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18 Mar 2008 : Column 1083W—continued
Secondary Education: Greater London
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the key stage 3 results were for each London secondary school in 2007; and what the percentage change on results in 2006 was in each case, broken down by type of school and the classification of the school. [193058]
Jim Knight: The national 2007 Key Stage 3 results were published on 27 February 2008. The attached table contains Key Stage 3 level 5+ results for English, maths and science for secondary maintained mainstream schools in London.
Special Educational Needs
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his policy is on statementing children with special needs. [194227]
Kevin Brennan: Under the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a duty, where necessary, to assess children's special educational needs (SEN) and draw up SEN statements. The Government provide statutory guidance in the SEN code of practice to help local authorities fulfil that duty. The Government expect every child who needs a statement to have their SEN met will receive one. Our SEN strategy ‘Removing Barriers to Achievement’ set out a programme to improve SEN provision in schools with the result that more children can have their special educational needs met fully without requiring a statement. However, the Government have maintained parents' rights, under the Education Act 1996, to request a statutory assessment of their children's SEN, with a view to statements being drawn up, and to appeal refusals to assess and statement to the SEN and Disability Tribunal.
Young People: Crime Prevention
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of youth inclusion support panels and youth inclusion panels in preventing crime. [193852]
Beverley Hughes: An evaluation by the University of Newcastle, published in October 2007, concluded that YISPs improved the mental health and school results of the young participants, and making them less likely to get into trouble.
The independent evaluation of phase 1 of the Youth Inclusion Programme (2000-03), carried out Morgan Harris Burrows, Consultants, found that after young people's engagement on the programme the majority of the core group of young people were being arrested less frequently, and for less serious offences. The Phase 2 evaluation 2004-06 is due to be published in April this year.
The University of York's Prevention Cohort Study, which is looking at a sample of young people who are receiving services from YJB funded prevention programmes, has delivered its interim progress report to the Youth Justice Board but is not due to present its final report until 2010.
Duchy of Lancaster
Community Champions Scheme: Finance
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the number of organisations which have been in receipt of Community Champions funding who will not receive any similar funding from the financial year 2008-09 onwards; and if he will make a statement. [192036]
Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
Community Champions Fund support is provided to individuals, not organisations. It is delivered through the nine Government offices (GOs) in England. Each GO is allocated a budget according to the number of long-term unemployed (six months or more) 18 to 65-year-olds in the region. The GOs deliver the funding through locally contracted intermediary organisations. These promote the programme, support and receive applications, in conjunction with the GOs undertake selection, and administer accounts for individual payments. Up to 15 per cent. of the allocated budget can be drawn on by the intermediaries to administer the fund.
Voluntary Organisations: Learning Disability
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps his Department is taking to support third sector organisations which provide support services for users with serious learning disabilities. [193950]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
The Department of Health supports such third sector bodies in a number of ways. Funding is given to voluntary sector organisations through the section 64 Grants scheme. There has been significant funding
from the valuing people budget for advocacy including advocacy for people with high learning disability support needs.
In some very specific areas, Government Departments are already providing funding for advocacy, for example, in order to build capacity in learning disability focused and older people’s services and to meet legislative commitments.
Funding has been provided to some third sector organisations to support provision of homes for people coming out of the national health service campus accommodation for people with learning disabilities, which the Government are committed to close by the end of the decade. The Department is leading work to build the capacity of user-led organisations of disabled people, including those with learning disabilities, family and informal carers and other people who use support. The aim is to promote independent living with a range of services being provided by user-led organisations.
Justice
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times (a) antisocial behaviour orders, (b) acceptable behaviour contracts, (c) warnings, (d) individual support plans, (e) action plan orders, (f) child safety orders, (g) referral orders, (h) parenting orders, (i) parenting contracts, (j) local child curfew schemes, (k) dispersal powers, (l) fixed penalty notices for disorderly behaviour, (m) detention and training orders, (n) seizure of vehicles used antisocially, (o) closure of licensed premises, (p) confiscation of alcohol from young people and (q) designated public places orders have been used in each (i) local authority and (ii) police authority area, broken down by basic command unit, in each region of England and Wales in each year since the introduction of the powers. [176314]
Maria Eagle: The information requested that is available has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Information on the number of acceptable behaviour contracts are not centrally held by my Department. Information on the number of Child Safety Orders issued are not collected centrally. This order only applies to children under 10 years of age. It can be applied to a child who has committed an offence, has breached a Child Curfew or has caused harassment, distress or alarm to others.
