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17 Mar 2008 : Column 919W—continued
Halton
Knowsley
Lancashire
Rochdale
Sefton
Thameside
Calderdale
East Riding
Kirklees
Rotherham
Derby
Leicester
Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
Coventry
Dudley
Solihull
Staffordshire
Wolverhampton
Worcestershire
East Cambridge
Luton
Peterborough
Southend
Suffolk
Thurrock
East Sussex
Hampshire
Oxfordshire
Portsmouth
Reading
Slough
Southampton
Bath and North East Somerset
Bristol
Cornwall
Plymouth
Somerset
Brent
Camden
Croydon
Enfield
Hackney
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Lambeth
Lewisham
Redbridge
Southwark
Tower Hamlets
Schools: Admissions
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in the maintained schools category have been levying charges on applicants to the school in the last 12 months; and what the type and religious category is of each. [194306]
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families further to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008, Official Report, columns 3-4WS, on school admissions and parental preferences for 2008 (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) voluntary aided and (b) foundation schools which were not found to be complying with the schools admissions code; and if he will make a statement; [194652]
(2) which schools in (a) Northamptonshire, (b) Manchester and (c) Barnet were found not to be complying with the schools admissions code; what violations of the code were found in each case; and if he will make a statement. [194694]
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008, Official Report, columns 4-7W, on school admissions (strengthening the system), (1) if he will list the schools in Northamptonshire, Manchester and Barnet that (a) ask parents to commit to making financial contributions as a condition of admission, (b) do not give looked after children the priority required by law, (c) ask about the marital status, occupation or financial status of parents, (d) give priority on the basis of family members who are not siblings attending the school and (e) interview children; [194797]
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter sent by his Department to Northamptonshire county council, Manchester city council and Barnet borough council regarding the admissions arrangements of schools in those areas. [194798]
Jim Knight: As I announced to Parliament on 11 March 2008, we have written to all the schools where we have found evidence of non-compliance with the School Admissions Code and admissions legislation and have asked them to verify our findings. When this process is complete we will release the names of the schools we wrote to and identify those with non-compliant admission arrangements, and will report back to the House.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008, Official Report, columns 4-7WS, on school admissions (strengthening the system), on what day his Department wrote to (a) Northamptonshire county council, (b) Manchester city council and (b) Barnet borough council asking them to verify the findings of the review into their published admission arrangements. [194957]
Jim Knight: The officials wrote to Barnet, Manchester and Northampton local authorities on 10 March 2008.
Schools: Disadvantaged
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools had (i) less than 10 per cent. of children, (ii) less than 20 per cent. of children and (iii) more than 50 per cent. of children entitled to free school dinners in (A) 1997 and (B) 2007; [193061]
(2) what proportion of schools in each (a) region and (b) London local authority in pupil entitlement to free school dinners declined between 1997 and 2007. [193062]
Jim Knight: Information from the School Census shows that, taking primary and secondary schools together, in 1997 in England 34 per cent. of schools had less than 10 per cent., 60 per cent. had less than 20 per cent. and 8 per cent. had more than 50 per cent. of children entitled to free school dinners. In 2007 these figures were respectively 48 per cent., 70 per cent. and 4 per cent.
Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Schools: Expenditure
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much of the schools budget was spent on (a) books and learning resources and (b) ICT equipment in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [192673]
Jim Knight: The information requested is as follows:
| (a) Books and Learning Resources | |
| £ | |
(b) The Department does not collect records of expenditure on ICT equipment at school level; however in 2007-08, we allocated £833 million to support ICT in schools, including for the purchase of new equipment. The Department does not ring-fence capital allocations to local authorities. Accordingly, it does not maintain records of capital spending in respect of ICT equipment.
Schools: Lincolnshire
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was allocated to local authorities in north-east Lincolnshire through the dedicated schools grant in each year since its introduction; how many (a) Sure Start centres, (b) children's centres, (c) academies and (d) special schools there are in each such authority; and how much was spent on school buildings in those authorities in each year since 1997. [192091]
Jim Knight: The dedicated schools grant for north-east Lincolnshire was £93.904 million in 2006-07 and £92.859 million in 2007-08. The indicative DSG allocations for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 are £91.129 million, £92.952 million and £94.811 million respectively. These are based on the Department's pupil projections for these years. The final allocations will reflect actual pupil numbers.
(a) and (b) currently nine designated Sure Start children's centres;
(c) three academies; and
(d) two community special schools.
The capital allocation for north-east Lincolnshire is as follows:
| £ million | |
| (1) The large allocation in 2006-07 includes £11.9 million of targeted capital funding. | |
Schools: Offensive Weapons
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many times schools have exercised the power to randomly screen pupils using metal detectors since October 2006; and how many weapons have been recovered as a result of such searches; [193810]
(2) how many searches without consent have been conducted by schools of pupils suspected of carrying a weapon since May 2007; and how many weapons have been recovered as a result of such searches. [193811]
Jim Knight: We announced in October 2006 that schools can randomly screen pupils for weapons using metal detectors and we introduced a power in May 2007 for head teachers to search without consent any pupil they suspected of carrying a weapon. We do not collect figures showing the number of such screenings or searches or the number of weapons seized by either method. We shall review the search power within three years of implementation when we shall also consider the effects of screening.
Schools: Standards
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of the 100 most improved schools based on sustained improvement between 2004 and 2007 are located in London; and what proportion of secondary schools are located in London. [193059]
Jim Knight: 21 of the 100 most improved schools based on sustained improvement between 2004 and 2007 are located in London. This figure is based on improvement in the proportion of 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent, including English and Mathematics.
There are 712 secondary schools located in London. This is 14.1 per cent. of all secondary schools.
Schools: Sustainable Development
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what publicly funded sources of information are available to head teachers who want to (a) reduce the carbon footprint of their school and (b) promote environmentally friendly behaviour within their school and community; [193071]
(2) what sources of public funds are available to head teachers to take steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their school; [193072]
(3) what sources of public funds are available for head teachers who wish to spend money on the deployment of renewable energy technology within their school; [193073]
(4) what sources of public funds are available to support head teachers who wish to promote energy efficiency in their school; [193074]
(5) what plans he has to increase the amount of (a) information and (b) funding for head teachers who wish to (i) reduce the carbon footprint of their school and (ii) promote environmentally friendly behaviour in the school and community. [193075]
Jim Knight: The National Framework for Sustainable Schools provides an overarching structure for schools to consider the impact of their curriculum, their campus and their place in the community on the environment and on sustainable development more widely. It supports schools to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that young people will need to ensure their futures in a sustainable world.
The Department has funded the production of the following resources to support head teachers and other school stakeholders in reducing the carbon footprint of their schools and to promote environmentally friendly behaviour within schools and communities:
A Sustainable Schools website which is hosted on www.teachernet.gov.uk and provides links to sources of information and support from a range of public and third sector bodies.
A self-evaluation tool (s3) has been designed to help schools evaluate their current efforts to create a sustainable school and to inform their next steps.
Guidance for governors (including a training package) to help them understand the benefits of sustainable schools, and provide the leadership necessary to position sustainability at the heart of school life.
Guidance for bursars—a short handbook addressing energy, water, waste, travel and procurement issues in schools.
Guidance for teachers—curriculum resources and information about professional development.
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