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17 Oct 2008 : Column 1581W—continued
ensure that Parent Know How funded help lines are able to signpost parents concerned about e-safety to sources of further information; and
work with CEOP and other Council members to launch an e-safety week in 2009.
The Government will work with Council members to ensure that this activity is linked with campaigns that are already planned or under way, by Government and stakeholders.
The Home Office and Ofcom have been working with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to develop a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for assessing the quality of filtering software for computers. This has already been delivered, and discussions are under way with major industry players about the time scale for submitting software for testing.
There are no plans to establish an advisory group to the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. As recommended in Dr. Byron’s report, on 29 September the Government announced the appointment of senior representatives from across industry, the third sector, law enforcement and the devolved administrations to the UK Council’s Executive Board.
The Board will play a crucial role in the governance and strategic direction of all Council activity. It will provide expert guidance, inject momentum into the work of the Council and provide the necessary level of challenge and scrutiny to the working groups. The Board will be the key driving force behind the development and implementation of the Child Internet Safety Strategy in spring 2009.
Further information on Board membership can be found at:
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how much the Government spent on child internet safety campaigns in each of the last three years; and how much he expects to be spent in 2008-09; [227195]
(2) what the cost of establishing the UK Council for Child Internet Safety has been; how much he expects it to cost in 2008-09; and how much of the funding will come from (a) industry, (b) his Department, (c) the Home Office and (d) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; [227198]
(3) how many full-time equivalent employees work in the secretariat of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety; and from which Government departments secretariat staff are drawn; [227199]
(4) if he will make it his policy to place in the Library copies of the minutes from each of the meetings held by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. [227200]
Jim Knight: It is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown for each of the last three years as the majority of Government spending is provided as part of wider funding to schools for the provision of technology. This has been supported by comprehensive guidance to all schools on the importance of internet safety.
Specific initiatives to raise public awareness of internet safety include developing a dedicated training module for UK Online Centres and an investment of £1 million in the Know It All range of CDs for parents to promote internet safety in the home. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) have spent £454,000 from 2006-08 on its ThinkUKnow internet safety education programme.
Government have dedicated £9 million over 2008-11 to a safety awareness campaign for children that includes internet safety.
There are various costs involved in establishing the UK Council, including launch costs and hosting the first meeting of the Executive Board. To date the Government have spent approximately £25,000 on these activities. This does not include the cost of officials working within the secretariat.
Moving forward, delivery of Dr. Byron’s recommendations will largely rely on building digital safety into planned activities and services that are already funded, such as £9 million on a safety awareness campaign for children that will include internet safety. We recognise that there may be additional costs associated with delivering some of Dr. Byron’s recommendations, and we will consider how these can be funded as they are identified.
The Government are in the process of establishing the “properly resourced” secretariat recommended by Dr. Byron to support the work of the council. There are currently three full-time equivalent officials in place with plans to expand to five officials shortly. We are also in discussions with partner agencies on additional part time secondments to support the council and welcome their support.
The level of staffing will be reviewed in the coming months as the work of the council is further defined.
The Government want to be open about the work of the council and there are a number of ways to disseminate information about its work. We will consult with council members and consider the best way for everyone, including parents, to be kept informed about progress on improving online safety for children.
Departmental Information
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what types of data have been sold by his Department under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations in the last 12 months. [222005]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
Core information produced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) can be re-used free of charge under the terms of the PSI Click-Use Licence which is administered by the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) in accordance with the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations. Core information produced by DCSF can also be re-used under the terms of the Value Added Licence which is also administered by OPSI. Re-use of
the information under the terms of the Value Added Licence may incur a charge based on the type and amount of information. During the financial year 2007-08 the following categories of information were made available for re-use by DCSF and incurred a charge: some publications relating to: Children and Their Primary Schools; Identification, Referral and Tracking Software, and Models of Adult Learning; some photographs; and certain research reports.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what advertising campaigns his Department has run since June 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each of these. [227037]
Ed Balls: Promotional campaigns, including those using advertising, are funded from the Department’s central Advertising and Publicity Budget and from individual programme budgets held by policy directorates.
Advertising is part of a full integrated promotional campaign. The question refers specifically to advertising and we have been able to separate the Department’s spend on advertising, as this is centrally placed through the Central Office of Information. The cost of recruitment advertising for the Department has not been included as it is not possible to establish a definitive figure, except at disproportionate expense. The Department’s advertising spend and that of its predecessor (DFES) since 2004 is set out as follows, with a breakdown of individual campaigns. All figures exclude VAT.
| DFES advertising billing 2004/05 | |
| Campaign title | Media total (£) |
| DFES advertising billing 2005/06 | |
| Campaign title | Media total (£) |
| DFES advertising billing 2006/07 | |
| Campaign title | Media total (£) |
| DCSF advertising billing 2007/08 | |
| Campaign title | Media total (£) |
| DCSF advertising billing 2008/09 (costs invoiced to date) | |
| Campaign title | Media total( 1) (£) |
| (1) 2008/09 figures refer to costs invoiced to date and not actual DCSF spend. | |
Departmental Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many citizens' juries his Department has held since 1 July 2007; what the cost was of each; what issues were discussed at each event; and how many (a) Ministers and (b) members of the public attended each event. [227484]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children Schools and Families has conducted one citizens' jury and 11 related deliberative debates since 1 July 2007 to ensure that the views of parents and young people were reflected in the development and implementation of the Children's Plan.
The Department organised a citizens’ jury at Bristol Brunei Academy on 6 September 2007 at a cost of £57,047 including VAT. 38 people participated, including children, young people and teachers from the academy; and parents and local practitioners working with children. The event focused on education and children services and was attended by two Ministers.
The Department followed this citizens’ jury with three sets of deliberative debates with members of the public and education professionals.
The first set of deliberative debates was held on 29 September 2007, with four events running simultaneously in London, Leeds, Portsmouth and Birmingham. These events formed part of the consultative process for the Children's Plan. The total cost of the events was £467,704 including VAT. Around 400 young people, parents, teachers and those working with children and young people were involved. A Minister was present at each of the events.
The second set was held on 8 March 2008, with four events again running in London, Leeds, Portsmouth and Birmingham. The events focused on policy areas in the Children's Plan. The events cost £296,026 including VAT. Around 240 people attended, including parents, young people and educational professionals. A Minister was present at each of the events.
The last set took place on 13 September 2008 at a cost of £551,013. The events were held in London, Leeds and Birmingham and were attended by around 300 people including parents, local practitioners and representatives of stakeholder organisations. The themes discussed were Parents as Partners in Learning; the Childcare Strategy and Parental Complaints. Five Ministers attended the events.
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