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2 Nov 2006 : Column 590W—continued
Petitions
Mr. Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will establish a Select Committee on Public Petitions to examine the issues raised in each Petition presented to the House; and what discussions he has had withthe Scottish Parliament on equivalent arrangements there. [97920]
Mr. Straw: I have no plans to do so but I remain open to representations. I met recently with the Scottish Procedures Committee to discuss this and a wide range of other issues.
The House of Commons Procedure Committee has a current inquiry into public petitions, and I look forward with interest to the results of that inquiry.
Education and Skills
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of educating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was in the last period for which figures are available;
how many such children were in education in that period; and if he will make a statement. [98292]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department does not collect separate figures on the number or cost of educating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but the following table provides information showing the number of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties: these figures include pupils with ADHD:
| Maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) :Number and percentage of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) ( 3,4) | |||
| Number of pupils with BESD | Number of pupils at “School Action Plus” and with statements of SEN | Percentage of pupils with BESD | |
| (1) The figures include schools deemed as middle schools. (2) The figures exclude general hospital schools, and dually registered schools. (3) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with statements of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is shown here. (4) The source is from the Schools’ Census as at January 2006.Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown. | |||
Business Academy Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what representations he has received on the Business Academy Bexley; [96605]
(2) what the (a) operational budget, (b) capital budget and (c) total cost was of the Business Academy Bexley in each year since it opened. [96597]
Jim Knight: The Business Academy Bexley opened in September 2002 and moved into its new buildings in September 2003. The academy comprises a primary school, with nursery provision, and an 11-18 secondary school.
The total capital and revenue grant made available to the academy in each of the years since it opened is shown as follows. The total capital grant includes £2.4 million of sponsorship.
| £ | |||
| Financial year | Revenue grant | Capital grant including sponsorship | Total grant |
| Notes: 1. Bexley Primary opened in September 2004. 2. The figures for 2006-07 show expenditure up to end of October 2006. | |||
Children's Centres
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children’s centres offer (a) training and employment advice, (b) family support, (c) access to health visitors and other health service workers and (d) outreach services to children and families. [97292]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 26 October 2006]: Sure Start Children’s Centres are at the heart of the Government’s Every Child Matters Programme. They are a key vehicle for providing access to a range of integrated services for pre-school children and their parents. By 2010, there will be 3,500 centres—one for every community. Good progress is being made on the development of children’s centres with over 1,000 centres now supporting families.
A range of services are provided in children’s centres, with all expected to provide the following core services: early years provision; family support and parental outreach; child and family health services; parental involvement and links to training and support through Jobcentre Plus. The nature of services in each centre will be shaped by local need.
Departmental Staff
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many disabled people were hired by his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what percentage of the overall workforce these figures represented in each year; and how many disabled people left their employment in his Department over the same period. [92468]
Mr. Dhanda:
Data on the disabled status of civil service entrants and leavers are available from Cabinet Office for 2005, 2004 and 2003 only. The website
address is: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/reports/index.asp Disability status is self-declared and voluntary. Data in the tables are rounded (to the nearest 10) and suppressed (where numbers are less than five).
It is not possible to produce a consistent series from earlier years’ data without incurring disproportionate costs.
Faith Schools
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of children of (a) no or (b) different faiths who are likely to be admitted to faith schools with which they have no affinity under his proposed changes to admission arrangements for faith schools; and if he will make a statement. [97526]
Jim Knight [holding answer 30 October 2006]: We are not proposing to change the admission arrangements for faith schools to require them to open a proportion of their places to children of no or other faiths. Many existing faith schools admit children of other or no faith. We do not know the number of children of no or different faiths who are at these schools.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he plans to give to (a) parents and (b) faith schools on the nature of acceptable evidence of not being a (i) member and (ii) practising member of the faith of the faith school to which an admissions application is being made for the purposes of the proposed 25 per cent. quota. [97585]
Jim Knight [holding answer 30 October 2006]: There are no proposals for a 25 per cent. quota.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultations he held with leaders of the (a) Roman Catholic, (b) Hindu, (c) Muslim, (d) Jewish and (e) Church of England faith in developing his proposals for faith school admissions; and if he will make a statement. [97586]
Jim Knight [holding answer 30 October 2006]: We are not proposing any changes to the admission arrangements for new or existing faith schools to require them to open a proportion of their places to children of no or other faiths. We have held a number of discussions with representatives of all faith groups which have schools with a religious character in the maintained sector. This includes members of the Roman Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Church of England and Sikh faith.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to consult (a) leaders and (b) members of faith communities on proposals for changes in faith school admissions; and if he will make a statement. [97587]
Jim Knight
[holding answer 30 October 2006]: We are not proposing any changes to the admission arrangements for new or existing faith schools in order to require them to open a proportion of their places to
children of no or other faiths. We have held a number of discussions with representatives of all faith groups which have schools with a religious character in the maintained sector.
Maladministration (Local Education Authorities)
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by what means a school which has exhausted the internal complaints procedure of the local education authority (LEA) can pursue a maladministration complaint against an LEA. [97382]
Jim Knight [holding answer 30 October 2006]: The governing body of a maintained school which has exhausted the internal complaints procedure of the local authority cannot complain to the Local Government Ombudsman that there has been maladministration on the part of the authority, because such a complaint can only be made by a member of the public.
However, a dispute between a governing body and the local authority as to the exercise of any power conferred by, or the performance of any duty under, the Education Acts may be referred to the Secretary of State under section 495 of the Education Act 1996. In addition, the governing body may complain to the Secretary of State where the allegation is that the authority has acted or is proposing to act unreasonably; where the authority is alleged to have failed to discharge a duty imposed on it; or where the authority is alleged to be failing to perform its functions adequately or at all.
National Enterprise Network
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools are participating in the national enterprise network; how many new summer schools in enterprise took place in 2006; and how many scholarships for young British entrepreneurs to American universities the Government have funded in 2006. [97911]
Jim Knight: There are 51 expert ‘Hub’ schools in the Schools’ Enterprise Education Network (SEEN) supported by a further 160 ‘Spoke’ schools and five national ‘Hubs’. The network embraces all other secondary schools. 23 summer school pathfinders, testing five different models, took place in 2006. 17 participants have been identified for support during the 2006/07 academic year under the US enterprise scholarship scheme for UK university students.
Pensions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the arrangements are for the payment of pensions to people who retire early through ill health for each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; what the incidence of ill health retirement was as a percentage of all retirement for such schemes for each year since 1988-89; and if he will make a statement; [96023]
(2) what the current rate of ill health retirement is for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement. [96048]
Bill Rammell: The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales) (TPS) provides for immediate payment of retirement benefits to scheme members who, through illness or injury, are permanently incapacitated for teaching. Enhanced benefits are paid if the illness or injury led to cessation of pensionable employment before the scheme's normal pension age of 60.
Continuing improvements in the support given by employers to teachers who become ill, in particular the early and effective use of professional occupational health staff, has resulted in a year on year reduction in the numbers of ill health retirements by TPS members.
A new ill health retirement benefit structure will be introduced into the TPS from January 2007. The requirement for permanent incapacity for teaching will remain, but the severity of the medical condition and its impact on future earnings capacity will determine whether a person is awarded an enhanced or unenhanced level of benefit.
The following table shows ill health retirements as a percentage of all retirements by teachers working in the maintained schools sector in each year from 1989-90 to 2004-05. The percentages are based on the figures in the following table in the answer to the hon. Member’s question on 25 July, Official Report columns 1471-2W.
| Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales): ill health retirements as a percentage of all types of retirement from the maintained schools sector in England by year of award from 1989-90 to 2004-05 | |
| Financial year (1 April to 31 March) | Percentage |
Based on total active scheme membership of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales) 590,032 at 31 March 2005 (source: Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales) Resource Accounts 2005-06), the percentage of active scheme members retiring on ill health grounds was 0.37 per cent. The equivalent figure for the maintained schools sector only in 2005-06 was 0.32 per cent.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what savings estimate he has made of the effect on costs of the reforms to public sector pensions agreed with trades unions in 2005 for each year between 2006-07 and 2050-51; and if he will make a statement. [96043]
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