| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
13 Nov 2008 : Column 1352W—continued
Dungavel Detention Centre
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) families and (b) children aged (i) under 18, (ii) under 16 and (iii) under 10 years old are detained at Dungavel Detention Centre; and how many people have been detained there in each of the last five years. [232796]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 3 November 2008]: On 30 October 2008 there was one family with no children in detention at Dungavel House
On 30 October 2008, there were two children with their mother in detention at Dungavel House immigration removal centre. Children are only ever held with their parents and normally spend no longer than 72 hours in the centre.
During 2006 there were 79 families with 162 children held in detention at Dungavel House. Of these, seven children were aged 16 to 18 years, 27 children were aged between 10 and 15 years, and 128 children were under 10 years old. During 2006 the average length of stay for children was three days.
During 2007 there were 87 families with 184 children held in detention at Dungavel House. Of these, seven children were aged 16 to 18 years, 49 children were aged between 10 and 15 years, and 126 children were under 10 years old. During 2007 the average length of stay for children was three days.
During 2008 to date there have been 67 families with 120 children held in detention at Dungavel House. Of these, four children were aged 16 to 18 years, 25 children were aged between 10 and 15 years and 91 children were under 10 years old. During this year to date the average length of stay for children has been three days.
Before 2006 records of the age of children held at Dungavel House were not held. Records were kept on the number of families and children detained, and in 2005 there were 52 families with 96 children detained at Dungavel House, and in 2004 there were 61 families with 105 children.
The figures given are based on management information rather than published statistics.
Gangmasters Licensing Authority: Cavendish Public Affairs
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monetary payments the Gangmasters Licensing Authority has (a) made and (b) contracted to make, to Cavendish Public Affairs; and for what purposes. [233378]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) has made two payments to Cavendish Public Affairs:
1. £1,410.00 for preparing GLA personnel to provide evidence to the Home Affairs Committee’s inquiry into human trafficking on 29 April 2008.
2. £4,406.25 for helping the GLA to prepare a public affairs strategy for the Authority in June 2008.
There is no current work contracted between the GLA and Cavendish Public Affairs.
Internet: Safety
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government has taken to improve internet safety. [234891]
Mr. Woolas: The Prime Minister commissioned an independent review of the risks children face when using the internet and video games. This review ‘Safer Children in a Digital World’ was carried out by Dr. Tanya Byron and published in March 2008. The Government accepted all of the recommendations made in full.
Ipsos Mori
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what services the payments were made. [234654]
Mr. Woolas: Information on the Home Department and its agencies payments to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months is as follows:
| Department/agency | Total payment in last 24 months (£) |
Ipsos MORI has provided a wide variety of services to the Home Office Headquarters and UKBA in the last 24 months. They include: Quarterly Opinion Polling on Crime and Immigration, facilitation of Young Witness Workshop, Local Victim and Witness Satisfaction Survey, Survey with Focus Group on Home Office Priorities, Arrestee Survey Review, Research conducted on Mapping Provision of Services for Young Victims of Crime, Polling on Citizenship, Public Opinion Polling on Attitudes to Immigration and Asylum, and Consultation for the Drugs Strategy. The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) used Ipsos MORI for the Staff Survey and research on ID Cards.
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) used Ipsos MORI for Staff, Public Awareness and Customer Surveys.
Children, Schools and Families
Airwave Service
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what organisations for which his Department is responsible (a) use and (b) are planning to use Airwave handsets. [234707]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department makes no use of Airwave handsets, nor is it planning to do so. The use or planned use of communications' solutions by the organisations sponsored by the Department is a matter for them and no central records are held at this time.
Children: Human Rights
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to ensure that the operation of (a) the Children Act 1989 and (b) the Children and Adoption Act 2006 is compliant with Articles 6 and 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 in respect of protecting a child's right to family life, where it is safe to do so; and if he will make a statement. [234193]
Beverley Hughes:
Under the Human Rights Act 1998 it is unlawful for a public authority, which includes local authorities, in their dealings with children and families, to act in a way which is incompatible with ECHR rights. A person who claims that a local authority has acted in a way which breaches their article 6 or 8 convention rights may take proceedings against that authority. A court in determining any case in which a
question arises in relation to convention rights must take into account ECHR case law and so far as possible read and give effect to primary and secondary legislation in a way which is compatible with convention rights. Courts have confirmed the compatibility of the principles and practice in children cases with convention rights.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated for designing and promoting the new logo for the Early Years Foundation Stage. [234131]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 10 November 2008]: The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework is not represented by a specific logo. However, we have used hexagons in pastel shades of blue, purple, green and orange for the EYFS statutory guidance document and associated EYFS material. This logo was created during the production of the original EYFS document in 2007, which was subsequently reprinted in 2008. The cost allocated for designing this logo was £317.30. There were no specific promotional activities relating to this logo.
