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21 Jan 2009 : Column 1547W—continued
Schools
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools are in the National Challenge; and if he will make a statement. [249436]
Jim Knight: The final 2008 GCSE results show that the number of schools where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils attain five higher grade GCSEs including English and Maths has fallen to 440 compared to 631 last year and 783 two years ago.
The 2008 figure represents about 14 per cent. of maintained secondary schools compared with an equivalent proportion of over 50 per cent. in 1997. In addition, the National Challenge is providing support for some schools which are above the 30 per cent. floor target in order to secure or consolidate their performance. Some of these schools were in the National Challenge in 2007, but are continuing to receive support. Others are schools which were identified by their local authority because, although they are not in the National Challenge, they would benefit from the types of support it can offer to help them to raise attainment further.
Schools: Buildings
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what private finance initiative contracts have been entered into relating to school building and refurbishment projects since 2001. [248569]
Jim Knight: To date, 111 PFI deals have been signed since 2001 (19 of these PFI deals have been signed through the Building Schools for Future programme).
Schools: Capital Investment
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in which local authority areas those school capital projects which will receive brought forward capital expenditure are located. [249114]
Jim Knight: We are awaiting bids and further information from some authorities, and are in correspondence with others. We will publish revised allocations as soon as allocations are confirmed.
Schools: Islam
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department’s policy is on female Muslim teachers and teaching assistants wearing the full burka while interacting with children in schools. [249515]
Jim Knight: It is for the employer, as part of the terms and conditions of employment agreed with employees, to establish an appropriate dress code relevant to the individual setting taking into account the requirements of the post and equality and diversity matters. The Department for Children Schools and Families has not issued any guidance on this matter.
Schools: Repairs and Maintenance
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether funding for the increased number of school repairs to help create jobs under the Government's plans to create up to 100,000 new jobs through public works will come from the budget of the Building Schools for the Future programme. [248735]
Jim Knight: Generally, repairs are of a revenue nature and are financed by revenue funding.
Local authorities are being offered an advance of capital funding from the financial year 2010-11 to 2009-10 to (a) make capital improvements at an earlier date, and (b) support local jobs. The advances of capital funding will be made from allocations devolved to local authorities, also voluntary aided schools, and in some instances from primary capital funding. A tentative estimate of the number of jobs that will be created in 2009-10 is 10,000. The Building Schools for the Future programme is unaffected.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created by increased funding for school repairs in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011 under the Government’s plans to create up to 100,000 new jobs through public works; and what proportion of those jobs he estimates will go to British workers. [248748]
Jim Knight: Generally, repairs are of a revenue nature and are financed by revenue funding.
Local authorities are being offered an advance of capital funding from the financial year 2010-11 to 2009-10 to (a) make capital improvements at an earlier date (b) support local jobs. The advances will be repaid in
2010-11 by way of a corresponding reduction in funding, and will not affect total allocations in the spending review period 2008-09 to 2010-11. A tentative estimate of the number of jobs that will be created in 2009-10 is 10,000. There are no estimates on the number of jobs that will go to British workers.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to increase capital expenditure on a school repairs programme as part of the Government's plans to create up to 100,000 new jobs through public works. [248751]
Jim Knight: Generally, repairs are of a revenue nature and are financed by revenue funding.
Local authorities are being offered an advance of capital funding from the financial year 2010-11 to 2009-10 to (a) make capital improvements at an earlier date (b) support local jobs. The advances will be repaid in 2010-11 by way of a corresponding reduction in funding, and will not affect total allocations in the spending review period 2008-09 to 2010-11. A tentative estimate of the number of jobs that will be created in 2009-10 is 10,000.
Planned capital allocations during this period amount to some £21.9 billion, and include some of the largest school building programmes ever undertaken.
Schools: Standards
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect on a school's staffing levels of designating it as a national challenge school; and if he will make a statement. [248634]
Jim Knight: Over £50 million has been allocated in this academic year to support national challenge schools. This includes funding for extra teachers and teaching assistants, where schools and local authorities have identified the need. Further details will be made available in local authority plans, which will be published by local authorities today.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the impact on school performance of being placed in the national challenge; and if he will make a statement. [248636]
Jim Knight: The final GCSE figures for 2008 show that there has been a substantial fall in the number of schools below the floor target of 30 per cent. 5A*-C including English and Maths, from 631 in 2007 to 440 in 2008. This reduction is a reflection of the hard work of staff and pupils and the success of our policies for raising standards. The National Challenge is accelerating progress by providing each school below the 30 per cent. threshold and those at risk with a National Challenge adviser and a bespoke package of support, targeted at the particular needs of each school.
Social Services: Doncaster
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when Paul Gray's term as Interim Director of Children's Services in Doncaster is due to expire. [248778]
Beverley Hughes: Dr. Paul Gray was recruited by Doncaster Metropolitan borough council in April 2008 to take up the position of Director of Children’s Services (DCS) on an interim basis. It is for the council and Paul Gray himself to agree the length of Paul Gray’s term as DCS in Doncaster.
Teachers: Part-time Employment
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the reasons are for the time taken to publish official guidance for the implementation of the provisions of the 2008 School Teachers' Pay and Conditions document in relation to the pay and working time of part-time teachers. [248549]
Jim Knight: The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 2008 (STPCD) came into force on 1 September 2008, Section 3 of which comprises statutory guidance including guidance on part-time teacher remuneration and working time. The statutory provisions of the STPCD and the statutory guidance were the subject of statutory consultation.
Additional non statutory guidance on the new part-time arrangements was made available on Teachernet on 8 October. Following the identification of a technical error within the STPCD, this guidance was withdrawn on 4 November 2008 and replaced on 13 January 2009.
Teachers: Pensions
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the Answer of 1 September 2008, Official Report, column 1638W, on teachers’ pensions: resource accounting and budgeting, for what reason the teachers’ pension scheme resource accounts were not published between the 2008 summer recess and the end of the 2007-08 session; and when he plans to publish them. [249008]
Jim Knight: My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office referred to some overpayments made to pensioners of public sector pension schemes, including the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in a written ministerial statement on 16 December 2008, Official Report, column 111WS.
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme resource accounts contain reference to these overpayments. The decision was taken not to publish the accounts until such time as we had sufficient information to be able to inform the pensioners. Critical to this decision was the need to avoid unnecessary public concern among the vast majority of teacher pensioners who were entirely unaffected, but who would not have known that had a general announcement been made. Letters were sent to affected pensioners on 15 December and the statement, formally notifying Parliament of the overpayments, was made on 16 December .
The accounts will now be laid before 31 January.
Teachers: Primary Education
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary school teachers have been employed in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) nationwide in each year since 1997. [249466]
Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of full-time equivalent teachers employed in local authority maintained nursery/primary schools in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside local authority, North East Government Office Region and England, January 1997 to 2008.
| Full-time equivalent qualified and unqualified teachers in local authority maintained nursery/primary schools—coverage: Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside local authority, North East Government Office Region and England | ||||
| Years: January 1997 to 2008 | ||||
| Jarrow constituency( 1) | South Tyneside( 2) | North East( 2) | England( 2) | |
| (1). Source: School Census (2) Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618g Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. | ||||
Teachers: Resignations
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers left the profession after less than 10 years service in each of the last 20 years. [247484]
Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of full and part-time qualified teachers employed in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools in England who left the profession with less than 10 years recorded service, in each year 1987-88 to 2006-07, the latest information available.
Teachers are counted irrespective of whether they were leaving service permanently.
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