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22 Nov 2006 : Column 110W—continued
Special Needs
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were diagnosed with dyslexia by a special educational needs co-ordinator in each year since 1997. [100517]
Mr. Dhanda: Identification of a child's special educational needs (SEN) is a whole school issue and does not rely on a single person to identify needs. Guidance for the head teacher, SENCO and class teacher in addition to the governing body is set out in the SEN code of practice.
Information on the number of children with dyslexia alone is not collected centrally. Children with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) have a particular difficulty in learning to read, write, spell or manipulate numbers and this includes pupils with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. Since 2004, data have been collected on children with SEN by type of need at School Action Plus and with a statement of SEN and figures are set out in the following table. In addition to the figures in the table, there will also be children at School Action with SpLD whose needs are met within school using the flexibilities set out in the National Curriculum Inclusion Statement. Data on these children are not collected centrally.
| Maintained primary and secondary and all special schools( 1) : number and percentage of pupils whose primary need is specific learning difficulty( 2,3) 2004-06, position in January each year, England | ||
| Number( 4) | Percentage( 5) | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Includes maintained and non- maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (2) Information on primary need only is provided for pupils at School Action Plus and those with a statement of SEN. (3) Excludes dually registered pupils. (4) Totals shown here may not appear to match those published as raw figures have been added together before rounding. (5) Number of pupils whose primary need is specific learning difficulty expressed as a percentage of all pupils at School Action Plus and those with a statement of SEN. Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 Source: Schools Census | ||
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to introduce national training frameworks for special educational needs co-ordinators. [100518]
Mr. Dhanda: In our response to the House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee report on special educational needs, published on 11 October 2006 (Cm 6940), we declared our intention to require, through regulations, all newly appointed SEN co-ordinators to undertake nationally accredited training. These regulations would be made pursuant to section 173 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
The Training and Development Agency for Schools is undertaking associated development work, beginning with establishing a clear statement of the key components of the role, knowledge, skills and experience required of those leading SEN and disability provision in schools.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many hours' training in special education needs teachers receive before they become nationally qualified teachers. [101241]
Mr. Dhanda: It is not possible to quantify the number of hours that any one trainee might spend focusing upon special education needs (SEN), nor indeed any other aspect of their initial teacher training (ITT).
All accredited providers of ITT have to design their programmes leading to the award of qualified teacher status to meet the standards and the requirements for ITT as set out currently by the Secretary of State. Specific standards relating to SEN state that trainees will:
understand their responsibilities under the SEN code of practice, and know how to seek advice from specialists on less common types of special educational needs;
identify and support more able pupils, those who are working below age-related expectations, those who are failing to achieve their potential in learning, and those who experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties—with guidance from an experienced teacher where appropriate;
and
differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of pupils, including the more able and those with special educational needs—again with guidance from an experienced teacher where appropriate.
Most ITT programmes include substantial time spent training in schools, where trainees will become aware and learn about SEN issues along with other aspects of teaching. Providers must ensure that training takes account of individual trainees’ needs, meaning that training will be personalised, and not be based on a one-size-fits-all model.
Over the period 2006-08, the Training and Development Agency for Schools is carrying out a £1.1 million programme of DFES-funded activity to enhance SEN and disability coverage in ITT courses and induction, and to improve professional development opportunities for those teachers already in post.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children with epilepsy in (a) Greater London, broken down by London borough, and (b) England have a statement of special educational needs. [101255]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department does not collect this information.
Culture, Media and Sport
Bonus Payments
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria a civil servant in her Department must fulfil (a) to be considered for a bonus on top of their regular salary and (b) to be awarded a bonus. [101089]
Mr. Lammy: DCMS awards two types of bonus on top of regular salary: (a) performance bonuses, for which there are different systems for members of the senior civil service and for all other staff; and (b) special bonuses.
For members of the senior civil service, bonuses reward in-year performance in relation to agreed objectives, or short-term personal contribution to wider organisational objectives, with decisions on the award of bonuses and their size differentiated in order to recognise the most significant deliverers of in-year performance.
For all other staff performance-related bonuses have, until 2005-06, been paid to people assessed as being in the first of four performance categories, who were considered
“highly successful in achieving objectives and consistently demonstrating competences above expectations”.
DCMS has recently changed its performance-related pay system so that, from 2006-07 onwards, bonuses will be awarded to staff based on the
“relative strength of the evidence presented of performance in meeting or exceeding job-specific, personal development and leading learning objectives, and demonstration of core competences”.
Special bonuses are used to give tangible recognition and reward to staff who have made an outstanding contribution in a particularly demanding task or situation.
Overall, in 2005-06, 24 per cent. of DCMS staff were awarded a performance bonus and 23 per cent. were awarded a special bonus.
Digital Television
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of households outside digital terrestrial television coverage areas which cannot receive satellite digital services; and if she will make a statement on digital television coverage in rural areas. [100910]
Mr. Woodward: No assessment has been made of the proportion of households outside the reach of both satellite and terrestrial coverage, (although we expect that it will be very small). Research is currently being carried out by Ofcom, together with Digital UK and the BBC, on reception prospects across the UK at switchover.
