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1 May 2007 : Column 1570W—continued
Higher Education: Health and Safety Inspections
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the frequency of health and safety inspections in higher education. [116641]
Bill Rammell: No such assessment has been made. It is the duty of governing bodies of higher education institutions, as employers, to ensure that their organisations comply with all legislation including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1976 and subsequent regulations. Inspection and enforcement is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities and will depend on the nature of activities carried out in individual higher education institutions.
National Identity Register
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what personal data held by his Department will be entered on to the National Identity Register; and if he will make a statement. [107791]
Mr. Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that the Minister for Children and Families, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Beverley Hughes) gave him on 27 November 2006, Official Report, column 426W.
Information that may be entered in the National Identity Register is specified at section 3 and schedule 1 of the Identity Cards Act. Information will be entered on the basis of fresh applications for registration when individuals apply for identity cards. There will be no
bulk transfer of data to populate the Register. The Department has yet to identify any datasets it holds that might be used for verifying information to be recorded about individuals in the National Identity Register.
Outdoor Education: Biology
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average amount of time spent by A-level biology students out of the classroom was in each of the last five years; what the nature of students’ activities out of the classroom was; and what assessment he has made of the impact of such activities on students’ learning and understanding. [132988]
Jim Knight: The Department does not collect information about the amount of time spent by A-level biology students out of the classroom or the nature of students’ activities out of the classroom. In 2004, the Department co-sponsored a review carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, ‘A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning’. The review covered research on outdoor learning published from 1993 to 2003. The report states that
“Substantial evidence exists to indicate that fieldwork, properly conceived, adequately planned, well taught and effectively
followed up, offers learners opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in ways that add value to their everyday experiences in the classroom.”
Pupil Exclusions
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded from school on the grounds of health and safety in each of the last five years. [131191]
Jim Knight: The requested information is not collected centrally. Pupils may only be excluded from school for disciplinary reasons; they cannot be formally excluded for reasons of health and safety.
Pupils: Assessments
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attained a lower or the same level at key stage 3 (a) tests and (b) teacher assessments than what they attained at key stage 2 in each year since 1997. [132231]
Jim Knight: The information requested is summarised in the following table.
| Number of pupils at same level or lower at KS3 as at KS2( 1) | ||||||
| English | Maths | Science | ||||
| National Curriculum test | Teacher assessment | National Curriculum test | Teacher assessment | National Curriculum test | Teacher assessment | |
| (1) ‘Same level or lower’ is defined according to National Curriculum test/teacher assessment level and point score. The levels are B (working below the level of the test), N (not awarded a test level) and 2-8 for National Curriculum tests, and W (working towards Level 1) and 1-8 for teacher assessments. Pupils absent or unable to access the tests at either KS2 or KS3 are not included. (2) The DFES and NAA are currently validating teacher assessment data submitted by schools for KS3 in 2006. As a result of this ongoing work, teacher assessment data for 2006 have not yet been published. | ||||||
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the per pupil cost of a young person (a) studying a new vocational diploma and (b) remaining in school to study GCSEs and A-levels. [131591]
Jim Knight: We are currently reviewing funding arrangements from 2008-09 for schools and post-16 providers including school sixth forms. Our proposals are contained in two funding consultation documents: the ‘School, Early years and 14-16 funding consultation' which deals with funding up to the age of 16, and ‘Delivering World Class Skills in a Demand Led System' which covers all post-16 learning funded through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The post-16 consultation ended at the end of March and the pre-16 consultation closes at the end of May.
Under the funding methodology proposed for sixth forms, which would also apply to provision delivered in colleges, the estimated per pupil cost of a young person studying a typical programme of five GCSEs or three A levels is £4,000.
Work is under way to develop comparable per pupil cost figures for diplomas but is not yet finalised. This will need to take account of the diploma specifications for the first five diploma lines which should be available this September.
