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20 Oct 2008 : Column 80W—continued
Swindon
Tameside
The Wrekin
Thurrock
Torbay
Tower Hamlets
Trafford
Wakefield
Walsall
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Warrington
Warwickshire
West Berkshire
Westminster
West Sussex
Wigan
Wiltshire
Windsor and Maidenhead
Wirral
Wokingham
Wolverhampton
Worcestershire
York.
Speech Therapy: Manpower
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of speech and language therapists working in the public service in (a) Greater London and (b) England. [227237]
Ann Keen: Workforce planning is a matter for local national health service organisations. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and will commission the required number of training places to develop the workforce to meet those needs.
Children, Schools and Families
Animal Welfare: Education
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what teaching about animal welfare takes place in schools. [227738]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the new secondary curriculum, introduced from this September, there are opportunities for schools to teach about animal welfare. Citizenship helps young people to consider a wide range of political, social, ethical and moral problems. In Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE education), pupils take increasing responsibility for themselves, their choices and their behaviour.
Resources produced by the RSPCA and by the DCSF Growing Schools programme help teachers to explore animal welfare issues.
Pupil Exclusions
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of (a) boys and (b) girls in year (i) 7, (ii) 8, (iii) 9, (iv) 10 and (v) 11 have received (A) fixed-term and (B) permanent exclusions in the last three years for which figures are available. [227963]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information on fixed period and permanent exclusions by national curriculum year group can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Pupil Referral Units: Pupil Exclusions
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008, Official Report, column 498W on Pupil Referral units: Truancy, how many and what percentage of (a) male and (b) female pupils received (i) temporary and (ii) permanent exclusions from pupil referral units in the school year 2006-07. [228120]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information on exclusions from pupil referral units in 2006-07 is not collected centrally.
Pupils: Databases
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what progress his Department has made on developing a central database to record pupils' examination results; and if he will make a statement; [227012]
(2) how much his Department has spent on developing a central database to record pupils' examination results; and if he will make a statement. [227013]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There are currently three databases either established or in development for recording pupil achievement data at various levels: the National Pupil Database, Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP), and the Diploma Aggregation Service(1) (DAS).
The Department maintains the National Pupil Database, which contains pupils' test and examination results from key stage test results to GCSE and A-levels. This database, which was created in 2002, is the source of the data published in the Achievement and Attainment Tables.
The DIUS-led MIAP initiative supports data sharing in the education and training sector for the benefit of learners over 14 years old. One of the services that MIAP delivers is the Learner Record Service, which brings together participation and achievement information already collected, and presents it in an online learner record, which the learner can share with others when they wish. The first versions of the record are being trialled this autumn, and, subject to successful trials, the plan is to enable full access to the learner record in summer 2009.
The estimated cost of MIAP, including other key services, for the period January 2007 to January 2012 will be £53.6 million.
(1) The Diploma Aggregation Service is designed and managed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to enable the aggregation and awarding of Diplomas, and became operational on 1 September this year. The total cost of the Diploma Aggregation Service from April 2006 until 31 August 2008 is £18 million.
Schools: Energy
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many buildings of maintained schools use high energy efficiency pumps for (a) central heating, (b) air conditioning and (c) water boosting. [228380]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We do not hold information on maintained schools that have installed high energy efficiency pumps for (a) central heating, (b) air conditioning or (c) water boosting.
Investment in measures of this nature would typically be funded from budgets delegated to schools and local authorities. This information may be held at a local authority or school level. We are doing a great deal with new schools built under our strategic programmes to encourage the use of energy efficient equipment—detailed under
Among other things, we have produced ‘top 10 tips’ for schools to help them save energy.
Schools: Sports
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in England offer competitive sports as part of their curriculum. [227887]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: All schools must provide competitive games activities, as this is a compulsory part of the physical education national curriculum.
Special Educational Needs
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to ensure that changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal result in an increase in parental confidence in the special educational needs system; and if he will make a statement. [227579]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Subject to parliamentary approval, the new arrangements for tribunals, including the special educational needs and disability tribunal (SENDIST), will begin on 3 November. The Tribunals Service at the Ministry of Justice has consulted on the Rules for the new Health, Education and Social Care Chamber, of which SENDIST will become a part, and the Tribunals Procedures Committee has amended the Rules in the light of consultation responses from those with an interest in SEN. SENDIST has also established a special user group, on which the parent-led Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is represented, to advise it on what is practical and appropriate for users in the new arrangements. The overriding principle informing the drafting of the Rules has been that they must be able to deal with all cases justly and fairly.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families, in association with the Tribunals Service, is currently conducting research into parental confidence in the SEN system of school provision, assessment, statements and appeal to SENDIST. This will reflect any parental concerns with the current operation of SENDIST. The Department has also commissioned Brian Lamb, the Chair of the Special Educational Consortium, to lead an inquiry into parental confidence in special educational provision, assessment and appeal. The Lamb Inquiry is due to report in September 2009. IPSEA is also represented on the Inquiry’s Expert Advisers Group and through this and the Inquiry’s Reference Group it will be able to hear whether the new arrangements for the tribunals are increasing parental confidence. The Department will continue to work closely with the Tribunals Service to address any concerns there are about the effect of the new tribunal arrangements on parental confidence in the SEN system.
Teachers: Pensions
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the value was of public sector pensions for teachers in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year. [228431]
Jim Knight: The gross expenditure against the Teachers’ Pension Scheme for the last five years are as follows:
| Gross (Cash basis, £ billion) | |
The value of contributions received for each year are as follows:
| £000 | ||
| Employer contributions | Employee contributions | |
The increase in the contribution rate on 1 April 2003 reflected a change in the way the scheme was financed with pensions increase (i.e. the inflation increases in the value of pensions in payment) now reflected in the total contribution rate paid by members and their employers rather than being met separately by the Exchequer.
The contribution rate for employers and employees during the period 2002-03 to 2006-07 are as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Period | Employer rate of charge | Employee rate of charge |
Women and Equality
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 22 August on discrimination by employers against people with mental illness. [225993]
Maria Eagle: The issue raised by the hon. Member for West Worcestershire's constituent was one relating to disability. The matter was referred to my right hon. Friend the Member for Sterling (Mrs. McGuire), then Minister responsible for disabled people, for a response. My right hon. Friend responded on the 26 September. I would be happy to provide a copy of this correspondence for the hon. Member at his request.
Prostitution: Human Trafficking
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps she has taken pursuant to the Government Equalities Office's report of January 2008, Women Not For Sale. [227514]
Maria Eagle: The Minister for Women and Equality commissioned the report Women Not For Sale to highlight how advertisements for personal services fuel demand for women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Since the report was published the Minister for Women commissioned two rounds of questions into attitudes of the general public towards prostitution and visited the Poppy Project to talk to women who have been trafficked into sexual exploitation.
The Deputy Minister for Women has fed into the Home Office six month review of what more the Government can do to protect those involved in prostitution from exploitation. The review included visits to Sweden and Holland to look at how trafficking is being tackled internationally and will report later this year.
Further the Government intend to strengthen the response to those involved in sexual exploitation. The Home Secretary recently announced:
An amendment to the offence of kerb-crawling, removing the need to prove that a person has acted persistently. This will ensure that kerb-crawlers can be prosecuted on a first offence.
New powers to allow police to close brothels for a period of three months. At the moment, police can only close premises associated with prostitution if antisocial behaviour or Class A drugs are involved.
Alongside this the Government have decided to give greater powers to local authorities and local communities to control the opening and regulation of lap-dancing clubs. This means lap-dancing clubs would potentially no longer be licensed under the Licensing Act 2003.
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