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11 Jun 2008 : Column 363W—continued
House of Commons Commission
Cromwell Green Entrance
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the average temperature was in the visitor reception building on each day since its opening; what monitoring of the air temperature the Commission undertakes; what discussions the Commission has had with representatives of staff required to work in the visitor reception building about the air temperature; and if he will make a statement. [209127]
Nick Harvey: Temperatures are monitored hourly but have not been retained for the full period since the building opened. Between 2 and 5 June the temperature did not exceed 22.4°C. Security staff in the building are supplied to the Houses by the Metropolitan police with whom the Serjeant at Arms is in regular discussion on this and other operational matters.
The cooling system of the building is not yet operating at full capacity. Staff found the working environment uncomfortable during a hot spell in May. Extra cooling will be installed if the central system does not prove adequate.
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the expected cost of the (a) design and (b) construction of the air conditioning system in the visitor reception building was (i) at the commencement of building, (ii) on 1 January 2006, (iii) on 1 January 2007 and (iv) on 1 November 2007; what the final cost has been; and if he will make a statement. [209128]
Nick Harvey: The cost of the air conditioning system cannot be separately identified. For the overall cost of the project, I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 7 February 2008, Official Report column 1120.
Members: Home Addresses
Mr. Mackay:
To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2008, Official Report,
column 807W, on Members: correspondence, if he will arrange for screening services similar to those provided at the House to be made available at hon. Members' home addresses. [210063]
Nick Harvey: Screening of mail at hon. Members' home addresses would involve practical difficulties and incur significant extra cost. Hon. Members wishing to have mail addressed to their homes screened would have to arrange for it to be redirected to the House.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many city academies he plans to establish in each of the next five years. [209447]
Jim Knight: There will be 50 new academies opening in the academic year 2008/09, with a further 55 opening in each of the following years to 2010/11. This will bring the total number of academies open by 2010 to 243, exceeding our target of 200 open or in the pipeline by this date. The numbers of academies opening in subsequent years will be subject to decisions on future spending reviews.
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with which local authorities his Department is in discussions on the establishment of city academies and trust schools. [209449]
Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families holds regular discussions with all local authorities as part of its ongoing drive to raise standards in schools. The potential for academies and trusts routinely forms part of these discussions.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the role of academies in (a) his Department's and (b) local authority strategies for education for the 14 to 19 age group. [209764]
Jim Knight: Academy funding agreements require academies to ensure that their pupils in the 14-19 age group have access to the same curriculum entitlements as their peers in maintained schools. This means that academy pupils will have equal access to diplomas.
We expect academies to participate in the delivery of diplomas in the same way as other providers. We know that 18 (of 47 then open) academies were in consortia approved for the delivery of one or more of the five diplomas in the first phase, from September 2008 and that 58 (of 83 open) academies are partners in consortia that have been approved for the delivery of one or more of the 10 diplomas to be available from September 2009 (14 of which are also partners in the consortia approved for delivery of diplomas from September 2008).
In terms of 14-19 place commissioning, academies, like other providers, will represent their interests and
contribute expertise through local 14-19 partnerships. Academies will participate fully in this process. Academies will receive their funding directly from the DCSF in line with the agreed local commissioning plan.
Building Schools for the Future Programme: Essex
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) on what date rebuilding or refurbishment work under the Building Schools for the Future programme was (a) undertaken and (b) planned to be undertaken on the first secondary school in (i) Colchester constituency and (ii) Essex Education Authority area; and when he expects the last school in (A) Colchester constituency and (B) Essex Education Authority area to have works carried out; [208877]
(2) which secondary schools in (a) Colchester constituency and (b) Essex Education Authority area have had rebuilding and refurbishment work carried out under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and how much the works have cost in each case; [208878]
(3) how much has been spent in (a) Colchester constituency, (b) Essex Education Authority area and (c) England under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement; [208879]
(4) how many secondary schools in (a) Colchester constituency, (b) Essex Education Authority area and (c) England have been rebuilt and refurbished under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement. [208880]
Jim Knight: No schools in Essex have yet received funding to be rebuilt or refurbished under Building Schools for the Future (BSF).
