
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many certificates under the Aliens' Employment Act 1955 permitting employment of aliens in the civil service are in force; how many there were in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06; and in which Departments those holding such a certificate work. [79145]
Mr. McFadden: The total number of aliens’ certificates in force during 2005-06 was 67. This compares with 58 in 2004-05 and 57 in 2003-04.
The Departments and agencies employing aliens and the numbers of aliens’ certificates in force during 2005-06 are shown in the table.
| Department | Number of aliens certificates in force during 2005-06 |
Correspondence
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the average cost to the Cabinet Office was of replying to a letter written by (a) an hon. Member and (b) a member of the public, in the last period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (i) officials’ time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs. [80510]
Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on Thursday 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 75-80WS.
The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Delivery Unit
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will make a statement on the recent work of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit. [79557]
Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit is providing support to Departments on aspects of the delivery of the Government's top public service priorities in health, education, home affairs and housing and planning. The unit is also leading a programme of capability reviews, designed to improve Departments’ performance in pursuing their current objectives and tackling future challenges.
Public Sector Information
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2006, Official Report, column 1377W, on public sector information, what the estimated viewing figures are of each public information film commissioned since 1997;
which Government Department commissioned each film; at which dayparts each film was shown; and what the estimated airtime value was of each film. [79319]
Mr. McFadden: The detail requested for each film and for the period requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However a breakdown of daypart spread and estimated airtime value by client is available for the period 1 January 2001 to 31 March 2006 and has been placed in the Library.
Also included is an estimate of television ratings by client for the period since these data became available in July 2005. These figures cover only public information films currently in circulation.
The figures quoted refer to television broadcast transmissions only. They do not include out of home media, websites or usage by intermediaries such as road safety officers, fire safety officers etc.
Health
A and E Waiting Times
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for accident and emergency departments at hospitals in the Greater London area in each of the last five years. [79228]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected on the average waiting time in accident and emergency (A and E) departments. However, since 2002-03 information on the number and percentage of all attenders who were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival at A and E has been collected and published quarterly. Information for national health service organisations in London is shown in the following table for the second quarter of 2002-03 to 2005-06.
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