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19 July 2007 : Column 531W—continued


There are currently 1,337 children centres, and the Department is on course to achieve its target of 2,500 by 2008. The Government have set a national target of 3,500 centres by 2010, but projected figures for the final phase (2008 to 2010) cannot be given for individual years as local authority planning for these centres is at a very early stage.

Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what target his Department has been set by HM Treasury as part of the comprehensive spending review settlement announced in the 2007 Budget for efficiency savings over the period covered by the review. [148918]

Ed Balls: How the current target for efficiency savings will be divided between the newly created Departments for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) we will set out our efficiency target in due course.

Departments: Targets

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which departmental targets will transfer to his Department from the former Department for Education and Skills. [149139]

Ed Balls: My Department is responsible for the following PSA targets, each of which were agreed between the former Department for Education and Skills and HM Treasury as part of the 2004 spending review:


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Education: Local Government

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the likely impact of structural changes to local government on education. [146458]

Beverley Hughes: The decision as to which proposals for unitary local authorities should proceed to stakeholder consultation reflected the collective decision of Government. All the 26 unitary proposals that were received in response to the invitation issued on 26 October 2006 were assessed against the five criteria set out in that invitation. The 16 unitary proposals that have been subject to the stakeholder consultation will now be reassessed against the same five criteria, having regard to all the information available, including that received in response to the consultation.


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Family Courts: Counselling

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what proportion of family disputes were (a) successfully mediated, (b) unsuccessfully mediated and (c) not mediated for (i) publicly funded cases, (ii) privately funded cases and (iii) cases in which only one party was publicly funded in each of the last five years; [150033]

(2) what estimate his Department has made of effects on costs of increasing the number of mediated cases in family disputes for both publicly and privately funded cases; and if he will make a statement. [150034]

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.

The Ministry of Justice only have figures for publicly funded mediations. The National Audit Office (NAO) report “Legal aid and mediation for people involved in family breakdown” published in April 2007 found that only 20 per cent. of people who are funded by legal aid for family breakdown currently opt for mediation. The figures for the last five years are as follows:

Total number of mediations Successful mediations reaching agreement (percentage) Number of mediations that broke down (percentage)

2002/03

13,841

56

44

2003/04

14,290

60

40

2004/05

14,355

57

43

2005/06

14,128

60

40

2006/07

13,889

66

34


In relation to cases where only one party is legally aided, this data could be obtained only at disproportional cost to the LSC. However, in compiling their report, the NAO did analyse LSC data for the period between October 2004 and March 2006 and found that where one party was publicly funded no agreement was reached in 43 per cent. of cases, compared to 40 per cent. of cases where both parties were publicly funded.

With regard to the assessment of savings, the Legal Services Commission has done some initial work on this, but is currently considering the NAO recommendations and finalising the action plan which may include some assessment of projected savings to the legal aid budget.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effects on children in family disputes that have been resolved through (a) mediation and (b) the courts; and if he will make a statement. [150160]

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested is as follows.

Mediation

The Government believe that mediation can offer considerable advantages over going to court in the settling of family disputes, especially where children are involved.

A survey was carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 2002. The survey indicated parents who made their own arrangements for children following
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relationship breakdown were far more satisfied than when the courts ordered arrangements. The policy aim is to increase the proportion of parents making arrangement for themselves. Mediation is one way of helping these parents.

The provisions of the Children and Adoption Act 2006 will enable the court to direct parties in child contact disputes to attend a meeting about mediation. Referrals will also be encouraged through changes to court rules and forms, particularly in relation to disputes over children.

The National Audit Office Report on legal aid and family mediation published in March 2007 was supportive of family mediation and concluded mediation could resolve cases significantly more quickly and could also reduce legal aid costs. However, it did not include a specific evaluation of effects on children.

Courts

The Ministry of Justice (then DCA) has commissioned various pieces of research, which considered the effect on children in family disputes that have been resolved through the courts.

A report by Liz Trinder published in March 2006, evaluated the process and effectiveness of in-court conciliation in contact cases as well as the relative effectiveness of three different models of in-court conciliation. In-court conciliation is another way to help parents reach agreement themselves.

In September 2006, the consultation paper on the Separate Representation of Children was published. The consultation considered how to provide better outcomes for children whose parents are separating and to safeguard their interests in section 8 Children Act 1989 proceedings when their parents have turned to the courts to decide where the child shall live, and who the child should see. It also considered the question of judges and magistrates speaking directly to children to help them obtain an informed picture of the case. The consultation ended on 8 December and a response is due to be published shortly.

Nursery Schools: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of children of nursery school age were in nursery education in (a) Castle Point and (b) Essex in each of the last five years. [150068]

Ed Balls: The available information is shown in the tables.


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Table 1: Number of three and four-year-olds benefiting from free early education places and the part-time equivalent number of free early education places filled by three and four-year-olds , C astle Point parliamentary constituency area , p osition in January each year
Number of children benefiting from some free early education Part- time equivalent funded places filled Part - time equivalent funded places filled per 100 children in the population

2004

1,900

1,600

91

2005

1,800

1,600

90

2006

1,800

1,500

n/a

2007

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a = Not available.
Notes:
1. ONS population estimates are aggregated to age groupings of at least five years. Figures based on a single year of age at the sub-national level are therefore of limited reliability.
2. A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child.
3. Prior to 2004, information on early education places was derived from returns made by local authorities as part of the Nursery Education Grant (NEG) data collection exercise. These data were collected at local authority level, therefore, data at parliamentary constituency area are not available.

Table 2: Number of three and four-year-olds benefiting from early education places and the part-time equivalent number of free early education places filled by three and four-year-olds , Essex local authority area , p osition in January each year
Number of children benefiting from some free early education Part- time equivalent funded places filled Part- time equivalent funded places filled per 100 children in the population

2003

n/a

26,600

85

2004

31,300

26,700

87

2005

30,800

26,300

88

2006

30,200

26,000

88

2007

30,600

26,400

88

n/a = Not available.
Notes:
1. ONS population estimates are aggregated to age groupings of at least five years. Figures based on a single year of age at the sub-national level are therefore of limited reliability.
2. A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child.

The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 19/2007 “Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2007”, available on my Department's website

The population estimates for the number of times three and four-year-olds in both Castle Point parliamentary constituency and Essex local authority indicate reduction over the periods shown in the tables.

Parents as Partners in Early Learning Project: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what total budget has been allocated to the Parents as Partners in Early Learning project; [150745]

(2) if he will list the schemes which have received funding under the Parents as Partners in Early Learning project. [150744]

Beverley Hughes: A total of £9 million has been allocated in 2007-08 to support local authorities in developing and disseminating approaches to working effectively with hard-to-reach parents to support their children’s early learning and development. We do not hold a list of individual schemes. The 41 authorities which have received funding to support a range of projects in their area is set out as follows:


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