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Legal Services Commission

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the reasons are for the underspend noted in the income and expenditure columns of the Legal Services Commission Annual Report 2005-06. [100269]

Vera Baird: The operating surplus reported in the Legal Services Commission’s Annual Report 2005-06 arose largely from the release of provision on dormant cases—see notes 4 and 13 to the accounts. The LSC set up a project to investigate and close such cases, and as a result it now has better data to estimate provision more accurately. This resulted in a reduction in the financial liability. This does not represent an underspend and has never existed as available cash.

Lyons Review

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many jobs in her Department have been relocated (a) to Liverpool and (b) elsewhere as a result of the Lyons Review; and on how many occasions Liverpool has been considered for the relocation of staff under this programme. [100093]

Vera Baird: By the end of March 2006, my Department had relocated 11 posts as a result of the Lyons Review. Of these posts, none went to Liverpool (10 went to Manchester and one went to Wolverhampton). A further update will be provided in my Department’s Autumn Performance Report. We do not keep a record of how many occasions Liverpool has been considered for the relocation of staff.

Ministerial Travel

Mr. Pope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she has taken to offset the carbon dioxide emissions caused by ministerial travel in her Department. [98742]

Vera Baird: 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.

Oxford Coroner's Court

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many inquests are outstanding at Oxford Coroner’s Court; and what steps she is taking to assist Oxford Coroner’s Court in completing inquests. [99561]

Ms Harman: I refer my right hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement I made on 12 October 2006. As of 2 November there were 340 outstanding inquests in Oxfordshire of which 108 relate to deaths of military or civilian personnel who lost their lives in military conflicts or exercises abroad.

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UK Constitution

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the merits of a codified constitution for the UK. [96200]

Vera Baird: A codified constitution that would authoritatively and definitely bind successive governments would signify a massive constitutional and cultural change in the UK and would represent a fundamental shift in the way in which we are governed.

The central tenet of our constitution is that Parliament is sovereign. It is the body whereby the will of the people is expressed via the general election and as such has ultimate authority. Codification would mean that Parliament was no longer sovereign and that the courts would become the ultimate arbiters of our constitution. Drawing up such a constitution would be a very significant undertaking and we are not convinced that there is a strong case to begin such an undertaking at the moment.

Education and Skills

Accident Reporting

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ensure that vocational training accident reporting procedure advice forms part of placement officers’ briefing to employers offering work experience. [98087]

Phil Hope: While the LSC has no plans to include accident reporting procedure advice forms within placement officers’ briefing, the LSC already has, within its funding mechanisms, health and safety standards which deal with accidents and incidents while learners are undertaking vocational training with employers. The LSC has also issued information for those involved with learners on work placements. LSC funded organisations also sign an annual declaration (HSQ1) which stipulates that there are effective arrangements in place to identify, notify and report learner accidents.

Autism

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to issue guidance to schools on assisting those children with autism who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and who engage in disruptive behaviour. [99092]

Mr. Dhanda: Children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) will benefit from the initiatives to support children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties and to improve behaviour along with other children. However, the Government recognise that to meet autistic children's needs fully, including their behavioural needs, requires intervention which is informed by an understanding of autism. ‘The Good Practice Guidance on ASDs’, which my Department and the Department of Health published in 2002,
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includes pointers to good practice on addressing these children's behavioural needs. The Government's response to the Education and Skills Committee's report on special educational needs includes a commitment to develop a pack for teachers, working with the Department's Autism Working Group, on making effective provision for children with ASDs. We will consider whether to include in the pack practical guidance on dealing with disruptive behaviour.

Biometric Technology

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with companies who have an interest in biometric technology in the last 12 months. [99244]

Phil Hope: No Ministers in the Department for Education and Skills have held discussions on biometric technology with any private or public companies. I am the only Minister to have met organisations with a potential interest in biometric technology when sectoral skills issues were the purpose of the meetings. Biometric technology was not discussed on those occasions.

Child Protection Register

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were on the child protection register in each year between 1979-80 and 2005-06, broken down by county; what the estimated numbers are for 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [97262]

Mr. Dhanda: Information on the number of children on the child protection register as at 31 March for each year from 1989 to 2005, by local authority, has been placed in the Library. Data for 2006 are due to be published on the DfES website in January 2007. Data are not held centrally for years prior to 1989.

Children in Care

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in care in each local authority area were adopted in each year since 1994; and what proportion of the total in care this represented. [97799]

Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 31 October 2006]: Information on the number of looked after children adopted during the year, and the percentage of all those who were looked after at 31 March 1994 to 2005 is shown in a table which has been placed in the Library.

