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7 Feb 2008 : Column 1390W—continued
Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects a decision to be reached on the application of Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi to enter the UK. [184292]
Mr. McNulty: Sheikh Qaradawi's tourist visa application has now been refused.
Children, Schools and Families
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service: Finance
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding allocation he proposes to make to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10. [162334]
Kevin Brennan: The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) has been initially allocated the following net amounts:
| (£ million) | |
| Funding | |
Children: Abuse
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimate is of the proportion of child sexual abuse committed by family members or carers of the victim; and if he will make a statement. [163432]
Kevin Brennan: In the year ending 31 March 2007, 2,500 children became the subject of a Child Protection Plan where the category of abuse was recorded as sexual abuse. The Department does not collect information on the perpetrators of abuse.
Children: Day Care
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of child care and early years workers who have qualifications of a standard of less than NVQ Level 3. [163356]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 12 November 2007]: Data on the qualifications of existing child care and early years workers in registered settings are collected as part of the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey. Figures from the 2006 Survey on the proportion of staff holding qualifications at Level 1 or Level 2 are shown in the table as follows. These percentages are based on a sample survey of providers. Estimates of the number of staff with qualifications below Level 3 are not currently available. I will write to the hon. Member with further information in the near future if the additional analysis required to produce these estimates is feasible.
| Table: qualifications held by all paid early years and child care workers | |
| Level 1 or 2 | Percentage |
Health Education: Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to issue guidance to schools on raising awareness among pupils of the risks associated with alcohol. [185383]
Beverley Hughes: The Government are committed to reducing substance misuse among young people, including that relating to alcohol. Alcohol education is delivered alongside that on drugs and volatile substances and is a vital element of our approach. The Department issued its “Drugs: Guidance for Schools” to all maintained schools in February 2004. This makes clear our intention for pupils to be educated about alcohol and its effects in primary school—before drinking patterns become established—and for this to be revisited in secondary school as pupils’ understanding and experience increases.
We are, however, clear of the need to be sure that alcohol education in schools is robust, accurate and effective. As part of the Children’s Plan we have given a commitment to examine the effectiveness of current delivery arrangements for all drugs education—including alcohol—and act to strengthen them if necessary.
Obesity
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government plan to take to identify families with an increased risk of obesity. [185367]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The Child Health Promotion Programme (CHPP) consists of a schedule of screening tests, developmental surveillance health protection, health promotion and parenting guidance. Throughout the CHPP, a series of health reviews provide an opportunity for health professionals to identify families that are most at risk from child weight issues and least able to tackle them. In particular, the assessment by the 12th week of pregnancy allows health professionals to identify mothers who are already obese or overweight, and to give them advice on healthy weight gain in pregnancy. This is crucial for their baby's development, safety and also to ease delivery.
In addition to the CHPP, the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is an important element of the Government's work to address the serious and growing problem of childhood obesity. Established in 2005, the NCMP weighs and measures children in reception year (aged four to five years) and year six (aged 10 to 11 years). Significantly improved coverage has produced one of the largest collection of data on children's height and weight in the world, and this is now being used to inform local planning and delivery of services for children and gather population level data to allow analysis of trends in excess weight.
Teenage Pregnancy: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the rate of teenage pregnancy in Bexley was (a) in 1997 and (b) in each of the last two years. [185735]
Beverley Hughes: The rate of under-18 conceptions in Bexley for each year from 1997 to 2005 (the latest year for which data are available) is provided in the following table.
| Year | Percentage r ate |
The baseline year for the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is 1998. Since then, the under-18 conception rate in Bexley has fallen by 4.2 per cent. This is below the rate of progress in England as a whole—where the under-18 conception rate has fallen by 11.4 per cent. —and in contrast to areas that have similar population characteristics to Bexley, which have achieved impressive reductions. For example, the under-18 conception rate in Havering has fallen by 18 per cent.