No local child curfew scheme has yet been set up under the powers which were provided by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Sections 48 and 49 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 enables the police to seize a vehicle they reasonably believe is being driven in a way that both contravenes s3 or 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and is causing or is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance. Information on the number of vehicles seized by the police under this provision is not collected centrally.
Information on the closure of licensed premises is the province of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). They have told me that they do not hold information on every individual local authority area in England and Wales.
No information is currently held centrally by the DCMS concerning closure notices and closure orders made under sections 160 or 169A of the Licensing Act 2003; under section 40 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003; or under sections 19 and 21 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
However information is available on the number of closures made by the police under section 161 of the Licensing Act 2003. There were 44 closure orders made by senior police officers between April 2006 and March 2007 based on returns from 85 per cent of licensing authorities.
A small scale Confiscation of Alcohol Campaign took place between 8 October—5 November (with particular focus on the school half term holiday, Halloween and bonfire night). 23 police Basic Command Units took part in the campaign with over 3,700 litres of alcohol confiscated.
Designated public places orders are the responsibility of the Home Office and they have informed me they do not collect information centrally on how Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) areas are enforced by the police. For example, the number of PNDs issued; prosecutions or numbers of individuals who comply with a police constable's request to refrain from consuming alcohol.
The Home Office have been notified of 545 DPPOs introduced since they came into force on 1 September 2001.
Bail
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many defendants on bail between pleading guilty or being found guilty and sentence subsequently failed to attend court for sentencing in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) Crown Court and (b) magistrates' court. [194288]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only by contacting each court and manually collating at a disproportionate cost.
Council Tax: Liability Orders
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many committal hearings were held in magistrates' courts for non-payment of council tax in each of the last two years for which information is available, broken down by (a) region and (b) local authority area; [194351]
(2) how many liability orders were issued by magistrates' courts in each of the last two years for which information is available, broken down by (a) region and (b) local authority area; and what their value was in each year. [194352]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided by contacting each magistrates court and manually collating at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress his Department has made in its zero-based budget review under the Comprehensive Spending Review. [191484]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the annex pertaining to my Department in “Meeting the aspirations of the British people: the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review” (Cm 7227).
The Ministry of Justice has a target to deliver at least 3 per cent. value for money savings each year and a 5 per cent. reduction in administration budgets each year, and work is currently ongoing to ensure that the Department establishes efficiency measures to achieve these. Results of savings measures across the organisation will be published through the Value for Money programme throughout the CSR period.
Departmental Equality
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who has lead responsibility for diversity issues in his Department. [194141]
Mr. Wills: I am the Minister with lead responsibility for departmental equalities and diversity issues. However, policy issues are considered in conjunction with my ministerial colleagues where these relate to their areas of responsibility, for example in relation to the courts or the prison service.
In addition my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) is supported in his drive to achieve greater diversity in the judiciary and legal professions by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice).
The Permanent Secretary, supported by the Departmental Corporate Management Board, is responsible for ensuring that the Department is compliant with the duties on it as a public body under the equalities legislation.
There is a strong commitment in the Department to delivering on the Civil Service 10 Point Plan, which aims to improve the delivery of services for everyone in society through achieving a truly diverse civil service workforce at all levels. We are keen to be an employer of choice, attracting applicants from all sections of society and providing for all our staff opportunities to maximise their potential.
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how he will ensure that his Department's policy on diversity is implemented at local level in both the probation and prison services. [194142]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service has recently developed its own draft equality and diversity policy, which is due to be published shortly, and which reinforces its duties as an employer, commissioner and provider of services. An Equality and Diversity Taskforce is in place with the remit to monitor delivery of the equality and diversity action plan, which includes implementation of the policy in prisons and probation areas.
Her Majesty's Prison Service has published a separate race equality scheme, and updates the action plan on an annual basis. Action in prisons in relation to race equality is routinely monitored and is subject to regular audit.
Departmental Redundancies
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1711-2W, on departmental redundancies, what the cost of redundancies in the Prison Service was in the 12 months preceding (a) 30 June 2004, (b) 30 June 2005 and (c) 30 June 2006. [194511]
Maria Eagle: There have been no centrally run involuntary redundancy schemes. Individual cases would be managed locally and there is no requirement to report this information to the Prison Service Headquarters. To gather this data would require approaching all Prison Service establishments.
Departmental Security
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many security passes of staff in (a) his Department and (b) its departmental agencies were reported (i) lost and (ii) stolen in each year since 2001. [195036]
Mr. Wills: The figures are set out in the following tables:
| (i) lost passes | ||
| (a) Department | (b) agencies | |
| (ii) stolen passes | ||
| (a) Department | (b) agencies | |
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