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on training childcare staff to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. [234132]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 10 November 2008]: The Department has funded early years training, in particular Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) training, through both the School's Standard Fund and the General Sure Start Grant (GSSG). In addition to this, we provided a further £7 million during 2007-08 to support EYFS training for schools and practitioners in private, voluntary and independent settings. At the same time we enabled greater flexibility within the Transformation Fund to support its use for training on the EYFS for the private, voluntary and independent sector. Because of the way we fund through these broad grants, local authorities have discretion over how these funds are used at local level and therefore other programme funds may also have contributed, and continue to contribute, to training on the EYFS. Consequently, the Department does not hold information on the sums put towards early years training from these budgets.
Free School Meals
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects the evaluation of pilots for free school meals for primary schools to be completed. [235112]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The right hon. Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families and for Health announced our intention to run the pilots in September 2008. The pilots will run for two years beginning in September 2009, with the option of extending into a third year. We are currently developing a robust evaluation strategy to support the pilots and it is too early to say, at this time, when a report will be available.
General Certificate of Secondary Education: Young Offenders
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many offenders in young offender institutions sat at least one (a) GCSE and (b) A level examination in each of the last six years. [234080]
Beverley Hughes: The Department does not collect data on the numbers of qualifications sat by young people in young offender institutions (YOIs).
However, the roll-out of the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from 31 July 2006, means that some data on enrolments and achievements by young offenders within Prison Service run YOIs is now collected centrally. The data available are for 2006/07 only. Enrolments and achievements for juvenile offenders up to the age of 17 is as follows:
| Number of young people | ||
| Qualification | Enrolments | Achievements |
However the LSC figures quoted do not provide complete records of all enrolments and achievements because some young people in custody remain enrolled at learning providers in the community and their achievements are not reflected in this data source. Also, many young people stay in custody only for a very short time, and therefore it is not realistic for them to enrol on and achieve long term qualifications.
Health Education: Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department's communications campaign about the risks of alcohol for 11 to 15 year olds will be launched; and what it will cost. [234567]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government are committed to reducing substance misuse related harm among young people, including harm arising from the misuse of alcohol.
The Youth Alcohol Action Plan published in June 2008 set out our aim to launch campaigns targeting parents and young people by early 2009. The campaign plans are currently being developed alongside other commitments in the action plan. This type of campaign is informed by insight gathered from our target audience and detailed plans and costs are therefore not yet possible to predict. However, based on other similar behaviour change campaigns £5 million per year has been made available for the next three years to fund communications.
Higher Education: Disadvantaged
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to encourage children from the most deprived backgrounds to apply for admission to leading universities. [229863]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
This Government remain totally committed to widening participation in higher education (HE), for those from poorer and other under-represented backgrounds. This includes those young people who overcome the greatest challenges, not just to go to university at all, but to one of the most selective universities or courses. We, together with the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the universities themselves, are working to raise both aspirations of young people and attainment—to unlock the talent of each student so that they can progress to a university that will help them realise their full potential.
There is a range of current and emerging interventions designed to raise attainment and aspirations to progress to higher education. Leading universities are involved in all of these. These include:
A national outreach programme which seeks to widen participation in HE through local partnerships of universities, colleges and schools which co-design and deliver activities to raise attainment, aspiration and application levels of young people from backgrounds currently under-represented in HE.
A new mentoring scheme. Pathfinder projects are being established with a view to national roll out in 2009. Associates are HE students who provide targeted support for and sharing of personal experience with young people through key transitions in their school and/or college careers, with a view to enabling their successful application to HE.
(c) Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Widening Participation Allocation
Supports the additional costs of recruiting and retaining students from non-traditional backgrounds.
Are both structural and sustained. DIUS is promoting a range of ways in which universities can get involved with schools, including sponsoring academies and trusts.
Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which targets young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The programme has gained commitment from over 70 universities which include Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, London School of Economics, Bristol Liverpool, Birmingham and Warwick.
In September, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, announced that nine leading universities have agreed to extend opportunities for the best performing students from the most challenging backgrounds. Universities themselves want to do more to ensure they can identify and attract the most talented students. We are currently discussing the next steps with the universities involved.
Leading universities are also involved in providing help to gifted and talented learners funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, with the aim of improving their attainment. In particular, the gifted and talented strand of the City Challenges supports progression to leading universities for academically gifted year 10 pupils eligible for free school meals and attending schools in City Challenge areas. From this term, each will benefit from a tailored four-year support programme backed up by a £400 per year bursary to pay for additional out of school support.
Pre-School Education
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what reasons the National Director of Early Years Strategy, Ruth Pimentel, has given for resigning her position. [235371]
Beverley Hughes: This is a private matter for the national director herself. She leaves having made a huge contribution to the delivery of our early years agenda, following the successful delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage for which she has been a powerful advocate, and having led on work to ensure that every child gets the chance to experience high quality early learning and care. I know that she will continue to play an active part in the continued development of excellent early years practice, and I wish her well with the next stage of her career.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |