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6 Oct 2008 : Column 476W—continued
Classroom Assistants: Manpower
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teaching assistants there were in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [223814]
Jim Knight: The available information on the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
| Full-time equivalent teaching assistants( 1) | |
| (1) Includes teaching assistants in local authority maintained schools only. | |
Further details can be found in the in the Statistical First Release “School Workforce in England (including pupil: teacher ratios and pupil: adult ratios), January 2008 (Provisional)”:
Departmental Air Travel
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department and its predecessor have participated in the fund, broken down by (a) domestic, (b) short haul and (c) long haul flights. [221994]
Beverley Hughes: The Department’s predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills, first contributed to the Government Carbon Offsetting fund for its 2006/07 air travel and reported the following mileage:
| Kilometres | |
| (1) Could not be separated from (b) | |
Figures for 2007/08 for the Department are currently being cleared for submission within the annual return on Sustainable Development in Government.
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether those staff of his Department who are entitled to business class or first class air travel are permitted to (a) travel in a cheaper class to the destination and (b) benefit in monetary terms or kind from the saving. [222004]
Beverley Hughes: The class of air travel which staff may book depends upon grade, the length of time the journey will take, as well as airlines’ fare structures on various routes. Whether or not a member of staff is entitled to travel first class or business class, all members of DCSF have a responsibility to make appropriate decisions on how to travel and to secure value for money in the use of travel budgets. DCSF members of staff are permitted to travel in a cheaper class to the destination although any saving would not generate a monetary or in kind benefit for the individual.
All travel undertaken by DCSF staff is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the ‘Civil Service Management Code’ and Treasury guidance set out in ‘Managing Public Money’ on the avoidance of personal profit from public business. DCSF has a travel service contract with a travel agent for all flight bookings, the costs being paid centrally. DCSF staff are expected to use the contract, whenever possible, when booking any travel tickets.
Departmental Buildings
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the location is of each office occupied by his Department and its predecessor which has been (a) newly occupied and (b) refurbished in the last 24 months; and what the floor area in square metres is of each. [222001]
Beverley Hughes: The Department for Children, Schools and Families do not have any locations which have been newly occupied and refurbished in the last 24 months.
Departmental Circulars
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will publish a list of circulars issued to (a) local authorities and (b) schools by his Department in the academic year 2007-08. [223838]
Beverley Hughes: The information is as follows:
(a) In 2007-08, the Department sent a weekly e-mail to the 150 local authorities in England. All e-mails can be downloaded from the Department’s local authorities website at:
(b) A regular fortnightly e-mail was sent to schools to inform them of new publications. In addition, the newsletter “Spectrum” provides schools, head teachers and chairs of governors with a summary of all the latest resources, publications, guidance and regulations. It is available online and can also be requested in paper copy.
Departmental Data Protection
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many notifications (a) his Department and (b) its agencies made to the Information Commissioner following the loss or mishandling of personal information or data in each of the last three years; and what was notified in each case. [222906]
Beverley Hughes:
The Department for Children, Schools and Families published details of notifications to the Information Commissioner's Office in its resource accounts
published on 16 July 2008. There was, in fact, an error in these accounts: two instances were reported whereas there was only one; the second will be reported next year and the 2007-08 accounts amended. The correctly notified loss was of a laptop, encrypted to Cabinet Office guidelines. Before November 2007 the Information Commissioner's Office did not specifically keep records of instances of security breaches.
I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in Government.
Departmental Databases
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what use (a) his Department and (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data. [222003]
Beverley Hughes: The Department does not currently hold a licence for either MOSAIC or ACORN data. The Department has previously used ACORN data under licence to supplement our existing data sources by combining the Department's data with the characteristics of the people who live in local areas. Examples of how we have used this information to analyse pupil attainment are published on the Department's website:
Information about the extent to which the Department's NDPBs make use of either MOSAIC or ACORN data can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the five most serious disciplinary breaches in his Department were in the last 12 months; and what steps were taken in response to each breach. [223053]
Beverley Hughes: The disciplinary breaches in the Department in the last 12 months have included repeated unauthorised absence, unauthorised absence and failure to keep in touch while absent, serious failure to follow proper business procedures and breaches of civil service standards of behaviour. The Department has taken the appropriate steps in these cases including dismissal, written warnings, a written reprimand and removal from posts.
I am unable to provide specific information on the five most serious cases and steps taken due to the confidential nature of each case.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on freelance press officers in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [222710]
Beverley Hughes: The Department has spent the following on freelance press officers since 2001:
| £000 | |
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many freelance press officers his Department and its predecessors employed in each year since 2001. [222711]
Beverley Hughes: The Department has employed freelance press officers between 2001 and 2008 as follows:
| Number | |
No Freelance Press Officers have been used since March 2008.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many marketing officers (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority employed in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [222708]
Beverley Hughes: The Department for Children, Schools and Families was established in June 2007 and currently employs the full-time equivalent of 16.7 marketing officers. It is not possible except at disproportionate cost to identify the number of marketing officers previously employed by the Department for Education and Skills. The Department does not hold information on non-departmental public bodies.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on employing marketing officers in each year since 2001. [222709]
Beverley Hughes: The Department for Children, Schools and Families was established in June 2007 and currently employs the full-time equivalent of 16.7 Marketing Officers at a cost of £906,085 per annum. It is not possible except at disproportionate cost to identify the costs of Marketing Officers previously employed by the Department for Education and Skills.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what advertising campaigns his Department has run between 2000 and June 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each. [223717]
Jim Knight: The DFES’s total spend on advertising campaigns was:
| £ | |
| £ | |
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