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21 Oct 2008 : Column 326W—continued

Number and percentage of childcare providers that have opened and closed( 1) : Position as at 31 March each year, England
	2003-04		2004-05		2005-06		2006-07		2007-08
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
Opened	21,200	22.9	18,500	20.2	16,400	17.3	15,500	16.4	13,500	15.1
Childminders	16,300	22.5	13,100	18.6	11,900	16.6	11,200	16.1	9,300	14.5
Full daycare	2,500	22.6	2,800	23.3	2,300	17.3	2,200	15.9	2,100	15.0
Out of school(2)	2,400	25.9	2,600	27.3	2,300	21.6	2,100	19.7	2,000	19.0
Closed	14,400	15.5	19,200	20.9	13,400	14.0	16,400	17.4	18,200	20.4
Childminders	12,100	16.7	15,300	21.8	10,500	14.7	12,900	18.5	14,600	22.6
Full daycare	1,100	9.7	1,800	14.5	1,300	10.1	1,500	10.8	1,700	11.8
Out of school(2)	1,200	13.0	2,200	22.6	1,500	14.6	2,000	18.7	1,900	18.1
(1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. (2) Out of school day care figures may not include services in extended schools as Ofsted data only include providers that have to register separately. Source: Ofsted

The Department is unable to provide accurate details of closure rates for child care places and providers prior to 2003.

Since March 2003 data on closure rates have been available from Ofsted. Their data on closures include registered places in settings which are transferring ownership, and in settings which move from one Ofsted category to another, not just those which are ceasing trading.

Departmental Consultants

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 1113W, on departmental consultants, what estimate his Department makes for planning purposes of the average costs of undertaking a public consultation. [228701]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The majority of the Department’s formal consultations are undertaken in-house by the Central Consultation Unit—the costs for which are given in my response to the hon. Lady’s pursuant question on departmental publications. Any costs beyond this are normally met by the policy area commissioning the consultation; these are not recorded centrally and could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2008, Official Report, columns 1115-6W, on departmental publications, what the (a) budget and (b) staffing costs of the (i) Central Publications Team and (ii) Central Consultation Unit were in the last 12 months. [228705]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is as follows:

(i) The budget for this Department's Central Publications Team was £100,000 in 2007-08 and staffing costs were £75,838.

(ii) The budget for the Central Consultation Unit covers the staffing costs for the unit and the cost of maintaining the Department's on-line e-consultation system. In 2007-08 the staffing costs were £189,624 and the cost of the e-consultation system was £13,155.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which information and guidance documents his Department circulated to (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in 2007. [228794]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department issued a fortnightly email to all schools in England in 2007 highlighting key information, including guidance and
21 Oct 2008 : Column 327W
legislation. The Department only circulates documents to schools in exceptional cases, having stopped regular paper mailings in December 2004.

Departmental Security

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department and its predecessors in each year since 2001. [228942]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was created on 28 June 2007. Since that time 187 security passes have been reported as lost and 20 reported as stolen.

Although we could provide incomplete information prior to the creation of DSCF, the collation of the records dating from 2001 from each HQ building and each prior Department would be both difficult and time consuming and would take us over the disproportionate cost limit.

GCE A-level

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of sixth form students (a) in the state sector and (b) at grammar schools achieved three or more grade As at A-level in 2008. [227905]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The proportions of sixth form students who achieved three or more A grades at A-level in 2008, by type of school, are shown in table 1 of the statistical first release ‘GCE/VCEA/AS and Equivalent Examination Results in England, 2007/08 (Provisional)’:

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000816/index.shtml.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 7 October 2008, Official Report, column 590W, on GCE A-level, if he will disaggregate the figures in the previous answer by (a) grade and (b) type of school. [228565]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information broken down by school type has been placed in the House of Commons Library. Only figures at A-level are fully broken down by all grades and figures for GCSE are provided using the A*-C and A*-G breakdowns.

Full grade breakdowns for GCSE and the equivalent figures for AS-levels can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

21 Oct 2008 : Column 328W

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many and what proportion of pupils did not gain a GCSE at (a) C grade or above, (b) D grade or above and (c) E grade or above in 2008; [228685]

(2) how many pupils did not obtain five A* to G grades at GCSE, excluding equivalents, in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; [228686]

(3) how many pupils did not obtain any GCSEs, excluding equivalents, in 2008. [228687]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested for 2008 is given in the following table. This information is based on provisional statistics and schools are currently checking their results and providing amendments as part of the annual results checking exercise.

	Number	Percentage
Did not obtain five A*-G	89,039	13.6
Did not obtain one A*-C	137,379	21.0
Did not obtain one A*-D	76,320	11.7
Did not obtain one A*-E	44,733	6.8
Did not obtain one A*-G	24,636	3.8

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 14 October, Official Report, column 1123W, for information of the number of pupils who did not obtain five GCSEs at grades A*-G in 2007.

Grammar Schools: Admissions

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of the total student entry to secondary education in England in 2008 enrolled in grammar schools. [227904]

Jim Knight: The requested information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The latest available information shows the number of schools and pupils by admissions policy of the school and has been placed in the Library.

Pre-school Education: Darlington

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in Darlington constituency took up free nursery places in each of the last 10 years. [228376]

Beverley Hughes: The available information is shown in the tables.

Table 1 provides information about the part-time equivalent number of free early education places filled by three and four-year-olds in Darlington parliamentary constituency area. Data at parliamentary constituency level are not yet available for 2008.

21 Oct 2008 : Column 329W

21 Oct 2008 : Column 330W

Part-time equivalent number of free early education places( 1,2,3) filled by three and four-year-olds: parliamentary constituency Darlington— p osition in January each year
	Three-year-olds			Four-year-olds
	Maintained nursery and primary schools( 4)	Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers( 5)	Total three-year-olds	Maintained nursery and primary schools( 6)	Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers( 7)	Total four-year-olds
2004	780	290	1,100	990	100	1.10&
2005	700	270	970	890	110	1,000
2006	710	310	1,000	860	90	940
2007	710	330	1,000	930	130	1,100
(1) A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. (3) Prior to 2004, information on early education places was derived from returns made by local authorities as part of the Nursery Education Grant (NEG) data collection exercise. These data were collected at local authority level, therefore, data for this parliamentary constituency prior to 2004 are not available. (4) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the School Census. (5) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the School Census. (6) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous in the previous calendar year from the School Census. (7) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the School Census.

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