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13 Sep 2006 : Column 2374W—continued
London Olympics Building Programme
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of whether EU workers will be needed to fill skills gaps in the building of the London Olympics site. [90723]
Mr. Caborn: None. The Government believe that the London 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games present a huge employment opportunity for local communities in east London which suffer from low basic skills levels and high unemployment. The London Employment and Skills Task Force is developing an action plan which will help to effect a permanent reduction in the level of worklessness in London and the Lower Lea Valley, including proposals such as:
Establishing the Olympic site as a National Skills Academy site;
Doubling the current rate of apprentices to workers;
The incorporation of all ODA and LOCOG contractors’ vacancies into Jobcentre Plus processes; and
Ensuring that 15 per cent. of 50,000 person-years of jobs are filled by residents of the five east London host boroughs.
This and other programmes of work by Olympic partners are designed to ensure that local people are equipped with the skills needed to enable them to benefit from the whole range of games-related opportunities.
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the skills upgrade required for east London citizens to be employed on the 2012 London Olympics building programme; and what discussions the Government have had with the London Organising Committee on steps to develop the necessary skills locally. [90724]
Mr. Caborn: The Government and their Olympic partners recognise the importance of ensuring a skilled workforce to deliver the Olympic park and venues on time and budget. The games represent a huge opportunity for local communities in east London and partners are developing a range of programmes to ensure that local people are well-placed to benefit from these opportunities. For example, the Olympic Delivery Authority's draft procurement policy includes a commitment to working with its contractors to provide a legacy of trained and motivated people needed for their business, in association with relevant sector skills councils. ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council for the construction industry, has established a special team—Constructing London 2012—to deliver locally available construction skills. In addition, the London Development Agency is working closely with the five Olympic boroughs to set up a job brokerage service which will be based in the Lower Lea Valley and will act as a link with contractors on skills requirements, training provision and pre-employment training.
Racing (Horse Numbers)
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many horses she estimates have been involved in the racing industry in each of the last five years. [90709]
Mr. Caborn: The Government do not hold this information.
The British Horseracing Board, the governing body for the sport, states that the average number of horses in training in each of the last five years was as follows:
| Horses in training | |
Sports Clubs
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number and percentage of five to 16-year-olds who were members of, or participated in, national governing body accredited sports clubs in each year since 2002. [90712]
Mr. Caborn:
Data collected by Sport England in 2005-06 show that there were 1,082,419 five to 16-year-olds participating in the accredited clubs of the
22 National Governing Bodies clubs who contribute to the Club Links Workstrand of the National School Sport Strategy. Data are not available in the requested format for years preceding this.
Test Match Cricket (TV Coverage)
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which broadcasters have (a) accepted and (b) rejected the invitation sent by her Department on 16 May to discuss the television coverage of test match cricket. [90744]
Mr. Caborn: Arrangements for a meeting to discuss television coverage of test match cricket have yet to be finalised. However, of the broadcasters approached, BBC, Channel 4, FIVE and Sky have all indicated a willingness to attend a meeting. Only ITV, after giving due consideration to the request, have indicated that they can see no useful purpose in their attendance.
UK Film Council
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on the distribution of funding by the UK Film Council across projects in south east England. [90970]
Mr. Woodward: The DCMS has agreed with the UK Film Council the following policy directions with regard to the English regions including the south east:
the need to ensure that all parts of the country have access to funding
the desirability of working with other organisations, including other distributors, where this is an effective means of delivering elements of its strategy.
The UK Film Council delegates funding through the Regional Investment Fund For England (RIFE) to the nine Regional Screen Agencies in support of its regional objectives, in order that the agencies can deliver locally in line with local objectives.
Through RIFE, the UK Film Council disperses a combination of Lottery and Grant in Aid Funding to Screen South, the Regional Screen Agency responsible for delivering strategy in the south east. The objectives of the Regional Investment Fund for England mirror the UK Film Council's overarching aim to stimulate a successful, vibrant film industry and to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the UK. Each agency, including Screen South, is active across six key areas: archives, exhibition, life long learning, locations and inward investment, production and skills training. The relative emphasis on each of these areas is agreed within each agency in response to the identified needs of the region. Neither the Secretary of State nor the UK Film Council have any input on decisions made on a project by project level.
Violent Computer Games
Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the outcome was of her Department's 2005 review of the possible link between playing violent computer games and real life violence. [90642]
Mr. Woodward: A copy of the report was published on the Department's website in February 2006. The researchers found that there was no conclusive evidence of a link between playing computer games that featured violence and violent behaviour in real life.
Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many computer games published in 2005 depicted gross violence and required a legal classification by the British Board of Film Classification; and how many of these were classified as suitable only for those over 18 years. [90643]
Mr. Woodward: A total of 1,085 computer games were released during 2005. Games can be referred to the BBFC for a number of reasons. Those which contain material that might be considered gross violence are classified at the ‘18’ level. The BBFC considered 198 works of digital media, and 43 of these were classified ‘18’. The level of violence was the reason for the adult rating in 40 cases.
