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28 Jan 2009 : Column 670W—continued
Schools: Wansdyke
Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on the salaries of (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants and (c) support staff in Wansdyke constituency in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2007-08. [251835]
Jim Knight: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Wansdyke constituency is not available. The figures provided in the following table are for Bath and North-East Somerset, City of Bristol and South Gloucestershire local authorities as each of these authorities are responsible for schools located in Wansdyke constituency.
Secondary Education
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many secondary schools there were at the latest date for which figures are available. [251923]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of secondary schools in England at 26 January 2009. These figures do not include special schools.
| Number of secondary schools in England | |
| Number | |
| (1) Included are a small number of all-through schools. | |
Sight Impaired
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidelines his Department follows in respect of making printed materials and forms accessible to people suffering red/green colour blindness. [245710]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department’s new corporate branding has strict guidelines for the application of colour. For all corporate publications text should be:
Black on white for large blocks of text
A bold colour on white for headings or short snippets (for example quotes)
In black or white, on a bold block of colour
Our corporate design guidelines specifically prohibit the use of any colour text on any colour background.
Although not specifically formulated to address colour blindness, we believe these design principles should avoid it being an issue for our corporate publications.
Social Services: North East
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many complaints were made against children’s social services departments in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the latest period for which figures are available. [249828]
Beverley Hughes: This information is not collected centrally. However, local authorities are required to keep a record of each representation or complaint received; the decisions made in response and any action to be taken; and whether there was compliance with the time limits. The local authority must produce an annual report drawing on this information. This should not contain personal information that is identifiable about any individual complainant.
Special Educational Needs
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools have (i) two to four per cent., (ii) four to six per cent., (iii) six to eight per cent., (iv) eight to 10 per cent. and (v) more than 10 per cent. of its pupils in care. [247862]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is shown in the table. This is based on data obtained via the school census.
The census shows 34,390 pupils aged five to 19 attending primary, secondary and special schools who are classed as being in care as at January 2008. Data published by the Department as SFR 23/2008: Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008, shows 47,600 children aged between five and 19 as being looked after as at 31 March 2008. The school census does not cover all looked-after children; information is not collected for pupils in alternative provision, including pupil referral units, FE colleges,
voluntary provision and those not in education or training. These differences in coverage partly explain the difference in the numbers from each source. It is possible that the school census undercounts the number of looked-after children in primary, secondary and special schools where they are unaware of a child’s looked-after status. The improvements in care planning arrangements and increased focus on education through the implementation of the Children and Young Person’s Act 2008 will ensure that
schools have the information they need about a child’s looked-after status. In particular, all maintained schools will be required to appoint a designated teacher for looked-after children on the school’s roll. Through our wider Care Matters programme, the Department is funding 11 local authorities to pilot the role of a virtual school head to work with schools which have looked-after children on roll.
| Primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2, 3) , percentage of pupils in care per school( 4) as at January 2008, England | ||||||
| Primary schools( 1) | Secondary schools( 1, 2) | Special schools( 3) | ||||
| Percentage of pupils in care per school | Number of schools | Percentage of schools | Number of schools | Percentage of schools | Number of schools | Percentage of schools |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes CTCs and academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes hospital schools. (4) Pupils classed as being in care in a particular school as at January 2008 expressed as a percentage of the headcount of all pupils in the same school, includes both sole and dual (main) registrations. Source: School Census. | ||||||
Special Educational Needs: Children in Care
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many looked-after children have a statement of special educational needs. [251783]
Beverley Hughes: In 2007, there were 9,300 looked-after children (who have been looked after for at least 12 months) with a statement of special educational needs. This figure can be found in table A of the 'Outcome Indicators for Children Looked After, 12 months to 30 September 2007—England' Statistical First Release accessible via
Young People: Homelessness
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the management of those under 16 years who become homeless as a result of running away. [251161]
Beverley Hughes: Guidance to local authorities on how to respond appropriately to the needs of young people who run away was published by the Department of Health, the Department which then had responsibility for children’s services, in 2002. As part of the commitments made in the Young Runaways Action Plan, this guidance is currently being updated, and a draft version is out for formal consultation, in advance of publication later this year.
Running away should be seen as an indicator of an underlying problem for a young person which may need further intervention. Many children who run away from home are likely to be children in need requiring support and services provided by local authorities or by voluntary organisations acting on their behalf. Most runaways will return home; where it is inappropriate for them to do so, it is for the local authority to ensure that they are appropriately cared for.
The new guidance will clearly set out local authorities’ responsibilities relating to providing emergency accommodation for young people who have run away. It will reflect the emerging findings of the current review into the provision of emergency accommodation for young people. This review will help local authorities identify successful and cost effective forms of provision, and young people’s perceptions of different types of emergency accommodation.
Duchy of Lancaster
Birth Rate
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many births there were in England in each year since 1979. [250775]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Dennis Roberts, dated January 2009:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your request for information on how many births there were in England in each year since 1979. I am replying in her absence. (250775)
Birth statistics for England and Wales are published according to the area of usual residence of the mother. The attached table shows the number of live births for the years 1979 to 2007 (the latest year available) to mothers who were usually resident in England.
| Live births to mothers usually resident in England( 1) ,1979 to 2007 | |
| Live births | |
| (1) Refers to births taking place in England and Wales to mothers who are usually resident in England. | |
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