Written Answers to Questions
Monday 3 July 2006
Education and Skills
Alcoholism
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will commission an inquiry into the effects of alcoholism on children and families and to explore possible solutions. [79327]
Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
The Government are aware that the quality of a parent-child relationship has a significant impact on the child's health and well-being. With this in mind, through the new provisions of the Children Act 2004 and ‘Every Child Matters’ Change for Children programme, we are building a much stronger statutory and multi-agency framework that will strengthen services for all children in need, and in need of protection, including those affected by alcoholism.
The effects of alcoholism are well understood and the Government are committed to working with local frontline services to support children and families affected.
A-levels
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the planned harder questions at A-level for advanced students will be (a) sat as separate exams and (b) included as additional questions on examination papers sat by all students. [81772]
Jim Knight: We received advice from QCA on A-level stretch and challenge last year and in January. Ministers agreed to trial three options: a separate section at the end of A-level papers; a separate paper; incorporate harder questions into all A2 papers and add to grading scale. QCA will begin to trial/model these options from the autumn through to February 2007.
The changes to A-levels will build upon the strengths of the existing qualifications in order to increase stretch and challenge, to provide greater differentiation in order to help universities choose between candidates with similar results.
BECTA
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the work of the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency. [80863]
Phil Hope [holding answer 28 June 2006]: In line with Government practice that some non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) were reviewed every five years, the Department conducted an overall assessment of the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) which was published in March 2003. Copies of the report are lodged in the House of Commons Library.
Becta’s work is assessed through the governance and programme management arrangements that the Department has in place, which include:
representation as an assessor on Becta’s Board by the Department’s Technology Group Director;
regular business reviews of Becta's delivery against the Department’s priorities.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to replace the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency inclusion team with a new support team for special educational needs; and if he will make a statement. [80861]
Phil Hope: The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) is a non-departmental public body responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of my e-strategy priorities in education and children's services—which includes support for all learners including those with special educational needs. BECTA's internal organisational structures are a matter for the organisation.
Building Schools for the Future
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what guidelines he has issued to the local authorities asked to participate in the Building Schools for the Future programme on the renovation of sports facilities; [79705]
(2) what recent discussions he has held with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the renovation of school sports facilities; and if he will make a statement; [79706]
(3) whether schools which have received grants under the New Opportunities Fund for Physical Education and Sport are eligible for funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement. [79707]
Jim Knight
[holding answer 22 June 2006]: The Building Schools for the Future programme adopts an area approach to transforming secondary provision. For each phase of the programme, local authorities are required to develop an educational vision in line with our guidance, which takes into account a range of policy areas, including PE and sport facilities, and community use. Our Building Schools for the Future guidance to local authorities covers the preparation of educational visions, joining up all potential sources of funding and the design of school buildings and facilities. All of our guidance documents make clear that schools and local authorities should consider the extent to which any proposed new or refurbished facilities will enable all pupils to take part in at least two hours each week of high quality PE and sport, and
if they want to, up to four hours including out of normal school hours. Authorities’ plans are subject to rigorous challenge before projects can proceed to procurement.
Ministers from this Department meet regularly with our Culture, Media and Sport counterparts to discuss our joint schools' PE and sports strategy, including curriculum matters and the community use of facilities.
Schools which have received investment through other sources of funding such as the Big Lottery Fund (formerly the New Opportunities Fund) are still eligible for Building Schools for the Future investment. We encourage local authorities and schools in Building Schools for the Future to seek other sources of funding to join up with their projects. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Big Lottery Fund contribute to our guidance, which also seeks to ensure that investment from various sources remains complementary.
Child Care
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research into the child care market his Department has commissioned in the past 12 months; what research reports have been published; and if he will make a statement. [80313]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Department is highly committed to furthering our understanding of the child care market to enable the effective development and implementation of policy in this area.
To help achieve this the Department has commissioned a number of studies in this area in the past 12 months. These are:
2006-08 Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers;
Evaluation of the London Childcare Affordability Pilot;
The Childcare Market.
The Department has also published the following research reports in this area:
A Longitudinal Study of Local Childcare Markets (June 2005);
Childcare and Early Years Provision: A Study of Parents’ Use, Views and Experiences (March 2006);
2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey (May 2006).
These reports are available on the DfES website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/
City Technology Colleges
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many admission appeals there have been in each City Technology College in each year since they opened. [81462]
Jim Knight: City Technology Colleges (CTCs) are independent schools. The Department does not hold this information.
Comprehensive Spending Review
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Treasury regarding the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007; and if he will make a statement. [81771]
Alan Johnson: I have had and will continue to have regular discussions with the Treasury about the key challenges and issues for the Comprehensive Spending Review period and about the work programme that the Treasury and my Department are engaged in as part of the Review.
