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1 Sep 2008 : Column 1606W—continued
The latest figures on early education places for three and four year olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 12/2008 "Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2008", available on my Department's website:
Children: Homicide
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children died as a result of homicide in each English local authority area in each of the last five years, broken down by age. [220689]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
Information held by the Home Office cannot be broken down to local authority area. Available data from the Homicide Index relates to offences currently recorded as homicide where the victim was aged under 16, as at 12 November 2007. Tables which have been placed in the Library show the number of such offences recorded by each police force area in England between 2002/03 and 2006/07. Full analysis of data for 2007/08 is not yet published.
Children: Public Participation
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much the TellUs3 survey cost. [220752]
Jim Knight [holding answer 21 July 2008]: Ofsted is responsible for the delivery of TellUs3. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has been working closely with them to support this important piece of work. Ofsted have advised us that it will cost them £139,500 to deliver TellUs3 with the set up costs for the survey having been met in delivery of TellUs2.
Departmental Appeals
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions his Department and its predecessors instructed the Treasury Solicitor to seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords from (a) the Court of Appeal and (b) the House of Lords itself in each of the last 10 years; and on how many occasions the application was rejected. [220818]
Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not hold centrally the specific information requested. The same was true of its recent predecessors, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Education and Employment.
Departmental Buildings
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on which buildings occupied by his Department’s agencies and non-departmental public bodies the lease will be due for renewal in the next four years. [214664]
Jim Knight: The Department has no agencies to report on.
The details of the buildings occupied by the Department’s non-departmental public bodies where the lease is due for renewal in the next four years are given as follows.
| Properties with lease renewals due before 30 June 2012 | |
| Occupier/address | Date of expiry |
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department's policy is on improving the energy efficiency of the buildings which it (a) rents and (b) owns; what changes there have been in the energy efficiency of such buildings in the last (i) five and (ii) 10 years; and whether his Department has adopted targets on energy efficiency
improvements in the buildings it occupies over the next (A) five and (B) 10 years. [221085]
Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families is committed to meet the requirements of all environmental legislation; and continually improve its environmental performance through the regular review of its management system. The Department's energy efficiency policy does not differentiate between (a) rented and (b) owned properties.
(i) Since 2002/03 a reduction in energy efficiency of 7.5 per cent.
(ii) Since(1) 1999/00 a reduction in energy efficiency of 8.2 per cent.
(1 )Data is not available prior to this period.
Information on energy efficiency has been taken from the latest published “Sustainable Development in Government Return” and covers the years 1999/00 to 2006/07. The information from this return is for the Department's buildings as a whole and cannot be split into individual buildings. Only buildings carrying out central Government business are included within this return.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has adopted Sustainable Development in Government targets on energy efficiency and progress is monitored through the Department's environmental management system, encompassing current and any new (a) rented and (b) owned properties.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which organisations have received (a) free and (b) discounted room hire from (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case. [221579]
Jim Knight: It is not departmental practice to hire out rooms in its buildings.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of (a) the number of computer devices left on overnight in his Department when not in use and (b) the cost per year of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [217861]
Jim Knight: In October 2004 the Department for Education and Skills, now the Department for Children, Schools and Families introduced software with the capability to power off computer devices remotely. Since the above date, this software has been configured (and runs nightly) to detect which computer devices are left on at a predetermined time in the evening and turn these devices off.
To answer part (a) of the PQ: the number of computer devices left on overnight in the Department when not in use is 0.
To answer part (b) of the PQ: the cost per year of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in the Department is 0.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the (a) scheduled date and (b) title was of each conference proposed to be hosted by his Department which was cancelled before taking place in each of the last 10 years; and what costs were incurred in respect of each. [215181]
Jim Knight: The Department of Children Schools and Families does not keep records centrally of conferences which were cancelled and therefore it is not possible to provide this information except at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Early Retirement
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in his Department have taken early retirement since the Department was established. [217379]
Jim Knight: The Department was established as part of the Machinery of Government changes of 28 June 2007. There have been 63 employees who have taken early retirement in the Department since it was formed.
The Department has no agencies.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average cost to his Department was of employing a press and media officer in 2007-08. [215199]
Jim Knight: The cost to the Department for employing a press and media officer in 2007-08 was in the range of £30,042 to £34,938.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average age of users of the Build Your Own PlaySpace on his Department's website; and if he will make a statement. [217675]
Jim Knight: The Department developed the ‘Build your PlaySpace’ interactive tool to engage children and young people in the Fair Play consultation in a fun and interactive way. The tool is one strand of a wider consultation strategy that includes an activity poster/competition for children and young people, live events to encourage local dialogue with children, young people, their families and practitioners and written consultation. Responses from all of these strands will be analysed as a whole.
We recognised that, in order to engage most effectively with children and young people, it was important to offer them a choice of how to share their views on play with us, and to do so in a fresh and creative way. The tool has been designed specifically for children and young people between the ages of eight and 13, and the vast majority of the responses received thus far (approximately 75 per cent.) have been from within this age group, although we have deliberately not limited responses solely to this group.
The tool was launched on 20 May and it has been supported by a cross channel advertising campaign with young people, parents and school workforce channels carrying animated banners with links to the tool.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08. [212036]
Beverley Hughes: The Department spent £36,295 on branding and £14,062,103 on marketing activity in 2007-08.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost was of (a) internet and website design and hosting, (b) print media design and (c) broadcast media of each of his Department's public information campaigns since 1997. [214667]
Beverley Hughes: It is not possible to identify the cost of (a) internet and website design and hosting and (b) print media design, except at disproportionate cost. However, it is possible to separate the Department's spend on (c) broadcast media, as this is centrally placed through the Central Office of Information. The Department's advertising spend since 1997 is set out in the following table:
| £000 | |
Departmental Official Cars
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) which make and model of car the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families has chosen as his ministerial car to be provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency; [217757]
(2) which make and model of car he has chosen as his Ministerial car to be provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency. [217745]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Transport on 16 July 2008, Official Report, column 414W.
Departmental Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what measures are in place in his Department to monitor expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes; [219605]
(2) what purchasing process is used by his Department for the procurement of alcohol for hospitality purposes. [219948]
Jim Knight: The Department does not keep a record of the amount spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes.
The following guidance is issued by the Department to staff on the provision of alcohol.
There is a general principle that alcohol should not be provided at public expense and never when only civil servants are present.
Moderate amounts of alcohol can be provided at public expense when entertaining non- civil servants if not providing alcohol might be regarded as unusual or cause embarrassment. Examples of such events are hospitality from Ministers, at publicity events such as launches or the rare occasions when senior staff judge that official business can best be transacted by hosting a meeting over lunch or dinner. This policy is in accordance with the principles of Treasury guidance in “Managing Public Money” and “Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money”.
Payment can be made by Government Procurement Card for Ministerial and other official hospitality where such use has been previously authorised. Otherwise, payment can be made at the time and reclaimed or the invoice sent to the Department for payment by the central payment team. If it is considered the occasion did not justify expenditure on alcohol the individual will be expected to meet the cost themselves.
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