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17 Jan 2007 : Column 1160Wcontinued
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to issue guidance to schools about drug education programmes offered by Narconon. [114245]
Mr. Dhanda: The Departments guidance, Drugs; Guidance for Schools (DfES 2004) is clear that teachers should be the main providers of drug education and maintain responsibility for the overall drug education programme in their school. External contributors can be used where they add to the drug education programme a dimension that the teacher alone cannot deliver.
It is for schools and local authorities to decide whether to use the services of an external contributor to assist with their drug education programme, and if so who this should be.
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the changes in the last five years in the number of four year degree courses available that involve the student working outside university for a year. [115086]
Bill Rammell: The latest available data for the academic years 2001-02 to 2005-06 are given in the table.
Figures are not available on the number of courses available therefore figures on the number of students enrolling on four year degree courses that involve the student on an industrial or other placement for a year have been given.
Students enrolling on any four year, first degree sandwich courseEnglish higher education institutionsand the number of students actually on an industrial or other placement( 1) in that year | ||
Academic year | Number of students | Of which: number of students on placement |
(1 )Covers students on an industrial (or other placement). (2) In 2001-02 students on industrial placements could not be identified separately from those studying abroad for the year as a whole. Note: Figures are on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) |
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new schools have been built in each UK constituency since 1997; which of these schools have a source of energy provided by on-site renewables; what definition his Department uses of (a) sustainable design, (b) zero carbon energy sources and (c) carbon footprint in relation to the design of new schools; and which technical references were used when determining these definitions. [113859]
Jim Knight: The Department does not maintain records of new school buildings by constituency and does not have a comprehensive record of those which have on-site renewable energy systems.
With regard to the various definitions that the Department has adopted:
(a) Sustainable designBuilding Research Establishments environmental assessment method, BREEAM, has been adapted for schools. This supports the general principles of environmentally sustainable design without being prescriptive about the way in which this is delivered. The method is well documented.
(b) Zero carbon energy sourcesthe Department does not have its own definition but would expect designers to those technologies which have been identified with the Building Regulations Approved Documents L2A (Conservation of Fuel and Power).
(c) Carbon footprint in relation to the design of new schoolsthe means by which the carbon footprint attributable to energy use at schools can be calculated is documented within the DfES publication: Energy and Water Benchmarks for Maintained Schools in England: 2002-03.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children in (a) St. Albans and (b) Hertfordshire (i) given a fixed-term exclusion from school and (ii) permanently excluded from school in the last period for which figures are available had an (A) statemented and (B) non-statemented special educational need. [112998]
Mr. Dhanda: The available information is given in the table.
Maintained primary, secondary and special schools ( 1, 2) : number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by special educational needs (SEN) ( 3 ) 2004/05 | ||||
Fixed period exclusions | Permanent exclusions( 3) | |||
Number | Percentage( 4) | Number | ( 4) Percentage | |
(1) For permanent exclusions includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. (2) For fixed period exclusions includes maintained special schools, excludes non-maintained special schools. (3) There are known quality issues with the permanent exclusions data reported by schools. The numbers shown here are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed. (4) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils supported by the same SEN provision. (5) Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown. (6) 1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions Source: School Census |
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) which non-caloric drinks will be available in schools apart from water under the new school food regime; [114303]
(2) whether intense sweeteners will be included in any of the food and drink that will be available in schools under the new school food regime; [114304]
(3) whether he has been informed of any incidents of schools excluding fruit juices from the provision of available drinks on the grounds of high caloric intake; [114412]
(4) what estimate he has made of the effect on the weight of children of school age of replacing one caloric beverage a day with a sugar-free equivalent. [114413]
Mr. Dhanda:
The new Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) (England) Regulations 2006, introduced in September 2006, limit the range of drinks available in schools to plain water (still or
sparkling); skimmed or semi-skimmed milk; soya drinks enriched with calcium; pure fruit or vegetable juices; yogurt or milk with artificial sweeteners or less than 5 per cent. added sugar; or combinations of these drinks. Low calorie hot chocolate, tea and coffee are also allowed. There is a requirement for drinking water to be provided free of charge to registered pupils on school premises. Subsequent regulations to be introduced in September 2007 will extend these requirements to ensure that drinks throughout the school day are consistent with those served at lunch; and that drinking water is provided free of charge at all times of the school day.
Artificial sweeteners are allowed in yoghurt or milk drinks, and in the yoghurt or milk portion of combined drinks. We have no plans to ban additives, which include sweeteners, in food under the new legislation. However, if schools want to take action on additives in food, they are free to do so.
We are not aware of any incidents of schools excluding fruit juices from the provision of available drinks on the grounds of high caloric intake.
We have not made, and have no plans to make, any estimate of the effect on the weight of children of school age of replacing one caloric beverage a day with a sugar-free alternative.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget is of the School Food Trust in 2006-07; how many consultants it employed in 2006; and how many people it employs. [115307]
Mr. Dhanda: The budget for the School Food Trust in 2006-07 is £7 million. It employed 16 consultants to undertake a range of one-off tasks in 2006 and it currently employs 33 members of staff.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which further education colleges are offering Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) British Sign Language beginners courses at Level One and Level Two in the 2006-07 academic year; and how many such colleges have stopped providing CACDP British Sign Language beginners courses at Level One and Level Two since his Department withdrew funding for British Sign Language classes. [114919]
Bill Rammell: We have not withdrawn funding from sign language courses. Sign language courses remain eligible for learning and skills council (LSC) funding and have not been reclassified or redefined in terms of their eligibility for funding. We have been clear that provision for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including those with hearing impairments, remains a priority as was stated in both the grant letter to the LSC for 2007-08 and the LSC's annual statement of priorities.
We do not hold information on the individual courses offered by further education colleges. However, in line with the commitments in the LSC's annual
statement of priorities we expect that the proportion of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities will be maintained.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many deaf tutors of British Sign Language have been made redundant due to the withdrawal of funding for British Sign Language classes in further education colleges. [114920]
Bill Rammell: We have not withdrawn funding for sign language courses and these courses remain eligible for funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). We have been clear that provision for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including those with hearing impairments, remains a priority as was stated in both the grant letter to the LSC for 2007-08 and the LSCs annual statement of priorities.
We do not hold information on the staff employed by further education colleges. Further education colleges are independent bodies responsible for recruiting their own staff and determining, with regard to all appropriate legislation, their employment practices.
Anne Main:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children with a special educational need who had been excluded from
schools in (a) St. Albans and (b) Hertfordshire were readmitted in the last period for which figures are available. [113000]
Mr. Dhanda: The requested information is not collected centrally.
Information on appeals against permanent exclusion from a maintained school are collected at local authority level. This includes the number of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil and where reinstatement was directed. The information is not broken down by the characteristics of pupils (such as special educational needs).
In 2004/05, 20 appeals against permanent exclusion were heard by an appeals panel in Hertfordshire local authority. Of these, 11 were determined in favour of the parent/pupil. Of the successful appeals, reinstatement was direct for four (36 per cent. of appeals determined in favour of the parent/pupil).
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) City of York were given a statemented education in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement. [113465]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is shown in the following table.
All schools( 1) : pupils with statements of SEN 2002-06, based on where the pupil attends schoolNorth Yorkshire and York local authorities | ||||||
Position in January each year | ||||||
North Yorkshire | York | |||||
Pupils with statements | Pupils with statements | |||||
Total pupils | Number | Percentage | Total pupils | Number | Percentage | |
(1) Includes nursery, primary, middle, secondary, independent and special schools, pupil referral units, city technology colleges. From 2003 includes academies. Source: Schools Census |
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