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in each local authority area against his Department’s target substantially to narrow the gap between the educational attainment and participation of children in care and that of their peers by 2006. [97800]

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Mr. Dhanda [holding answer 31 October]: The latest published information on progress towards the Department’s target to substantially narrow the gap
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between the educational attainment and participation of children in care and that of their peers in each local authority in England is shown in the following table.

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Educational attainment and participation of children looked after 12 months to 30 September 2002 and 12 months to 30 September 2005( 1, 2, 3) England
Percentage
	Performance of looked after children in English and Maths Key Stage 2 tasks and tests, compared with all children( 2, 3)		Of the children looked after in year 11, old enough to sit GCSE or GNVQ exams, the percentage who did not sit any of these exams( 2)		Percentage obtaining at least 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade A* to C( 2)
Local authority	2002	2005	2002	2005	2002	2005
England	46	52	42	36	8	11
North East	42	55	40	32	6	11
Shire Counties
Durham	—	61	18	23	—	—
Northumberland	—	82	43	43	—	0
Unitary Authorities
Darlington	0	—	45	—	0	—
Hartlepool	—	—	—	—	0	—
Middlesbrough	57	53	—	53	0	—
Redcar and Cleveland	—	—	—	27	0	—
Stockton On Tees	—	—	—	27	—	—
Metropolitan Districts
Gateshead	—	—	50	41	—	—
Newcastle Upon Tyne	—	—	61	32	—	—
North Tyneside	—	—	44	6	—	—
South Tyneside	—	70	28	9	—	—
Sunderland	49	50	38	34	—	—
North West
Shire Counties	51	58	42	36	8	11
Cheshire	—	—	8	22	—	—
Cumbria	62	57	48	37	—	13
Lancashire	56	73	51	33	10	8
Unitary Authorities
Blackburn With Darwen	56	63	53	—	—	0
Blackpool	—	—	—	35	—	—
Halton	—	76	—	38	0	—
Warrington	—	—	0	27	—	—
Metropolitan Districts
Bolton	80	77	50	44	—	—
Bury	—	61	—	44	0	—
Knowsley	—	57	63	33	0	—
Liverpool	53	68	39	46	10	11
Manchester	58	63	51	34	8	—
Oldham	—	—	40	45	—	—
Rochdale	—	68	42	18	0	—
Salford	67	57	32	44	—	22
Sefton	—	57	33	25	—	—
St. Helens	—	—	33	57	—	—
Stockport	—	46	52	16	0	—
Tameside	57	51	47	33	—	—
Trafford	57	—	—	50	0	—
Wigan	44	54	47	41	—	18
Wirral	63	52	28	30	—	—
Yorkshire and the Humber	47	56	42	37	4	10
Shire Counties
North Yorkshire	50	58	44	12	—	—
Unitary Authorities
East Riding of Yorkshire	65	—	—	33	—	—
Kingston Upon Hull	58	61	33	44	—	—
North East Lincolnshire	—	—	32	46	—	—
North Lincolnshire	—	—	27	25	0	0
York	0	—	—	—	—	—
Metropolitan Districts
Barnsley	—	70	50	38	0	—
Bradford	34	54	53	30	0	14
Calderdale	—	—	—	18	—	—
Doncaster	42	—	46	61	—	—
Kirklees	—	—	38	59	—	—
Leeds	39	53	39	36	—	14
Rotherham	58	82	54	32	—	—
Sheffield	51	70	45	37	—	—
Wakefield	59	45	41	45	0	—
East Midlands	44	41	42	42	10	10
Shire Counties
Derbyshire	47	41	48	49	13	—
Leicestershire	—	—	40	38	—	—
Lincolnshire	—	36	41	38	—	—
Northamptonshire	—	42	55	49	—	14
Nottinghamshire	—	64	25	43	—	—
Unitary Authorities
Derby	49	49	15	38	—	—
Leicester	—	35	62	25	—	—
Nottingham	89	41	39	54	—	—
Rutland	0	0	100	100	0	0
West Midlands	43	45	39	39	6	12