At switchover, all unconverted transmitters that serve more rural areas will be upgraded so that digital coverage substantially matches that currently achieved by analogue services. Digital satellite signals are already available to nearly all UK households, urban and rural.
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to promote local and community television provision as part of the digital switchover process. [101232]
Mr. Woodward: We are committed to promoting the development of local and community television services and have worked with Ofcom to explore the opportunities offered by new technologies, including broadband and digital terrestrial television.
Ofcom is currently carrying out its Digital Dividend Review on the options for the spectrum released following digital switchover. This includes the use of spectrum interleaved between the Digital Terrestrial Television multiplexes which would be particularly suitable for local services using low power transmission.
Ofcom intends to consult on the findings shortly. Once the consultation is completed, we should be ready to consider the policy options for encouraging the development of local and community television.
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her latest estimate is of the percentage of households ready for digital television in advance of the analogue switch-off in (a) the North East and (b) the UK; and if she will make a statement. [101385]
Mr. Woodward: In the Tyne Tees ITV region, it is estimated that around 71 per cent. of households have at least one television set able to receive digital services. Nationwide, the figure is 70.2 per cent.
Following switchover, digital terrestrial television (DTT) coverage will be increased substantially to match that currently achieved by analogue services. With the right equipment the vast majority of homes can receive digital TV via satellite.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of households which will be eligible for targeted assistance in the switch to digital; and if she will make a statement. [101775]
Mr. Woodward: We estimate that around 7 million UK households will qualify for assistance from the digital switchover help scheme between 2008 and 2012. This represents around 25 per cent. of all UK households by 2012.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the average cost of upgrading a home to receive digital television as part of the targeted assistance programme; and if she will make a statement. [101776]
Mr. Woodward: DCMS have made estimates of budget for the digital switchover help scheme. We will publish appropriate details in the context of the licence fee settlement. This is unlikely to include detailed information on per-household costs (to avoid prejudicing negotiations to secure the contractor to deliver the scheme).
Executive Partnership Programme
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which schools in Oxfordshire have participated in the Executive Partnership Programme; and how much each has been allocated under the programme. [100865]
Mr. Lammy: The nearest creative partnership regional office is Slough, which has worked with the following schools in Oxfordshire:
Didcot Girls’ School
Rose Hill Primary School
The John Henry Newman CE (A) Primary School
St. John Fisher Catholic Primary School, Littlemore
Wood Farm Primary School
Cheney School
Pegasus School
Windale Community Primary School
Peers School
While pupils from all of these schools will have participated in core project activity, these schools have not received direct funding from the programme. It is therefore not possible to give a precise financial breakdown for each school.
In addition to their involvement in core project activity, Didcot Girls’ School received a £5,000 Creativity Action Research Award to run a project using video and drama to enhance their learning of science.
Licensing Act
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many premises in each London borough have been granted 24-hour licences under the Licensing Act 2003. [100642]
Mr. Woodward: The Licensing Act 2003 devolved the administration of the licensing regime to individual licensing authorities. Information on total number of 24-hour licences is not held centrally.
Local Theatres (Huddersfield)
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with local theatre organisations within the parliamentary constituency of Huddersfield in the last 12 months. [100893]
Mr. Lammy: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I has had any such discussions.
Olympics 2012
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had on steps to ensure that timber used in the construction of Olympic facilities is legal and sustainable. [101734]
Mr. Caborn: The Government are committed to ensuring that we deliver not only the most successful Olympic games and Paralympic games, but also that they are environmentally, economically and socially responsible. We are working closely with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the body responsible for constructing the games facilities, as well as the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games (London 2012 Organising Committee) to realise this aim.
In the candidate file, which set out the commitments for the games, we promised to make sustainable development integral to every aspect of our vision for the games. To deliver this, sustainable development criteria will be taken into account in planning, tendering and procurement decisions by both the ODA and the London 2012 Organising Committee. The ODA committed to identifying, sourcing and using environmentally and socially responsible materials in its draft Sustainability and Progress Report published in July 2006, and is developing a materials policy to outline how it intends to deliver this objective. The London 2012 Organising Committee will manage its
procurement policy separately from the ODA, but will also adopt fair and sustainable procurement principles. Its procurement policy and associated strategy are currently being developed.
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidelines have been issued to ensure that the Olympic Delivery Authority considers whole-life cost of facilities when deciding upon final construction designs and specifications. [101735]
Mr. Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority Management Statement and Financial Memorandum instructs the ODA to comply with a number of Government documents including “The Green Book—Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government” published by H.M. Treasury and Government Accounting published by TSO which makes clear the requirement to demonstrate that value for money (VfM) has been achieved. VfM is defined therein as “the optimum combination of whole-life cost and quality to meet the user’s requirement”.
Specific guidance on whole-life costing is detailed in “Achieving Excellence in Construction, Procurement Guide 07, Whole-Life Costing and Cost Management” published by the Office of Government Commerce.
Before projects are approved they are reviewed against a range of established projects and investment criteria including whole-life costs.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library the responses to the Consultation on the Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Olympic games. [102213]
Mr. Woodward: I am arranging for copies of the documentation to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
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