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28 Jan 2008 : Column 152W—continued
Young Offender Institutions: Standards
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many institutions have been assessed to (a) be in full compliance, (b) be in partial compliance and (c) have failed to comply with the Youth Justice Board’s code of practice for managing the behaviour of children and young people in the secure estate; and if he will make a statement. [181456]
Mr. Hanson: An exercise is currently under way to measure the extent to which establishments in the secure estate for children and young people are meeting the Youth Justice Board’s code of practice. The results are expected to be known in April.
Young Offenders
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on the implementation of Lord Carlile’s recommendations arising from his February 2006 inquiry into children in custody; and if he will make a statement. [181451]
Mr. Hanson: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) published its response to Lord Carlile’s inquiry in July 2006. Since that time, the YJB has been working hard to implement those of the recommendations that it accepted.
The YJB has implemented a code of practice across the secure estate for children and young people and is actively monitoring establishments’ compliance. It has also improved monitoring and data collection arrangements and undertaken a safeguarding review which is due to be completed by April 2008. The YJB is developing a work force development programme for the young people’s secure estate and is working with the Children’s Workforce Development Council to agree core competencies for people working with children.
The YJB is also in the process of developing more sophisticated conflict resolution techniques. Pilots in restorative justice and therapeutic crisis intervention techniques are both under way. The YJB has also considerably increased the number of outdoor exercise facilities for young people.
Young Offenders: Mentally Ill
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offenders and juveniles in custody had one or more diagnosed mental health disorders in each of the last five years. [182132]
Mr. Hanson: This information is not held centrally.
In the study “Mental Health Needs and Effectiveness of Provision for Young Offenders in Custody and in the Community” (Professor Richard Harrington and Professor Sue Bailey, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales 2005) 31 per cent. were identified as having a mental health problem. A copy of the document is available in the Library.
Young Offenders: Sentencing
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider introducing a court diversion scheme for offenders aged 16 to 25 involving attendance on a course of military training as an alternative to court sentencing. [178215]
Mr. Hanson: The Government share the concerns about offending by young people and recognise that the military may have resources that could benefit young offenders. We are consulting with a range of organisations which have an interest in youth justice and the provision of youth justice services as part of the Youth Crime Action Plan which will be published in the summer, and will consider the feasibility of sending young offenders on training programmes by the armed services in light of the response to that consultation.
However, we do not think that a course of military training is the answer. Research from the United States indicates that simply adopting a military-style regime does not, of itself, reduce reoffending. The more successful programmes were those which supported their physically challenging and highly disciplined regimes with well developed education and training addressing offending behaviour.
We are planning to test out the referral of young adult offenders (18 to 25 years) to existing senior attendance centres through the conditional cautioning scheme, which diverts offenders who admit their offence from court in appropriate circumstances. The centres aim to assist these offenders to acquire and develop personal responsibility, self-discipline and new practical skills and interests within a structured and disciplined environment.
At present, the conditional cautioning scheme applies only to those aged 18 and above, but we are extending the scheme to young offenders aged 16 and 17 years old through provisions in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill currently before Parliament.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academies have (a) produced proposals for collaboration with other schools and (b) allowed their staff to teach in other local schools. [169307]
Jim Knight [holding answer 29 November 2007]: Schools are not required to submit proposals for collaboration. The Department does not collect information on staff from academies teaching in other schools.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academies he has visited since becoming Secretary of State. [169834]
Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has visited the Bristol Brunel Academy; the Harris Girls’ Academy, East Dulwich and the City of London Academy, Southwark since his appointment in June 2007.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities are (a) co-sponsoring and (b) planning to co-sponsor academies; which academies each is sponsoring or co-sponsoring; on what date the (i) expression of interest was received and (ii) funding agreement was signed in each case; and if he will make a statement. [176722]
Jim Knight: The following local authorities have agreed to co-sponsor academies:
Cheshire county council
Corporation of London
Coventry city council
Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Kent county council
Manchester city council
Sunderland city council
Telford and Wrekin council
West Sussex county council
The following table shows which academies these local authorities are sponsoring and the date that the expression of interest was signed. The date that the funding agreement was signed is also given for the academies that have reached this stage.
| Local authority | Academy name (predecessor school if academy not yet named) | FA (if agreed) | EOI agreed |
|
TBC South Area Academy (Whitby High School, Cheshire Oaks High School and Ellesmere Port School) | |||
Academies: General Certificate of Secondary Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimates are of the proportion of pupils in academies obtaining (a) five or more A* to C GCSEs and (b) five or more A* to C GCSEs, including Mathematics and English. [170196]
Jim Knight: The amended Key Stage 4 results for 2007 show that, excluding former CTCs, a total of 36 academies have GCSE results for 2007. The percentage of pupils in academies with five or more grades A*-C in 2007 was 43.7 per cent.; and the percentage with five or more grades A*-C including English and maths was 25.2 per cent.
For the 20 academies with results in both 2006 and 2007 the percentage achieving five plus A*-C increased by 8.1 percentage points which is more than three times the increase of 2.6 percentage points seen nationally (maintained, mainstream, CTCs and academies). If English and maths are included, results in academies have risen by 5.1 percentage points which is two and a half times greater than the increase of 1.8 percentage points seen nationally.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academies have performance figures for five or more GCSE exams at grades A* to C, including mathematics and English, of below 30 per cent. in the most recent year for which figures are available. [163310]
Jim Knight: The latest school level GCSE data are for 2007. In that year, 26 out of the 40 academies with results had less than 30 per cent. of their pupils achieving five+ A* to C including English and maths.
Results for 2006 showed that 18 out of the 24 academies that had results in that year had less than 30 per cent. of their pupils achieving five+ A* to C including English and maths.
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