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10 Jun 2008 : Column 239W—continued
Parents: Advisory Services
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2008, Official Report, column 952W, on parents: advisory services, how much has been made available to fund the 77 Respect parenting experts; whether the experts will deliver the parenting programmes or refer and manage others in delivering the programme; and what the estimated cost is of funding at least one parenting expert in each local authority in the future. [210167]
Beverley Hughes: £3.85 million per year has been allocated for the 77 Respect parenting experts for 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. In addition, funding for additional parenting experts (at least one in every local authority), is being provided: £9 million for 2008-09, £12.5 million for 2009-10 and £12.5 million for 2010-11. The expectation is that both the 77 Respect parenting experts and the new parenting experts will deliver parenting programmes themselves.
Parents: Public Participation
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2008, Official Report, columns 952-53W, on parents: public participation, what estimate he has made of the annual cost of (a) running and (b) consulting the Parents' Panel. [210177]
Beverley Hughes: The answer I gave on 4 June 2008 explained that we are in the midst of a competitive OJEU procurement exercise to appoint an external organisation with the right skills and experience to run the panel. The organisation will also run an associated survey of parents on their confidence in their parenting role and in the support services available to them. The cost will be subject to tender returns from the five short listed bidders and a key selection criterion for the procurement is value for money. It would therefore not be appropriate to prejudice the competitive process by publishing a specific figure.
The result of the successful bidder's proposal will be announced on 31 July together with the agreed
contract value, these details will be published through an OJEU award notice which is universally accessible to all.
Pupils: Incontinence
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department issues to school nurses on dealing with children with continence problems. [208227]
Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
All schools in England were made aware, in June 2000, of the Department's publication Good Practice in Continence Services. The Department also produced a more general guidance document with the then Department for Education and Skills called Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs: A Good Practice Guide.
It was followed by publication of the NSF Continence Exemplar in October 2007, mapping out a typical case of child incontinence and detailing the services that should be available. This is used by health professionals, including school nurses, as guidance.
The National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services: Children and Young People who are ill published in 2004 noted the importance of continence services for children and young people.
Copies of all these documents have been placed in the Library.
Schools: Admissions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in (a) Canvey, (b) Castle Point and (c) Essex were not allocated places at their first choice school in each of the last five years. [209628]
Jim Knight: This is the first year that local authorities were required to provide data to the Secretary of State on secondary school offers made to parents on National Offer Day. Data have not been collected at a constituency level. Figures for Essex local authority, in which Canvey Island and Castle Point are situated, show that 19.2 per cent. (3,087) of children resident in that authority who were eligible to transfer to secondary school in September 2008 were not offered a place at their parents' first choice school. 96 per cent. were offered a preferred school. National Offer Day is the first part of the process of obtaining a preferred school so these figures are likely change e.g. outcomes of appeals will have an impact.
Sure Start Programme: Per Capita Costs
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on Sure Start for each child eligible for support from the programme in each year since it began. [210024]
Beverley Hughes:
The Department does not collect data on the number of children who are eligible for support from the Sure Start programme. The total
spending in each year since the Sure Start programme was established is provided in the following table:
| £ million | |||
| Capital | Revenue | Total | |
Vocational Guidance
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what arrangements his Department has made to facilitate effective close working between Connexions and the new advancement and careers service. [209922]
Beverley Hughes: My officials are working with officials from DIUS on the development of the new adult advancement and careers service to ensure that a joined-up service will be delivered. Both Departments are also working on an all age careers strategy that will make links between careers services for young people and for adults and ensure coherent delivery.
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many local authorities are (a) delivering Connexions services in-house, (b) sub-contracting services to former Connexions Partnerships and (c) tendering out to other providers. [210065]
Beverley Hughes: The Connexions service operates in England only. Based on the latest information held by the Department, the number of local authorities delivering Connexions services in each of the ways described is as follows:
(a) delivering Connexions services in-house: 35;
(b) sub-contracting the services to former Connexions Partnerships: 53;
(c) tendering out to other providers: 62.
Vocational Guidance: Expenditure
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on careers guidance for young people in England in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 1997. [209921]
Beverley Hughes:
In April 2001, responsibility for providing careers advice passed from the Careers Service to the Connexions Service. Connexions provides services to 13 to 19-year-olds and to people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities up to the age of 24. The following
table shows the amount of central Government funding allocated to the Connexions Service and the Careers Service since 1997. Information on the amount spent on careers guidance is not collected centrally. However, an independent study undertaken in 2006 concluded that, on average, around 42 per cent. of a Connexions Partnership's expenditure was on information, advice and guidance.
| £ million | ||
| Year | Connexions partnerships | Careers services |
| Note: The above figures reflect the staged way in which Connexions was introduced from April 2001 | ||
Vocational Guidance: Training
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department has commissioned research to evaluate the initial training and continuing professional development available to those delivering information, advice and guidance and careers education. [209923]
Beverley Hughes: Everyone providing information, advice and guidance to young people on learning and careers should have the skills and knowledge that they need to provide excellent service. To ensure this, the Training and Development Agency for Schools has been asked
“to review the support that ... (they) provide for the delivery of careers education in schools, and (to) consider more widely the further ITT and CPD support needed by all key stage 4 and post 16 teachers to ensure that they are aware of the pathways for progression through the 14-19 phase in school, college and work-based settings ... (so that they) can talk confidently to students about progression, within and from their own subject and (about) the range of qualifications to which their subject contributes'”.
We are commissioning a programme of research that will help us to profile the skills gaps of careers coordinators in schools which will, in due course lead to the development of new training provision. And we are working with the Children's Workforce Expert Group to develop a long-term strategy for the whole children's work force. Future support and development for those providing IAG services will sit within the context of that long-term strategy.
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