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5 Jun 2007 : Column 364W—continued
Children in Care
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the proposed time scale is for the publication of the White Paper following the Green Paper “Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care”. [138115]
Mr. Dhanda: As the Secretary of State announced when he launched the consultation responses to the Green Paper, the “Care Matters” White Paper will be published in the summer.
Children: Day Care
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of eligible parents took up their full entitlement to child care support in 2006-07. [138832]
Beverley Hughes: Information is not available in the form requested. Data on eligibility and take-up of free or subsidised child care overall are not available centrally.
The 2006 Early Years and Annual Schools Censuses show the number of part-time early education places funded by the free entitlement for three and four-year-olds in England was 1,029,700(1) or 92 per 100 three and four-year-old children. Figures for January 2006 show that 96 per cent. of three-year-olds and all four-year-old children benefit from some free early-years education.
Childcare used by parents can be subsidised in a variety of ways, including the childcare element of the working tax credit, local authority subsidies, Jobcentre Plus new deals, care to learn, learner support funds and NHS child care allowances.
(1) The number of children benefiting from some form of free early education can exceed the number of free part-time early education places taken up by children as a place may be taken up by more than one child.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he plans to take to inform parents of the Voluntary Ofsted Childcare Register introduced from April this year. [140274]
Beverley Hughes: The Department is planning a range of communication activities to support the introduction of the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register (vOCR) from the summer onwards. This will include online advice and information aimed at raising awareness, and helping parents and childcare providers understand the requirements and benefits of registration. Ofsted’s leaflet for parents on using childcare services now includes information on the vOCR, the text of which is on its website.
Education: Carers
Dr. Francis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) educational bodies and (b) carers'
organisations on improving access and skills opportunities for unpaid carers; and if he will make a statement. [138770]
Phil Hope: Officials in the Department and in the Learning and Skills Council have discussed with Skills for Care, the Sector Skills Council for the care sector, how the national employer training programme in England, Train to Gain, could be made more relevant to the needs of employers and employees within the care sector, and are currently considering proposals.
In England, Train to Gain offers employers in all sectors easy access, via a free skills brokerage service, to a full range of training provision including fully subsidised training leading to a Skills for Life or first full level 2 qualification, such as a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 2.
From September 2006, all adults in England who do not have a full qualification at level 2 are entitled to free tuition to get one, even if they do not work for an employer who is involved with the Train to Gain programme. They can access this level 2 entitlement through their local further education college or a range of other publicly funded training providers. There is also an entitlement to free literacy and numeracy training.
Every Child Counts Initiative
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what progress has been made in achieving the Government's aim of providing one-to-one tuition for 300,000 under-attaining pupils a year in mathematics as announced in the Budget 2007; [139888]
(2) what the (a) value and (b) recipient is of each payment to external consultancies as part of developing and implementing the Every Child Counts initiative; [139889]
(3) how many staff in his Department are working on the Every Child Counts initiative, broken down by pay band; [139890]
(4) how many schools have been consulted on the Every Child Counts initiative; [139891]
(5) what estimate he has made of the cost of providing guidance to schools on the Every Child Counts initiative; [139892]
(6) how much was allocated to provide 300,000 pupils with one-to-one tuition in (a) English and (b) mathematics by 2010-11, broken down by financial year, as announced in his Department's Comprehensive Spending Review Settlement on 21 March 2007. [140152]
Jim Knight: The Department is planning two separate but related one-to-one tuition programmes, which will raise standards in maths:
one-to-one tuition to help 300,000 children who have fallen behind in English and mathematics by 2010-11. Such support is being trialled in the 'Making Good Progress' pilot; and
a more intensive initiative specifically designed for early intervention in mathematics; a counterpart to the 'Every Child a Reader' literacy programme, on which we are already committed to nationwide roll-out.
The Treasury allocates resources to Departments on a three-year cycle through spending reviews. The DfES received the settlement for 2008-09 to 2010-11 in the 2007 Budget. We are now thoroughly evaluating the financial implications and are working to allocate funding as effectively as possible. Detailed allocations have not yet been announced but we will ensure that allocations are announced as soon as possible.
We are currently in the process of planning the scope, resources and roll-out of the early intervention programme and analysing which areas of maths require most support. Given the very early stage we are at, no consultants or schools have been consulted in the development of the initial plans. One member of staff (a senior executive officer) is currently leading the development of the programme with the support of colleagues and senior management. We will consult the maths community as we develop our plans and make a more detailed announcement in due course. Delivery is expected to begin during 2008.
Extended Schools: Finance
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what allocation has been made to each local education authority in England for extended school provision in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; [138679]
(2) what the projected expenditure per head is on extended schools in the secondary sector in each local education authority for 2007-08; [138680]
(3) what the allocation to each secondary school in London was for extended schools development in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; [138681]
(4) what percentage of Government allocation for extended schools was withheld for central administration and support in each London local education authority in 2006-07; [138682]
(5) what guidance he has issued on charging policies for (a) extended schools and (b) other out-of-school facilities; and what specific arrangements are in place for schools serving populations with high levels of deprivation. [138683]
Beverley Hughes: The Government have allocated a total of £384 million to local authorities in England over the period 2006-08 to support the development and provision of extended schools. These allocations are set out in the annex.
The Department for Education and Skills does not hold information on how much funding each London secondary school was allocated, their projected expenditure per head or what percentage of Government allocation was withheld for central administration and support in each London local authority, and the information requested can be supplied only at disproportionate cost. The Department for Education and Skills encourages all local authorities to devolve their extended schools funding to their schools. This should be done in line with their plan for rolling out extended schools which they will have drawn up in discussion with all schools in their area.
The Department for Education and Skills issued guidance about planning and funding extended schools in June 2006. The guidance provides information on
charging for extended activities for those who can afford it, and recognises that children and young people from low-income families will benefit from free access to some extended school activities. To ensure this since 2006-07 schools have been able to use their School Standards Grant to support the development and delivery of extended services including supporting access for their most disadvantaged children and young people to extended activities. By 2010-11 an additional £217 million will be invested so that disadvantaged children and young people will be able to access at least two hours a week of extended activities and some activities during the school holidays.
| Annex | ||
| Total funding | ||
| LA | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
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