To tackle the wide variation in progress between local areas, we have issued guidance to local authorities and primary care trusts, setting out the key ingredients of successful local strategies—based on evidence of what is working in local areas which have made most progress. This evidence identified that successful strategies need to have in place:
Active engagement of all of the key mainstream delivery partners who have a role in reducing teenage pregnancies—Health, Education, Social Services and Youth Support Services—and the voluntary sector;
A strong senior champion who is accountable for and has taken the lead in driving forward the local strategy;
The availability of a well publicised young people-centred contraceptive and sexual health advice service, with a strong remit to undertake health promotion work, as well as delivering reactive services;
A high priority given to PSHE in schools, with support from the local authority to develop comprehensive programmes of sex and relationships education (SRE) in all schools;
A strong focus on targeted interventions with young people at greatest risk of teenage pregnancy, in particular with Looked After Children;
The availability (and consistent take-up) of SRE training for professionals in partner organisations (such as Connexions Personal Advisers, Youth Workers and Social Workers) working with the most vulnerable young people; and
A well resourced Youth Service, providing things to do and places to go for young people, with a clear focus on addressing key social issues affecting young people, such as sexual health and substance misuse.
I am asking areas like Bexley—where rates are either increasing or where progress is slow—to use this guidance to review and update their local strategies. This work is being supported by Government offices who are providing appropriate support and challenge to each the local area. As part of that approach, we are encouraging all areas that are significantly behind trajectory to consider including teenage pregnancy as a priority in their local area agreements that they are currently negotiating with Government offices. The aim is to accelerate progress in all areas 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 reduction actually achieved.
Written Questions
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he will reply to the question 171461, on the number of mainstream secondary schools that have not entered students for a GCSE in modern languages, tabled by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton on 30 November. [174732]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 217W.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
British Overseas Territories: Biodiversity
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding has been provided by the European Commission to support biodiversity conservation projects in UK overseas territories in the last 12 months. [185352]
Meg Munn: Under the Ninth European Development Fund, the European Commission has provided €8 million for regional development projects. The United Kingdom's overseas territories secured funding for two bio-diversity/conservation projects:
the South Atlantic Invasive Species Project was allocated €2 million and covers the Falkland Islands and St. Helena and its dependencies. In the past 12 months £150,000 has been spent on this project;
the Management of Protected Areas to Support Sustainable Economies project, was allocated €2.47 million for use in the Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. I understand funds for the Caribbean project, have yet to flow.
The United Kingdom's overseas territories are also included in a project funded from the European Union's 6th Research Framework Programme entitled “Networking Tropical and Subtropical Bio-diversity Research in Outer Most Regions and Territories of Europe in Support of Sustainable Development”. Total funding allocated to this project is €2,518,311, which is ongoing.
Capita
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was paid by his Department to Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries (a) in 2000-01 and (b) since 2005-06; which contracts were awarded by his Department to Capita Group plc in each year since 2000-01 to the most recent date available; what the cost was of each contract; what penalties for default were imposed in contract provisions; what the length was of each contract; whether the contract was advertised; how many companies applied for the contract; how many were short-listed; what criteria were used for choosing a company; what provision was made for renewal without re-tender in each case; and if he will make a statement. [180705]
Meg Munn: The bulk of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spend with Capita Group plc during this period related to recruitment and training purchased by the FCO's Human Resources Directorate (HRD). In answer to this question, costs and contract information for HRD are therefore shown separately from the rest of the FCO.
FCO spend with Capita Group plc
| £ | ||
| Financial year | Human resources spend | Other FCO spend |
| (1) Due to a changeover in the FCO's management information system, the amount paid to Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries during 2000-01 is not available and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate costs. | ||
FCO contract values (pre 2003)
FCO contract values for 2001-02 and 2002-03 are set out in the following table as total FCO spend with Capita Group plc.
| £ | |
| Financial year | Spend |
Specific contract details are not available for this period and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Human resources FCO contract values (post 2003)
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