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11 Feb 2009 : Column 2116W—continued
Special Educational Needs: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils with special educational needs are in maintained (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) special schools in Leeds West constituency. [255482]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information has been provided in the following table.
| Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and all special schools: pupils with special educational needs with and without statements( 1) , position in January 2008 | |
| Leeds West parliamentary constituency | |
| Pupils with SEN with and without statements( 2,3,4) | |
| (1) Excludes dually registered pupils. (2) Includes pupils at School Action and School Action Plus. (3) Includes pupils with statements in general hospital schools. (4) Excludes pupils with SEN but without statements in general hospital schools. (5) Includes middle schools as deemed. (6) Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies. Note: Data for pupils with SEN without statements is not collected from these schools. Source: School Census | |
Special Educational Needs: Private Sector
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which independent special schools have opened in each of the last 10 years. [252669]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The number of independent schools catering wholly or mainly for pupils with special educational needs which opened between 1 September 1998 and 31 August 2008 is as follows:
| Academic Year | Number of schools opened |
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 primary schools in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by reason for exclusion. [251102]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information provided shows the number of fixed period exclusions (and not number of pupils) broken down by SEN and reason for exclusion. Pupils can be excluded more than once and these can be for different reasons.
| Maintained primary schools( 1) number of fixed period exclusions by special educational needs and by reason for exclusion 2006-07 England | |
| Pupils with SEN | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census. | |
Teachers: Crimes of Violence
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government is taking to reduce levels of verbal and physical abuse towards teachers in primary schools. [249519]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Any verbal or physical abuse against school staff is totally unacceptable. While the overwhelming majority of schools are orderly places, the Government recognise that a small minority of pupils present challenging behaviour problems and back schools' authority to intervene to tackle bad behaviour and to stop problems from spiralling out of control.
Much has been done to protect teachers, in terms of promoting good practice to help reduce violence through behaviour management and school ethos, and through giving schools stronger legal powers to discipline and
use legally reasonable force to restrain pupils. We are also helping schools form partnerships with other schools, police and other agencies to strengthen behaviour management.
International Development
Maternal Morbidity
7. Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to reduce maternal morbidity in developing countries. [255791]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Reducing maternal ill-health is the most off-track MDG and therefore a priority in DFID’s country and global-level work. DFID has committed to spend £6 billion up to 2015 on health systems strengthening. The UK strategy has four priorities: Advocacy: Scaling-up evidence-based interventions; addressing the social and economic barriers to maternal health and developing new knowledge.
Advocacy gives voice to disempowered and vulnerable women. Scaling-up expands health services and the availability of neglected high impact interventions, safe abortion and contraception. We also invest in increasing girls’ education, improving women’s rights and increasing research capacity in developing countries.
Thailand
8. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has for aid to Thailand. [255793]
Mr. Michael Foster: We have no plans for bilateral aid to Thailand, which is a successful middle-income country. We are, however, providing this financial year £1 million to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium to assist Burmese refugees in Thailand and internally displaced people in Burma, and £220,000 to three Burmese non-governmental organisations working in north-east Thailand. We are considering proposals for future assistance to organisations on the Thailand-Burma border.
Loans
9. Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what monitoring his Department has undertaken of the provision of development-related small loans and microfinance initiatives in developing countries in the last 12 months. [255794]
Mr. Michael Foster: DFID recognises the potential of microfinance to reduce poverty and contribute to the achievement of the millennium development goals. We are keen to ensure that the availability of microfinance is sustained through present global economic conditions.
DFID supports the overall monitoring of microfinance through the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a multi-donor partnership working to expand access to finance to which DFID provided £250,000 in the current financial year. DFID contributes to, and relies upon CGAP's surveys of microfinance programmes. We are maintaining close contact with CGAP to monitor evolving trends in the context of the current financial crisis.
Guyana
10. Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what ways his Department is working with the government of Guyana to promote the preservation of the rainforest in that country. [255795]
Mr. Michael Foster: DFID contributed £100,000 to work by Guyana on a low carbon investment prospectus and implementation plan, including a costing of conserving Guyana's rainforests. The World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Fund (to which the UK contributed £15 million) is preparing a reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation readiness plan. Guyana is included in the Caribbean Regional Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, and also likely to be part of the Caribbean Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (part of the climate investment funds to which the UK is contributing £250 million). DFID Officials regularly discuss forest protection with their Guyanese counterparts.
Anti-retroviral Therapies
11. Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop infant formulae for anti-retroviral therapies for use for children in developing countries. [255796]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: DFID is supporting a major five year clinical trial implemented by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Uganda and Zimbabwe, on the best ways to provide antiretroviral drug treatment for infants and children with HIV. Based on this work, new triple formulations for babies and small children were recently approved and are now being distributed to children in Africa. DFID also funds the work of UNITAID and the Clinton Foundation, aimed at developing and facilitating access to new paediatric drug formulations for tuberculosis and HIV.
Zimbabwe
12. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. [255797]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is dire. Around 70,000 people have been affected by the country’s worst ever cholera outbreak and over 3,000 have died. Water and sanitation systems and the health service are collapsing. Over six million people are receiving food aid and HIV/AIDS continues to decimate households. The international community is doing all it can to alleviate the situation and support ordinary Zimbabweans. The UK will provide £47 million in life-saving support this year and is one of the leading donors in the cholera response and the UN food programme. None of this aid goes through government of Zimbabwe systems.
Global Economic Downturn
13. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the global economic downturn on the conditionality of international development aid; and if he will make a statement. [255798]
Mr. Thomas: We have no plans to change the UK’s conditionality policy. We assess whether partner governments show commitment to tackling poverty, upholding human rights and managing public money wisely. We may, and do, interrupt or stop aid if these commitments are breached.
The International Monetary Fund’s emergency support to the economic crisis is being provided either unconditionally or with conditions limited to actions essential for ensuring stability.
The World Bank also provides increased lending when other sources of finance are constrained. All its programmes conform to its 2005 Good Practice Principles on Conditionality, which is regularly monitored.
Gaza
14. Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. [255799]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The United Nations, with others, has recently completed a rapid needs assessment to determine immediate humanitarian needs and to inform the UN flash appeal which is available at:
Further assessments are currently under way and a more detailed assessment is expected to be completed by the end of February.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports he has received from the Mines Advisory Group on the types of unexploded ordinance it has removed from schools in Gaza. [254514]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: There are 157 UNICEF-supported schools in Gaza, and work with the Palestinian Ministry of Education identified 40 as high risk in terms of potential unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination. These schools have been visited by technicians from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). During this clearance 40mm high explosive grenades, as well as 81mm and 120mm high explosive mortars, were removed. Remnants of exploded ordnance were also taken away, including parts of Hell Fire missiles and 155mm high explosive and white phosphorous artillery shells.
Sri Lanka: Politics and Government
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. [255792]
Mr. Michael Foster: We monitor the situation through our high commission and other sources and by field visits. In October 2008 we announced £2.5 million of humanitarian funding through international agencies. We are sending another humanitarian assessment mission this week and have agreed a further £2.5 million humanitarian funding. We share the widespread concern at the plight of civilians trapped by the fighting and have called on both sides to cease fire and allow humanitarian access.
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