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8 Mar 2007 : Column 2242W—continued
Teachers: Training
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much is being provided to each local authority to fund training for teachers on how to search pupils and use techniques to calm pupils. [123748]
Jim Knight: The Department’s draft guidance, “Screening or Searching Pupils for Weapons”, advises that schools training members of staff on how to search pupils or using pupil calming techniques can use funds already available to them for staff training, equipment, or security or from elsewhere within the school’s delegated budget share. The guidance is now the subject of consultation which ends on 15 May. In line with national policy, it is for local discretion to determine the funds money to be made available for training.
Teenage Pregnancy
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) whether the Government is still on target to achieve the aim of halving the number of teenage pregnancies by 2010; [125705]
(2) what actions his Department has taken to support the Government’s target of halving the number of teenage pregnancies by 2010; [125706]
(3) what steps he is taking to focus resources allocated to tackling teenage pregnancy on areas where that rate increased in 2005; [125726]
(4) what guidelines the Government has given to (a) local education authorities and (b) primary care trusts on action to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy. [125727]
Beverley Hughes: 2005 under-18 conception rate data—published by the Office for National Statistics in February 2007—showed that since the 1998 baseline year, the under-18 conception rate in England fell by 11.8 per cent. to its lowest level for over 20 years. The under-16 rate fell by 12.1 per cent. over the same period.
Despite this steady progress, we are below the trajectory needed to achieve the challenging target of halving the under-18 conception rate by 2010. Consequently, we have issued guidance to local authorities and primary care trusts, setting out the key features of local strategies in areas where teenage conception rates have fallen fastest. All areas have been asked to review their strategies against this guidance, with a view to raising all areas’ performance to the levels of the best—if all areas had performed as well as the top quartile, the national reduction would be 26 per cent.—more than twice the 11.8 per cent. reduction that has actually been achieved.
The funding available to each area for delivery of their local strategies is calculated using a formula that takes account of: the area’s under-18 conception rate; the total size of the female population aged 15-17; and the number of prevented conceptions needed in order for the area to meet its under-18 conception rate reduction target (of between 40 and 60 per cent.). We have no plans to change the basis of the formula. Areas with declining rates have achieved this within current funding arrangements, through joint planning and commissioning and we do not believe that effective delivery of local strategies requires more resources. However, areas which have made least progress will receive additional support to strengthen their strategies from their Government office, which is charged with performance managing local areas. For high and increasing rate areas, this will include additional support provided by the Department of Health’s ‘National Support Team’.
Training Levy (Construction Board) Order 2002
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Industrial Training Levy (Construction Board) Order 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [125621]
Phil Hope: The cost of implementing the Industrial Training Levy (Construction Board) Order 2002 was estimated as follows.
| £ million | |
All costs were one off, there were no recurring costs.
Truancy
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in (a) England and (b) Northamptonshire had at least one unauthorised absence in the last year for which figures are available. [124504]
Jim Knight: The number of day pupils of compulsory school age and number of pupils absent with the average number of half days missed for each of these pupils due to unauthorised absence is given in the following table.
| Half days missed due to unauthorised absence per pupil in maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) 2005/06 | |||
| Unauthorised absence | |||
| Number of day pupils of compulsory school age | Number of pupils absent | Average number of half days missed | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed | |||
Unauthorised absence is defined as absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes truancy but also covers other forms of unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school and absence where the reason is not yet established. It is not therefore possible to identify absence from truancy alone.
Young People: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people were not in education, employment or training in the Coventry local authority area in the last year for which figures are available. [118998]
Phil Hope [holding answer 7 February 2007]: There were an estimated 1,000 (9.1 per cent.) 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training in the Coventry local authority area, averaged for the period November 2005 to January 2006.
This figure is drawn from the operational client management systems maintained by Connexions services. It only includes those people known to the service (about 85 per cent. of the population); some young people who attended independent schools or were at school outside England are excluded. The age relates to those of calendar year age 16-18 on the date of measurement.
This NEET measure is that used for setting and monitoring local authority NEET targets. The definition differs from that used to measure the national departmental PSA NEET target. Along with not covering the entire population, the Connexions NEET measure excludes those on gap years, or in custody. The PSA measure is for academic rather than calendar age 16-18.
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