Construction-related NVQs
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many women began construction-related NVQs at (a) Level 1, (b) Level 2, (c) Level 3 and (d) Technical Level in (i) England and (ii) Merseyside in each year since 2001-02, broken down by age; and how many completed those courses. [80608]
Phil Hope: 40 per cent. of apprentices are female but we recognise there are some major imbalances in different occupations. One of the ways we are addressing this is working with the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and sector bodies to improve information, broaden choice and explore more flexible Apprenticeship learning opportunities. These include new entry arrangements into Apprenticeships to help young people develop skills before they find an employer. We are also trialling Apprenticeships for more mature workers.
The LSC maintain a website detailing starts, leavers and completions of individual frameworks http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/partners/frameworks/apprenticeshipsdata/ However, published figures are not broken down to the level of detail requested. For this reason Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Rob Wye, dated 28 June 2006:
I am responding on behalf of Mark Haysom, due to him currently being on annual leave, to your Parliamentary Question that asked the number of completed Heavy Vehicle Fitter Apprenticeships in England and Greater Merseyside, broken down by gender in each of the last 5 years.
The Vehicle Fitting Apprenticeship framework was implemented on 1(st) September 2005. This is in effect its first year for apprentices to enrol onto and as yet there is no usable framework completion data at any geographical level.
Prior to 1(st) September 2005 there were more generic Apprenticeship frameworks in operation for the Retail Motor Industry. An analysis of these framework completions where the NVQ within the framework is for “Vehicle Fitting” shows the following results,
| Greater Merseyside | England | |||
| Female | Male | Female | Male | |
| Table 1: Automotive Industry Frameworks completed with a Vehicle Fitting NVQ as the main aim (Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 for reasons of disclosure) Source: LSC WBLILR. | ||||
Specific information regarding heavy vehicle fitting is not available at framework level or at NVQ qualification level, hence this response can only look at vehicle fitting in general.
The Learning and Skills Council publishes regular statistical information on Apprenticeships including framework completion data on its website (www.apprenticeships.org.uk). The information is provided for each Apprenticeship framework and as such the volume of completers nationally will be provided in future updates.
Consistent and high quality data is only available from the first full academic year following the commencement of the Learning and Skills Council in April 2001. For this reason the table above only shows information for the past three full academic years.
I trust this provides the information you require.
Departmental Guidance
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many separate pieces of guidance to schools have been issued by his Department in each of the last nine years. [80039]
Jim Knight: The number of documents sent automatically to all primary and all secondary schools is detailed in the following table. Where a document has been sent to both primary and secondary schools it will appear in the totals for both.
| Primary | Secondary | |
The Department only sends hard copy publications automatically to schools in England in exceptional cases having stopped regular paper mailings in December 2004. Discussions with Head teachers and detailed research showed that schools wanted to be able to choose the printed publications they needed, when they needed them, and to be able to order multiple copies.
The online ordering system enables schools to choose whether to download electronic copies or order the paper based publications they need at the right time for them and in the multiples they require. This system is linked directly to the fulfilment service and an existing telephone ordering line. A fortnightly email service to schools informs them of new and important publications.
This has resulted in schools being able to order a wider variety of publications from the Department, putting schools in direct control of what they receive, when they receive it.
Departmental Information
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many documents were sent from his Department to head teachers of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) hard copy and (ii) via e-mail in the past 12 months. [80457]
Jim Knight [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Department sent 27 e-mails automatically to all primary and secondary schools within the last 12 months. These e-mails provided schools with a regular update on the information and resources available to them online and in hard copy. No hard copy documents were sent to all schools in the last 12 months.
The Department only sends hard copy publications automatically to all primary and secondary schools in England in exceptional cases having stopped regular paper mailings in December 2004. Discussions with head teachers and detailed research showed that schools wanted to be able to choose the printed publications they needed, when they needed them, and to be able to order multiple copies.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many circulars were sent by his Department to schools via email in the past 12 months. [80465]
Jim Knight [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Department sent 27 emails automatically to all primary and secondary schools within the last 12 months. These emails provided schools with a regular update on the information and resources available to them online and in hard copy.
The Department only sends hard copy publications automatically to schools in England in exceptional cases having stopped regular paper mailings in December 2004. Discussions with head teachers and detailed research showed that schools wanted to be able to choose the printed publications they needed, when they needed them, and to be able to order multiple copies.
The online ordering system enables schools to choose whether to download electronic copies or order the paper based publications they need at the right time for them and in the multiples they require. This system is linked directly to the fulfilment service and an existing telephone ordering line. A fortnightly email service to schools informs them of new and important publications. This has resulted in schools being able to order a wider variety of publications from the Department, putting schools in direct control of what they receive, when they receive it.
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