Essex has four projects in BSF comprising schools in the south, west, north and centre of the county. The first project, for schools in south Essex, is in wave 4 of the programme. Construction work on the first school is currently expected to start in May 2010 and to be completed early in 2011, subject to the approval of an outline business case by September 2008. The date when work on the last school in Essex will be completed under BSF will not be known for some time and is dependent on a range of factors, including future public spending decisions, the current consultation on the management of waves 7-15 of BSF, and local decisions about prioritisation and phasing of school projects.
Secondary schools in the north of Essex, including Colchester, were originally prioritised in waves 13-15 of BSF. We would expect schools in wave 13 to receive BSF funding from 2017-18 and those in wave 15 two years later (subject to future public spending decisions), with schools in wave 13 to likely to be completed from 2020. However, the current consultation on managing waves 7-15 of BSF may affect when schools in Colchester receive BSF investment and consequently when they are rebuilt or refurbished.
To date, 13 schools in England have been rebuilt or refurbished under BSF. The BSF projects that have already signed contracts are worth around £2.5 billion. Taking into account future investment in subsequent phases of these BSF projects, this figure increases to £3.9 billion.
Children
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) one to three year olds and (b) three to five-year-olds in England in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [206148]
Jim Knight: Population projections are the responsibility of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the following table is based on their latest projection:
| Population in England at mid-year by age at last birthday | ||
| Thousand | ||
| Age 1-3 | Age 3-5 | |
| Source: ONS mid 2006 based principal population projection. | ||
Class Sizes: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the pupil-teacher ratio was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the borough of Bexley in the latest period for which figures are available. [208636]
Jim Knight: Latest information from the School Census is given in the following table:
| Pupil: t eacher ratios in local authority maintained schools. Year: January 2007. Coverage: Bexley LA, London region and England | ||
| Primary schools | Secondary schools | |
| Source: School Census | ||
This information is taken from table 25 of the SFR: “School Workforce in England (including pupil: teacher ratios and pupil: adult ratios), January 2007 (Revised)”, published in September 2007 and accessible through the following link:
Class Sizes: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average (a) pupil-teacher and (b) pupil-adult ratio for key stage 3 was in secondary schools in (i) Leeds Metropolitan District and (ii) Leeds West constituency in each year since 1997. [209738]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Secondary within school pupil teacher ratios in local authority maintained schools are readily available. Figures for Leeds local authority, Leeds West constituency and England for each year from 1997 to 2007 are provided in the following table.
| Secondary within school pupil teacher ratios( 1) in local authority maintained schools: year—1997 to 2007: coverage—Leeds LA Leeds West constituency and England | |||
| Leeds local authority | Leeds West constituency | England | |
| (1) The within school PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on role in schools by the total FTE number if qualified teachers regularly employed in schools. Source: School Census | |||
Class Sizes: Wirral
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the pupil-teacher ratio was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Wirral West constituency in January 1997. [209343]
Jim Knight: In January 2007, the within school pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools in Wirral West constituency were 22.6 and 14.9 respectively. The equivalent figures for England were 21.8 and 16.5.
Within school PTRs are calculated by dividing the total full-time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils on role by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed. The source of this information is the school census.
Education: Assessments
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received on targets and league tables for school results for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 and GCSEs. [209494]
Jim Knight: The Children, Schools and Families Select Committee's Report on Testing and Assessment published on 13 May included a number of statements on the impact of performance targets and achievement and attainment tables on the education system. We will respond in full to the Select Committee's report in due course. In addition, the Department receives correspondence from schools and other bodies from time to time on these and related issues.
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department informed the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority of Educational Testing Service's intention to end borderline checking of markers' standardisation test results before the award of the contract to administer Key Stage tests for 2008 to 2012. [209783]
Jim Knight:
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the development and administration of national curriculum tests. In
December 2004, the QCA notified the Secretary of State of their intention to remove the borderlining check from the marking process for tests at key stages 2 and 3 when better measures were in place to ensure the reliability and validity of marking. In January 2005, the Secretary of State confirmed her agreement. The exchange of letters can be viewed on the QCA's website at:
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