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LA Town School name Percentage 5+A*-C including English and mathematics

North Somerset

Weston-super-mare

Wyvern Community School

23

North Yorkshire

Scarborough

George Pindar Community Sports College

28

Dorset

Greater Bournemouth

The Grange School

26

Poole

Poole

Rossmore Community College

13

Poole

Poole

Ashdown Technology College

27

Bournemouth

Greater Bournemouth

Kings High School

24

Bournemouth

Greater Bournemouth

Oakmead College of Technology

28

East Sussex

Hastings

Hillcrest School

16

East Sussex

Hastings

The Grove

12

East Sussex

Eastbourne

Eastbourne Technology College

23

East Sussex

Hastings

William Parker Sports College

25

Brighton and Hove

Greater Brighton

Falmer High School

19

Brighton and Hove

Greater Brighton

Portslade Community College

29

Brighton and Hove

Greater Brighton

Patcham High School

28

Torbay

Torbay

Torquay Community College

21

Torbay

Torbay

Paignton Community and Sports College

29

Essex

Clacton-on-Sea

Colbayns High School

29

Essex

Clacton-on-Sea

Bishop's Park

8

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Chase High School

18

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Futures College

25

Kent

Whitstable/Herne Bay

The Community College Whitstable

17

Kent

Whitstable/Herne Bay

King Ethelbert School

14

Kent

Thanet

Ellington School for Girls

28

Kent

Thanet

The Hereson School

23

Kent

Thanet

Hartsdown Technology College

20

Kent

Thanet

St. George's Church of England Foundation School

21

Kent

Folkestone/Hythe

Pent Valley School

27

Kent

Folkestone/Hythe

Brockhill Park Performing Arts College

27

Kent

Thanet

The Marlowe Academy

13

Kent

Folkestone/Hythe

Folkestone Academy

14

Lancashire

Greater Blackpool

Fleetwood Sports College

23

Blackpool

Greater Blackpool

Bispham High School—an Arts College

29

Blackpool

Greater Blackpool

Beacon Hill High School Business and Enterprise College

18

Blackpool

Greater Blackpool

Palatine Community Sports College

24

Blackpool

Greater Blackpool

St. George's School A Church of England Business and Enterprise College

20

Lincolnshire

Skegness

St. Clements College

17

Norfolk

Great Yarmouth

Oriel Specialist Mathematics and Computing College

21

Suffolk

Lowestoft

Kirkley Community High School

26

West Sussex

Greater Worthing

Littlehampton Community School,The

29

Note:
The 37 ‘principal seaside towns’ listed by Communities and Local Government are Greater Bournemouth, Greater Brighton, Greater Blackpool, Greater Worthing, Southend-on-sea, Isle of Wight, Torbay, Hastings/Bexhill, Thanet, Eastbourne, Southport, Weston-super-Mare, Whitstable/Herne Bay, Lowestoft, Folkestone/Hythe, Great Yarmouth, Clacton, Scarborough, Weymouth, Morecombe/Heysham, Bognor Regis, Bridlington, Whitley Bay, Exmouth, Dawlish/Teignmouth, Deal, Newquay, Penzance, Falmouth, Skegness, Burnham-on-Sea, Sidmouth, Whitby, Minehead, llfacombe, St. Ives and Swanage.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many maintained special schools there were in each local authority in each year since 1997. [250184]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils with special educational needs were given a fixed-period exclusion from a pupil referral unit in the last year for which figures are available. [251082]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on exclusions from pupil referral units is no longer collected.

Special Educational Needs: Tribunals

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the provision of information to parents about changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal system. [253981]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Officials at the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Tribunals Service at the Ministry of Justice have had discussions throughout the process of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) becoming part of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. On 8 December 2008 the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families held a meeting with the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) and a parents' group at which an official from the Tribunals Service/Ministry of Justice was present. The Department, through the Children, Young People and Families Grant programme, is funding the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice over 2009-10 and 2010-11 to expand the availability of its advice to parents, including advice on the new tribunal system.

Young People: Unemployment

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans his Department has to prevent 17 to 19-year-olds becoming unemployed during the current economic downturn. [252901]

Jim Knight: The current economic situation means that it is imperative to ensure young people gain the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in employment.

Local Connexions services have a key role in supporting all young people aged 13-19. They rigorously track young people’s activities so that they can provide targeted support to those young people who are in danger of becoming unemployed and those not currently in education, employment or training. They also provide tailored information, advice and guidance, supporting these young people to reengage in learning or work as early as possible.

In 2008, we extended the September Guarantee to 17-year-olds for the first time. The guarantee aims to provide all 17-year-olds with a suitable offer of a place in learning by the end of September. Almost 80 per cent. of those young people who had been engaged on a short course, or who were NEET, received an offer under the guarantee last year. The guarantee will help to ensure that all young people aged 17 have a suitable learning place by the end of September and prevent them from becoming unemployed.

Funding for apprenticeships across all ages is planned to increase by almost a quarter between 2007-08 and 2010-11, to over £1.1 billion. In addition we have recently announced our intention to invest an extra £140 million to deliver an additional 35,000 apprentices in both the public and private sectors in order to strengthen the country’s competitiveness and match young people’s demand. We have also introduced a number of flexibilities to help apprentices who face redundancy. As part of this work apprentices who are made redundant within
3 Feb 2009 : Column 1073W
the final six months of their apprenticeship will now be able to finish their training and gain a qualification.

We have been working closely with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the level of support available to 18-year-olds who are unemployed. From April 2009, 18-year-old jobseekers who have spent a 26 week period NEET will receive mandatory early entry to intensive jobsearch support to enable them to enter sustainable employment faster. This system has been in place on a voluntary basis since April 2008.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agricultural Waste Licences

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the charging of fees for agricultural waste licences; and what the evidential basis for that policy is. [251281]

Jane Kennedy: In England and Wales, the recovery or disposal of agricultural waste does not generally require an environmental permit but benefits from one of a number of exemptions. Farmers have to register the exemptions with the Environment Agency. At present there is no charge for this.

DEFRA is currently undertaking a review of all permit exemptions, including those that apply to agricultural waste, and in the consultation document on that review it is proposed to introduce a charge for the registration of exemptions of £50 every three years. The Department is currently considering the responses to the consultation, on this point and others, and no decisions have yet been reached.

Where permits are required, they are subject to application fees and annual charges set out within a scheme that is consulted upon annually by the Environment Agency and approved by the Secretary of State. Fees and charges seek to recover the costs of regulation in accordance with the polluter pays principle and Treasury rules.

Animal Welfare

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to establish an arm's length body responsible for animal health; and if he will make a statement. [250840]

Jane Kennedy: The establishment of a new independent arm's length body responsible for animal health is being considered as part of the wider responsibility and cost sharing agenda for animal health. We plan to consult on specific proposals for implementing responsibility and cost sharing for animal health shortly.


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