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15 Dec 2008 : Column 498W—continued
“Behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated overtime, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.”
Our suite of guidance “Safe to Learn”, published in 2007, reiterates this definition, and expands upon it, giving examples of what behaviours could count as bullying:
“Bullying includes: name-calling; taunting; mocking; making offensive comments; kicking; hitting; pushing; taking belongings; inappropriate text messaging and emailing; sending offensive or degrading images by phone or via the internet; producing offensive graffiti; gossiping; excluding people from groups; and spreading hurtful and untruthful rumours.” (Safe to Learn 1.6-1.7)
As part of our consultation process, we will ask for views on how bullying should be defined for the purposes of the new duty to record. Using the responses we receive, we will establish a clear definition of what the threshold for recording an incident of bullying will be, and communicate this to all practitioners.
Schools: Uniforms
Bob Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he has had with HM Treasury Ministers on the application of
VAT to school uniforms in the light of the extension to 18 of participation in education, employment and training; and if he will make a statement. [243001]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: VAT issues remain a matter for HM Treasury. My Department has no plans to discuss VAT on school uniforms with the Treasury.
Current guidance on school uniform states that governing bodies should give high priority to cost when setting a school uniform policy, and states that no school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling socially excluded.
Science: GCSE
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained schools were entered for individual science GCSE examinations in (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics in each year since 1992. [240805]
Jim Knight: Readily available information on the number and proportion of pupils in maintained schools who were entered for physics, chemistry and biology is shown in the following table:
| Number of entries | Percentage of entries | |||||
| Physics | Chemistry | Biology | Physics | Chemistry | Biology | |
Data for 2005-07 are based on pupils at the end of KS4. Data prior to 2005 are based on 15-year-old pupils at the start of the academic year.
Single Level Tests
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he plans to publish the results of the evaluations of the pilots of the single level tests. [243818]
Jim Knight: The Making Good Progress pilot is being externally evaluated by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the interim report on the first year of the pilot is due to be published on 17 December 2008. This report will include the summary of the December 2007 and June 2008 single level test results.
A final evaluation report is due in autumn 2009.
Teachers: Pay
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on salaries for (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants and (c) support staff in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in 1997; and how much he expects will be spent on such salaries in 2008. [242676]
Jim Knight: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Hemel Hempstead is not available. The available information for Hertfordshire local authority is contained within the following table:
| Staffing expenditure by local authority maintained schools in Hertfordshire for 1996-97 and 2007-08 | ||||||
| 1996-97 | 2007-08 | |||||
| Teaching staff | Education support staff | Other support staff | Teaching staff | Education support staff | Other support staff | |
| Notes: 1. Teaching staff includes teaching staff, supply teaching staff and agency supply teachers. 2. Other school staff includes premises staff, admin staff, catering staff and other staff. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000. 4. The 1996-97 data are taken from the RO1 form which was collected from CLG (formerly ODPM) and the 2007-08 data taken from Section 52 Outturn statements. 5. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 10 December 2008. | ||||||
Truancy: Wiltshire
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many days of truancy there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Wiltshire in each of the last three years. [243096]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not maintain records of ‘truancy'.
The latest available published information on absence, including absence by reason, is published in 'SFR05/2008: Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2006/07'. This can be found at:
This also includes local authority data.
Young People: Drugs
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to reduce the proportion of young people frequently using (a) illegal drugs, (b) alcohol and (c) volatile substances. [240728]
Beverley Hughes: The new 10-year Drug Strategy (February 2008) and the Youth Alcohol Action Plan (June 2008) commit the Government to reducing harm arising to young people from the misuse of drugs, alcohol and volatile substances.
The drug strategy, “Drugs: Protecting Families and Communities” identifies families as a key priority and highlights the need for early intervention and support
to prevent future problems for children. It proposes a programme of intensive support services to reach the most chaotic families through programmes such as the Family Interventions Project, and Family Pathfinders to develop local systems and services that improve outcomes for families at risk.
The Youth Alcohol Action Plan sets out a number of actions to address the problems of young people's alcohol consumption. Government will provide clearer health information for parents and young people about how consumption of alcohol can affect children and young people. This will include the Chief Medical Officer's guidelines on safer drinking by young people and a comprehensive communications campaign aimed at 11 to 15-year-olds to be launched in spring 2009. The Youth Alcohol Action Plan also sets out measures to tackle the problems arising from young people drinking in public places, and to work with the alcohol industry to ensure alcohol is marketed and promoted in a responsible way.
In line with recommendations from an independent review of drug and alcohol education, Ministers announced on 30 October 2008 that personal health and social education (PHSE) would be made a statutory subject. This underlines the key role PHSE has to play in young people's personal development.
For those young people that do develop a problem, having accessible and good quality specialist treatment available for them in all areas of England is a vital part of our approach. DCSF is working closely with the National Treatment Agency to continue to improve the accessibility and quality of substance misuse treatment for young people.
Home Department
Illegal Immigrants
11. Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of illegal migrants in the UK. [242975]
Mr. Woolas: Since the abolition of embarkation controls, which started in 1994, no Government have ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally.
By the end of December 2008, the majority of foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country.
This is one part of the biggest shake up of border security and the immigration system in a generation which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, compulsory watch-list checks for all travellers from high risk countries before they land in Britain and ID cards for foreign nationals.
Police: Beat
12. Mr. Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the proportion of time police officers spend on the beat. [242976]
Mr. Coaker:
The Government are committed to delivering a visible and reassuring police presence. At
the end of March 2008 64.9 per cent. of police officer time was spent on frontline duties. The fourth successive annual improvement since 2003-04.
Since April 2008 there has been a neighbourhood policing team in every area. The Policing Pledge includes a commitment for neighbourhood policing teams to spend at least 80 per cent. of their time visibly working on their patch.
17. Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to maximise the amount of time that police officers spend on frontline policing. [242981]
Mr. Coaker: Since April there has been a neighbourhood policing team in every area. The Green Paper confirmed our commitment to reducing bureaucracy and developing technology to free up officer time. It is vitally important that the police are able to do their jobs efficiently, without being constrained by unnecessary bureaucracy.
The policing pledge includes a commitment for neighbourhood policing teams to spend at least 80 per cent. of their time visibly working on their patch.
20. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of time police officers spend on the beat. [242985]
Mr. Coaker: The Government are committed to delivering a visible and reassuring police presence. At the end of March 2008 64.9 per cent. of police officer time was spent on frontline duties. The fourth successive annual improvement since 2003-04.
Since April 2008 there has been a neighbourhood policing team in every area. The policing pledge includes a commitment for neighbourhood policing teams to spend at least 80 per cent. of their time visibly working on their patch.
Police: Public Confidence
13. Dr. Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made on the implementation of the single central target for public confidence in policing; and if she will make a statement. [242977]
Mr. Coaker: The single target is a hard-edged measure about raising public confidence that their local crime and antisocial behaviour priorities are tackled. The Home Office will be writing to police forces and authorities shortly about their targets.
Alcohol-related Crime
14. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of measures to combat alcohol-induced crime. [242978]
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