Education and Skills
A-levels
Mr. Andrew Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many A-levels were awarded to pupils in (a) England and (b) each local education authority in 2006; and how many and what percentage were in (i) accounting, (ii) art and design, (iii) business studies, (iv) critical thinking, (v) communication studies, (vi) dance, (vii) design and technology, (viii) drama and theatre studies, (ix) film, media and television studies, (x) general studies, (xi) health and social care, (xii) home economics, (xiii) Information Communications
Technology, (xiv) leisure studies, (xv) music technology, (xvi) performance studies, (xvii) performing arts, (xviii) physical education and sports studies and (xix) travel and tourism; [90622]
(2) how many A-levels were awarded in 2006 to pupils (a) in selective schools, (b) in non-selective schools, (c) in independent schools, (d) in sixth form colleges and (e) in further education and tertiary colleges; and how many and what percentage were in one of the subject areas identified by Cambridge University as less effective preparation for degree courses in each case. [90623]
Phil Hope: Figures showing students' A-level achievements in 2006 by institution type and local authority are not yet available. Provisional results, based on the information collected for the post-16 Achievement and Attainment Tables, will first be published as National Statistics in October 2006.
Apprenticeships
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of young people aged between 16 and 22 years who have made use of the Modern Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network in each year since 2002. [90784]
Phil Hope: The Apprenticeship programme continues to go from strength to strength with record numbers of young people participating and completion rates continuing to improve. Numbers of young people (aged 16 to 24) who have taken up an apprenticeship in England since 2002/03 are as follows:
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | ( 1) 2005-06 | |
| (1 )September 2005 to May 2006. Note: Figures cannot be broken down into specific age groups but are for the whole of the Apprenticeship cohort, from age 16 to 24. | ||||
The new Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) was launched as a successor to the Apprenticeship Task Force in April this year. The AAN's key aim is to champion apprenticeships to employers of all sizes with the aim of increasing take-up, particularly in sectors with poor penetration.
Children and Young People's Plan
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local authorities did not publish a Children and Young People's Plan by 1 April. [90567]
Phil Hope: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect data on precisely when local authorities published their Children and Young People's Plan. Officials at the Department ran a compliance check during July and can now confirm that all local authorities that are required to do so have published a plan.
Committee on Treatment in Custody
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from the Howard League on the proposals of the committee on treatment in custody chaired by Lord Carlile, QC; and what response he has given. [90655]
Phil Hope: The Youth Justice Board published its response to the recommendations of Lord Carlile's report in July 2006.
During 2006, DfES Ministers have held two meetings with representatives of the Howard League. The subject of these meetings was access to services for young people on release from custody.
Communication Aids Project
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many children received equipment under the Communication Aids Project up to March 2006; and if he will make a statement; [90562]
(2) what assessment has been made of the impact on users of ending the Communication Aids Project; what plans there are for further funding of the project; and if he will make a statement. [90563]
Phil Hope: The Communication Aids Project (CAP) went live in April 2002 and closed in March 2006. During the lifetime of the project, 4,193 children received equipment geared to their particular needs based on specialised assessments.
CAP was a time-limited DFES initiative intended to supplement, not replace, provision made by local agencies such as local authorities, schools and health authorities. No assessment has been made of the impact of closure on users and there are no plans at present to renew funding for the project.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to ensure that all flights undertaken by Ministers and officials in his Department are carbon neutral; and if he will make a statement. [81395]
Mr. Dhanda: All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to a central fund. The fund purchases Certified Emissions Reductions credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.
Enterprise Summer School Pathfinders
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the standard curriculum for the enterprise summer school pathfinders; how many such schools were held in summer 2006; for how many days each school was held; between what hours of the day each school was held; what criteria are being assessed to measure the effectiveness of such schools; and pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2006, Official Report, column 1981W, which of the businesses listed in the Answer subsequently confirmed their interest in participating in the schools. [90910]
Phil Hope: As yet, there is no standard curriculum for the Enterprise Summer School pathfinders. The evaluation that is being conducted by Oxford University assessed 23 approaches to five different models. The initial report is due in October and the final report in December. Together these will make recommendations on standard content based on the findings from the pathfinders.
23 pathfinder Enterprise Summer Schools were run in 2006, with at least one in each UK region. The duration was between five and 10 days depending on which model was being run. For non-residential models, normal school hours were maintained. For residential models, evening activities were also included.
Many more businesses took part than known in the previous answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Schools. The full list of participating businesses has been placed in the Libraries.
Family Court
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how long, on average, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service keeps the records of welfare cases heard in the Family Court in its archives. [90944]
Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive of CAFCASS, will write to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
I am writing to you in response to the parliamentary question that you tabled recently: How long, on average does the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service keep the records of welfare cases heard in the Family Court in its archives?
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