The Department has carried out modelling work based on five local authorities to illustrate what additional per pupil funding schools might need for Diplomas at Key Stage 4. Based on that work the Average Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU) for a pupil taking up a diploma would be 1.3 times the AWPU of a child not taking up diploma provision.
School: Sports
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what estimate he has made of the number of schools in England which provide (a) less than two hours of sport per week, (b) two to four hours of sport per week and (c) four hours or more of sport per week; [133427]
(2) what estimate he has made of the average number of hours of sport played in each school in England per week. [133428]
Jim Knight: Data are not collected centrally in the format requested. The 2005/06 School Sport Survey found that overall, 80 per cent. of pupils in schools within a school sport partnership took part in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport in a typical week—exceeding the 2006 PSA target of 75 per cent.
In the longer term, the ambition is that by 2010, all young people will be offered at least four hours of sport every week. This will comprise of at least two hours of PE and sport during the school day and at least an additional 2-3 hours of sport beyond the school day (delivered by a range of school, community and club providers).
Schools: Admissions
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools were oversubscribed in the last year for which figures are available. [126014]
Jim Knight: We do not collate this information centrally, but individual local authorities should be able to supply it.
Schools: Crimes of Violence
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many incidents of violence towards (a) staff and (b) pupils were reported in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in each year since 1997. [126526]
Jim Knight: The number of incidents of violence towards staff and pupils in schools is not collected centrally.
From the academic year 2003/04, information is available on the reasons for pupil exclusions. These reasons include ‘physical assault against a pupil’ and ‘physical assault against an adult’.
The tables provide a breakdown of the number of pupils who have been excluded for a fixed period or permanently from maintained primary and secondary schools for physical assault against a pupil or an adult.
| Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : Number and percentage of fixed period exclusions for physical assault against a pupil or an adult 2003/04 and 2004/05—England | ||||||||
| Maintained primary | Maintained secondary | |||||||
| Physical assault against a pupil | Physical assault against an adult | Physical assault against a pupil | Physical assault against an adult | |||||
| Number | Percentag e( 2) | Number | Percentag e( 2) | Number | Percentag e( 2) | Number | Percentag e( 2) | |
| (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Number of fixed period exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of fixed period exclusions. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Termly Exclusions Survey | ||||||||
| Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : Number and percentage of permanent exclusions for physical assault against a pupil or an adult( 2) —2003/04 and 2004/05—England | ||||||||
| Maintained primary | Maintained secondary | |||||||
| Physical assault against a pupil | Physical assault against an adult | Physical assault against a pupil | Physical assault against an adult | |||||
| Number | Percentag e( 3) | Number | Percentag e( 3) | Number | Percentag e( 3) | Number | Percentag e( 3) | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) The distribution of exclusions by reason has been derived from the Termly Exclusions Survey data and applied to the number of permanent exclusions as confirmed by local authorities as part of the School Census checking exercise. (3) Number of permanent exclusions by reason expressed as a percentage of the total number of permanent exclusions. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census and Termly Exclusions Survey | ||||||||
Schools: VAT
Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to extend the removal of VAT constraints from academies to all facilities funded through the Building Schools for the Future programme. [131371]
Jim Knight: In the past, new academy buildings have been zero rated due to academies’ status as charities. However, this zero rating placed restrictions on the “business use” of the buildings i.e. the community use of the buildings for which a charge is made. The Chancellor’s budget announcement statement concerning the removal of VAT constraints for current academies and those planned for the future enables the scope of these buildings’ use to be extended and future buildings can now be designed with community use in mind.
These changes will further strengthen the effectiveness and value for money of the academies programme as it continues to move forward.
The Department will continue an open dialogue with colleagues at HM Treasury about VAT policy and other matters. However, we must be mindful that European Union VAT agreements, signed by successive
Governments, mean that while the UK can retain existing zero rates, such as that for charitable buildings, it cannot extend these or introduce any new VAT reliefs.
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