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19 Oct 2006 : Column 1365W—continued
House of Commons Commission
Braithwaite Report
Mr. Doran: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what plans the Commission has for a further review of the management of the House of Commons Service as recommended in the Braithwaite report in 1999. [96209]
Nick Harvey: The Commission has appointed Sir Kevin Tebbit, KCB to review the implementation of the Braithwaite report on the management and services of the House. The terms of reference of the review are:
To review the implementation of the recommendations of the report of Mr. Michael Braithwaite (HC 745, 1998-99) on the management and services of the House of Commons and his subsequent report of July 2000 on the Serjeant at Arms’ Department, and in particular to assess:
whether the expected benefits have been realised;
what further actions are required for the House Service to achieve the objectives laid down in the Outline Strategic Plan for the House of Commons Administration 2006-11;
whether, in particular, the organisational and staffing arrangements currently in place are adequate to realise the objectives laid down in the Resolution of the House of 26 January 2005 relating to Connecting Parliament with the Public.
Sir Kevin will start work later this month and is expected to report to the Commission by the middle of next year. He will be consulting widely among Members and staff.
Roof Terrace
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the Roof Terrace will be opened for use by hon. Members and staff. [93858]
Nick Harvey: The Roof Terrace has been closed on grounds of health and safety. An assessment of the remedial action required is currently taking place and only when this action has been identified will it be possible to say when the terrace will reopen. Every effort will be made to do so as soon as possible.
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will place in the Library the results of the most recent health and safety audit of the Roof Terrace. [94576]
Education and Skills
Aimhigher Campaign
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department has spent on advertising for the Aimhigher campaign in each year since its inception. [94454]
Bill Rammell: The Aimhigher campaign was launched in 2001 with the aim of raising the aspirations of young people and their parents so that going on to higher education became a real option for them. Since its launch, the Department has spent the following on advertising:
| £ | |
Under the Aimhigher Student Finance banner, the Department has also run advertising to raise awareness and understanding about the financial help available for students entering higher education. Since its launch in 2003, the Department has spent the following on advertising:
| £ | |
Apprenticeships
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support his Department provides for apprenticeships and training in construction and related industries. [94515]
Phil Hope [holding answer 17 October 2006]: At the end of 2005 there were 24,250 young people participating in apprenticeships (apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships) in construction in England. The funding for construction apprentices from the Learning and Skills Council for 2005/06 was £62,999,222.
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will reply to the letter of 27 June 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Dr. S. Ala-ud-din. [95581]
Bill Rammell: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given on 18 October 2006, Official Report, column 1223W.
Data Protection Act
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department issues to schools on their duties under the Data Protection Act 1998. [95096]
Mr. Dhanda: Guidance to the law on data processing and sharing is available for schools and others on the Department’s Teachernet website at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/d/data processing/.
Databases (Security Breaches)
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external sources in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned. [92836]
Mr. Dhanda: The number of cases of computer hacking detected in the Department for Education and Skills was nil in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04. There was one case of computer hacking in 2004-05 which was perpetrated by an outsider. There have been no other cases since then.
Departmental Expenditure
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department has spent on taxis in the last 12 months. [93117]
Mr. Dhanda: Details of expenditure on taxis incurred by the Department over the last 12 months are set out as follows:
1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006—£217,464.15
The expenditure is based on staff travel claims and approved invoices received from taxi companies paid via the Department’s Integrated Financial Information System.
The Department’s Integrated Financial Information System for staff travel was a staged introduction; full implementation was not completed until April 2006. Claims made prior to the introduction of the online system are not included in these figures nor is expenditure for taxi fares incurred abroad or claims by staff that do not have access to the online system. To extract this information would involve disproportionate cost.
Discretionary Barring
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases have been considered by the advisory panel on discretionary barring led by Sir Roger Singleton since its establishment in January. [95293]
Mr. Dhanda: The Singleton panel of independent experts has considered 1,317 cases since its establishment.
Hampton Review
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what input (a) his Department and (b) its (i) agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies had into the Hampton Review and its report, “Reducing Administrative Burdens: Effective Inspection and Enforcement”. [89554]
Mr. Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 280W.
Learning Disabled
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government have taken to ensure his Department is working effectively with (a) the Department of Health, (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (c) local authorities to ensure that adequate facilities for the learning disabled are provided. [94745]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department is working closely with the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions on a project to improve outcomes for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities including the provision of adequate facilities. As the project progresses it is planned to include the Department for Communities and Local Government and local authorities in the scope of the work.
Nursery Education
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the Government's 10-year strategy for funding nursery education on the number of places available; and if he will make a statement. [94902]
Beverley Hughes: The Government's 10-year child care strategy sets out our commitments: to extend the free early education entitlement to 38 weeks a year across all settings; to increase the number of free hours each week from 12.5 to 15; and to offer them more flexibly than at present. Around £3 billion per year is provided to local authorities to fund the free entitlement.
The first of those changes was implemented this year with flexibilities to help those providers not able to extend their provision to 38 weeks. Additional funding of £82 million in each of financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 has been made available to LAs to support the extension to the free entitlement in private, voluntary and independent settings.
We are testing the extension to 15 hours, delivered more flexibly, in 20 local authorities next year, with a view to a full roll-out by 2010. We will conduct a full assessment of impact in the light of findings from the Pathfinders.
We expect there to continue to be sufficient places available to deliver the free early education entitlement to all three and four-year-olds. The closure rate of child care places has fallen significantly since the introduction of the 10-year strategy, indicating that the Government's policy of refocusing local authority budgets towards supporting sustainability, rather than creating new places, is working.
Student Finances
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the expected cost is to the Exchequer per £100 of student loan advanced; and if he will make a statement. [94950]
Bill Rammell: For maintenance loans, we estimate that for every £100 of loan advanced in FY2006-07, the cost to the Exchequer is £21. For fee loans, we estimate that for every £100 of loan advanced in FY2006-07, the cost to the Exchequer is £33. These estimates are based on the current RAB charges(1) issued in my written statement on the costs of student finance on 10 November 2005.
(1)The RAB charge is an estimate of the percentage of the face value of loans issued in a given year which reflects the resource cost over the expected life of the loan to the Government of making the loans.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the total value of student loans advanced for the additional top-up fee over the standard fee; what the expected cost of such loans is to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement. [94951]
Bill Rammell: The table shows planned total expenditure on student loans for fees, based on current policies, in FYs 2006-07 and 2007-08. The figures show total expenditure on loans for fees, not just the addition over the previous fee.
Steady state costs were given in my written statement on 10 November 2005.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many higher education institutions charged the full £3,000 fee in 2006; and what percentage of students took out fee loans. [94952]
Bill Rammell: There are currently 117 higher education institutions in academic year 2006/07 which have an access agreement with the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) to charge up to £3,000, and who are charging £3,000. These institutions are:
Anglia Ruskin University
Arts Institute at Bournemouth
Aston University
Bath Spa University
Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies
Bishop Grosseteste University College
Bournemouth University
Brunel University
Buckingham Chilterns University College
Canterbury Christ Church University
Central School of Speech and Drama
City University, London
College of St. Mark and St. John
Conservatoire for Dance and Drama
Courtauld Institute of the Arts
Coventry University
Cumbria Institute of the Arts
Dartington College of Arts
De Montfort University
Edge Hill University
Goldsmiths College
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Harper Adams University College
Heythrop College, University of London
Imperial College London
Institute of Education
Keele University
Kings College London
Kingston University
Lancaster University
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