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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1834W—continued
Information on the number of children who are subject of a Child Protection Plan is shown in table 2.
| Table 2: Children subject of a Child Protection Plan (CPP), by gender. Years at 31 March 2004 to 2008—England | ||||||||
| Numbers( 1) | Percentages( 2) | Rate per 10,000 children aged under 18 years | ||||||
| All children( 3) | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | All children( 3) | Boys | Girls | |
| (1 )Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. (2 )Percentage calculations exclude unborn children. (3) The “all children” figures include unborn children. Source: CPR3. | ||||||||
The latest figures on the numbers and percentage of children subject to Child Protection Plans or placed on the Child Protection Register were published in a Statistical First Release (SFR) 24/2008 "Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, England—Year ending 31 March 2008" on 16 September 2008. A copy of this release is available on my Department's website
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government has taken to reinforce child protection in schools in the last 12 months. [238196]
Beverley Hughes: In 2007 new guidance on “Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education” came into force. The guidance sets out the responsibilities of all local authorities, schools and FE colleges in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
New regulations came into force in 2007 strengthening the provisions under which individuals who have committed sex offences against children are automatically entered on List 99 and barred from working in schools and other education settings. In the past 12 months, the Government have also made significant progress towards the implementation of the new vetting and barring scheme, which will further strengthen the system for preventing unsuitable adults from working with children, including in schools.
In October 2008 Sir Roger Singleton, chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority, was asked to lead a review of safeguarding arrangements in independent school, non-maintained special schools and boarding schools. The review will examine the practical operation of the current statutory and non-statutory safeguarding arrangements that apply to independent schools, non-maintained special schools and boarding schools in the maintained, non-maintained and independent sectors in England. Sir Roger expects to conclude his work in February 2009.
In April 2008, Ministers at the DCSF wrote to local authorities and schools to remind them of their responsibilities in relation to the issue of forced marriage and of the materials and guidance already available. In June 2008, new materials on forced marriage were launched specifically for schools and for young people to raise awareness of forced marriage. These were sent to all secondary schools, pupil referral units, local authorities and Local Safeguarding Children Boards. New draft guidance on forced marriage was published for consultation in July 2008. The consultation closed in October, and the new statutory guidance was launched on 25 November.
Within schools, staff have powers to bar people from their premises if they consider them a threat or a nuisance. We have also started a series of regional conferences (late 2008 to early 2009) on Partnership Working to Keep Pupils Safe which is aimed at schools, police and local authorities. We have an ongoing programme of work to prevent and tackle the bullying of children. Our guidance, “Safe To Learn”, advises schools on tackling bullying related to ethnicity, sexuality, disability and cyberbullying. We are funding the Anti-Bullying Alliance and national strategies to ensure this work is embedded in schools.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment his Department has made of the recommendations of the report of the Thanet Inquiry in respect of looked after children and vulnerable young people being placed out-of-county by local authorities. [238658]
Beverley Hughes: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Children: Social Services
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Part 8 reviews into child deaths there have been in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [239806]
Beverley Hughes: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Children's Commissioner for England: Public Relations
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much the Children’s Commissioner for England has spent on external (a) public relations and (b) public affairs in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [233541]
Beverley Hughes: The Children’s Commissioner for England published his Annual Report and Accounts for 2007-08 in July 2008, copies of which were laid before Parliament and are available in the House Library.
Sue Berelowitz, the Deputy Children’s Commissioner at 11 Million, will write to the right hon. Member with more detailed information in response to this question and a copy of her reply will also be placed in the House Library.
Children's Workforce Strategy
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether the forthcoming Children's Workforce Strategy will include any cross-cutting themes. [238036]
Beverley Hughes: The Children's Workforce Strategy will set out how the Government will work with partners to secure improvements and to support the workforce to 2020. It will look at cross-cutting issues right across the workforce, as well as at the need for progress within individual sectors. Particular cross-cutting themes will include:
supply, recruitment and retention;
excellence in practice; and
integrated working.
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department plans to publish the Children's Workforce Strategy. [238094]
Beverley Hughes: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Christmas
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Christmas functions (a) he, (b) officials from his Department and (c) officials from its executive agencies (i) hosted and (ii) attended in 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse was; and if he will make a statement. [226963]
Ed Balls: The Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) did not host any Christmas functions in 2007, but did host two celebratory events in January 2008, which I attended. The cost of these events was approximately £2,350.
I also attended six Christmas functions in 2007-8. The cost of attending these functions is not readily available and gathering this information would be at a disproportionate cost.
Information on events hosted or attended by either (a) DCSF officials or (b) our executive agencies is also not readily available and gathering this information would be at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on Christmas (a) cards, (b) parties and (c) decorations in the last 12 months. [237492]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables and (h) fruit to be served by his Department at Christmas functions which will be sourced from British producers. [239546]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Class Sizes: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average pupil- to-teacher ratio in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in York was in each year since 1996/97. [237267]
Jim Knight: The following table provides the pupil/teacher ratio in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools in York local authority and England, in each January, 1997 to 2008.
| Pupil:teacher ratios( 1) in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools, 1997 to 2008, York local authority and England | ||||
| Primary | Secondary | |||
| As at January each year | York | England | York | England |
| (1) The within-school PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools. Source: Annual School Census. | ||||
Coastal Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to improve its arrangements for co-ordination with other Government departments of policy affecting coastal towns in the last two years. [238648]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
The Department is part of a cross-departmental working group that was established in February 2008 that is providing a forum for improving cross-Government understanding of the challenges and
opportunities facing coastal towns, including the impact of existing policy approaches and mechanisms in improving regeneration and economic development outcomes.
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