Shire Counties
Shropshire	—	—	28	17	—	—
Staffordshire	50	36	13	45	—	—
Warwickshire	—	—	39	20	—	—
Worcestershire	42	43	26	50	—	24
Unitary Authorities
Herefordshire	—	—	47	18	0	—
Stoke-on-Trent	—	79	30	38	—	25
Telford and Wrekin	—	—	—	—	—	0
Metropolitan Districts
Birmingham	49	46	48	42	—	10
Coventry	—	62	56	38	—	—
Dudley	51	52	40	47	0	—
Sandwell	—	—	33	32	—	—
Solihull	—	—	50	48	—	—
Walsall	41	41	8	43	—	—
Wolverhampton	40	—	62	38	—	—
East of England	53	52	42	32	8	9
Shire Counties
Bedfordshire	64	—	34	32	—	0
Cambridgeshire	66	—	38	48	—	—
Essex	44	53	44	40	9	8
Hertfordshire	57	57	35	17	—	11
Norfolk	57	57	44	36	10	—
Suffolk	52	53	37	31	15	21
Unitary Authorities
Luton	77	—	40	31	—	—
Peterborough	64	44	44	30	0	0
Southend	—	65	56	32	—	—
Thurrock	—	—	61	35	0	—
London	46	56	44	35	8	13
Inner London
Camden	88	—	52	37	—	14
City of London	0	0	100	100	0	0
Greenwich	33	65	54	38	—	10
Hackney	—	68	51	32		18
Hammersmith and Fulham	—	—	48	43	9	15
Islington	56	64	40	24	—	14
Kensington and Chelsea	—	—	60	17	—	—
Lambeth	66	57	41	31	13	17
Lewisham	—	45	20	50	—	—
Southwark	57	53	52	41	—	14
Tower Hamlets	—	—	16	32	—	23
Wandsworth	46	—	42	31	—	—
Westminster	—	—	50	20	—	—
Outer London
Barking and Dagenham	—	75	33	53	—	—
Barnet	58	—	35	31	19	20
Bexley	—	50	31	36	—	0
Brent	—	79	25	41	—	21
Bromley	—	90	60	47	—	—
Croydon	—	—	46	33	8	19
Ealing	56	69	49	47	—	—
Enfield	—	67	36	16	0	—
Haringey	—	74	39	40	—	12
Harrow	—	—	7	—	0	—
Havering	—	—	44	47	—	0
Hillingdon	—	—	31	39	—	—
Hounslow	—	—	65	33	0	0
Kingston Upon Thames	—	0	36	—	—	—
Merton	—	—	32	17	—	—
Newham	—	47	42	13	—	17
Redbridge	—	—	53	25	—	—
Richmond Upon Thames	—	—	—	27	0	—
Sutton	63	79	54	50	0	—
Waltham Forest	—	—	78	37	0	—
South East	44	47	49	37	8	8
Shire Counties
Buckinghamshire	—	66	29	41	—	—
East Sussex	47	59	50	26	—	—
Hampshire	37	46	48	33	11	8
Kent	45	36	44	44	6	12
Oxfordshire	41	55	60	21	—	—
Surrey	59	52	33	31	—	14
West Sussex	38	42	46	40	10	—
Unitary Authorities
Bracknell Forest	—	—	—	—	0	0
Brighton and Hove	—	42	57	35	—	—
Isle of Wight	—	—	—	18	—	—
Medway Towns	—	49	56	26	—	—
Milton Keynes	52	—	50	65	—	—
Portsmouth	—	—	60	27	—	0
Reading	—	—	—	65	0	—
Slough	—	—	—	31	—	—
Southampton	51	—	54	35	—	0
West Berkshire	—	—	—	62	—	—
Windsor and Maidenhead	—	—	—	—	—	0
Wokingham	0	—	—	—	—	0
South West	46	48	35	34	11	12
Shire Counties
Cornwall	51	44	26	32	23	—
Devon	61	62	49	22	—	—
Dorset	—	—	52	27	—	—
Gloucestershire	—	58	26	39	—	18
Isle of Scilly	0	0	100	—	0	0
Somerset	—	—	7	58	—	—
Wiltshire	—	—	26	39	—	—
Unitary Authorities
Bath and North East Somerset	—	—	46	—	—	—
Bournemouth	—	—	24	18	—	—
Bristol	40	39	43	48	—	—
North Somerset	—	—	—	—	0	—
Plymouth	55	63	44	28	—	—
Poole	—	—	—	—	0	0
South Gloucestershire	—	—	—	27	0	—
Swindon	—	—	50	27	—	—
Torbay	—	—	8	31	—	—
(1) Source: DfES—Figures are taken from the OC2 return which collects outcome indicators for looked after children. (2) Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number but have been suppressed where the numerator was five or less or the denominator was 10 or less, in accordance with National Statistics protocols. (3) Where either component of the resulting percentage shown was suppressed, the resulting percentage has also been suppressed.

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