| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
4 Sep 2006 : Column 1988W—continued
Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months. [83975]
Mr. Dhanda: In the last 12 months, the Secretary of State and his predecessor have made the following visits:
| Region | Number of visits |
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to reply to question (a) 81111 and (b) 81112, on tuition fees, tabled by the hon. Member for Fareham on 26 June for answer on 29 June. [88219]
Bill Rammell: I responded to the hon. Member’s question (81111) on 25 July. A response to his question (81112) has been issued today.
Primary National Strategy
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract between his Department and Capita Strategic Education Services for the purposes of delivering the Primary National Strategy; [88354]
(2) which directorate in his Department has overall responsibility for overseeing the contract for the Primary National Strategy; [88355]
(3) how many staff within his Department have duties involving overseeing the contract for the Primary National Strategy; [88356]
(4) how many people are employed by (a) his Department and (b) Capita Strategic Education Services for the purposes of the review of the Primary National Strategy frameworks for teaching mathematics and literacy. [88357]
Jim Knight: The contract in respect of the provision of services for the National Strategies, incorporating the Primary National Strategy, is commercial in confidence.
The Schools Directorate within the DfES has overall responsibility for overseeing the National Strategies contract. There are nine members of staff in Schools Directorate who are engaged in overseeing the National Strategies contract. They are supported by a range of colleagues, within the Schools Directorate and elsewhere, who have policy interests in the services and outcomes of the Strategies’ work.
A team of 12 staff are engaged in the Department on policy matters covered by the Primary and Secondary National Strategies. Six of these staff have worked on the revision of the frameworks as part of their duties, as well as senior managers to whom the team reports. Other staff from outside the team have been involved in reviewing the frameworks, including those responsible for early years education, those responsible for the education of children with special educational needs, and those responsible for contract management of the Strategies’ contract.
Capita Strategic Children Services has a core team of nine of the National Strategies senior staff engaged on reviewing the Primary frameworks. In addition, there has been input from 20 or so educational advisers within the National Strategies, as well as 12 external specialists. The National Strategies has also benefited from extensive engagement with a range of educational partners, professional associations, head teachers and teachers who have all contributed to the development of the frameworks.
Religious Schools
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will bring forward measures to enable any charitable organisation run by a minority philosophical faith group, or groups, whose schools do not receive Government funding due to their small size to set up a single academy with the power to manage multiple schools affiliated to that academy. [88599]
Jim Knight: There is no reason why, under current legislation, such a group could not bring forward proposals to establish an academy, provided of course that the potential sponsors can fully meet the conditions required of sponsors and for the establishment of individual academies.
School Dinners
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school children receive school dinners; and how many in each category received school dinners on the same date in 2005. [88803]
Jim Knight: The only available information relates to free school meals and is given in the table.
Secondary Schools
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the next Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey is planned to be carried out. [84207]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 10 July 2006]: Subject to suitable contract arrangements, the survey will be conducted in spring 2007.
Security Passes
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department in each year since February 2004. [88557]
Beverley Hughes: The number of staff identity passes that have been reported lost or stolen in each year since February 2004 are:
| Number of passes lost | Number of passes stolen | |
| (1 )From February | ||
Sir Alistair Graham
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster of 15 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1378-79W, on Sir Alistair Graham, what his remuneration was at the Leeds Training and Enterprise Council. [85469]
Bill Rammell: The salary of the Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) chief executive—the only executive board member—was determined by the TEC board on the recommendation of the chairman of the TEC board remuneration committee and the chairman of the TEC board.
Note 5 of the accounts for the Leeds TEC Ltd. for the year ended 26 March 2000 show total emoluments relating to one director of £99,051.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to Question 80515, how much Sir Alistair Graham has claimed in (a) remuneration and (b) expenses in each year since he was appointed Northern Chairman of the Appeals Panel; and how many appeals he has chaired in each year. [85984]
Bill Rammell: Sir Alistair Graham took up the post of the Chair of the Appeals Panel for Students with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities for Northern England on 10 March 2002. Since then Sir Alistair has chaired a total of four appeals: two in May 2002, one in December 2002 and one in September 2003. He was paid a £600 fee for each appeal hearing chaired.
Due to changes in the Learning and Skills Council’s accounting systems complete information on expenses claims is not held. However, claims of £76.20 and £94.10 were made for two of the panels.
Sure Start
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many childcare places were created through (a) Sure Start, (b) other public provision and (c) private provision in (i) 2001-02, (ii) 2002-03, (iii) 2003-04 and (iv) 2004-05, broken down by region; and what the occupancy rates were in each case. [89139]
Beverley Hughes: The following table contains the total number of new childcare places created in each region in each year from 2001-05. Data on whether places were created through Sure Start, private or other public provision are not available. Data are also not available on occupancy rates.
| Region | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| Note: Data from 2001-03 are provided by local authorities and include both registered and unregistered places. Data from 2003-05 are provided by Ofsted and include only registered places. | ||||
Teachers
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1462W, on teachers, (1) what changes the National Assessment Agency has made to the data collection process since the publication of SFR 32/2005; [86026]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |