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23 Feb 2009 : Column 460W—continued
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) prepares population projections at a local level and advises that these are robust by quinary age band. A table showing the projected change in population aged five to 10 (primary ages) by local authority area has been placed in the Libraries.
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring sufficient school places are available for their area. The Department provides basic need capital funding to enable authorities to expand capacity where a growth in pupil numbers is anticipated.
Estimates of the cost of primary schools places are not available for the years in question. We can provide the amount of funds delegated to maintained primary schools (individual schools budget plus revenue grants) from the most recent Section 52 data returns, relating to 2008/09, for each local authority. This information has been placed in the Libraries.
Primary Education: Greater London
Mr. Davey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what estimates he has made of the number of parents of reception-age pupils in each London borough who obtained (a) their
first preference, (b) their second preference, (c) their third preference and (d) none of their three preferences in respect of their child's primary school placement in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007 and (iv) 2008; and if he will make a statement; [255707]
(2) how many reception pupils in each London borough had not been allocated a primary school place by September in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008; and if he will make a statement. [255489]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not collect data on offers of primary school places or on the number of unplaced children. Local authorities are under a duty to make sure that every child of compulsory school age has a suitable school place.
Pupil Referral Units
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils who attended pupil referral units were (a) eligible for free school meals and (b) had statements of special educational needs in each year since 1997. [257660]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is provided in the following table.
| Pupil referral units: schools meal arrangements and number of pupils with special needs with statements, position as at January 1997 to 2008, England | ||||
| Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Pupils with special needs with statements | |||
| Number( 1) | Percentage | Number( 2) | Percentage | |
| (1) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils. (2) Excluding dually registered pupils. Includes pupils with other providers. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census. | ||||
Pupils: Internet
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent assessment of the level of access to broadband at home is for (a) all secondary school pupils and (b) secondary school pupils from lower income households. [250577]
Jim Knight: The most recent research(1) published by my Department found that 90 per cent. of parents of school-aged children in England reported that they had computer and internet access at home. Among parents of secondary age children the figure was 91 per cent. for parents of children in Key Stage 3, and 93 per cent. for children in Key Stage 4.
The research showed a variation in connectivity by social class. Among parents in social class E, 69 per cent. had a computer with internet access. The research did not distinguish broadband and dial-up connectivity. However Government statistics(2) show that most UK households with internet connectivity have a broadband connection: 65 per cent. of households had any internet access and 56 per cent. had broadband access.
(1) Peters et al, Parental Involvement in Children's Education, London, DCSF, 2007
(2) National Statistics Omnibus Survey 2008
Schools: Catering
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what proportion of secondary schools allow all pupils to leave school premises at lunchtime; [256008]
(2) what proportion of maintained mainstream secondary schools have a lunchtime break of one hour or more. [256010]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We do not hold this information.
Regulations state that a school day should be split into two sessions with a break in the middle of the day between those two sessions. There is currently no legal requirement on the length of the midday break and it is for individual schools’ governing bodies to determine this.
It is also for schools to determine their own policy on whether pupils are allowed to leave school premises at lunchtime.
Schools: Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools have Disability Equality Schemes in place; and if he will make a statement. [257256]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 29 October 2008, Official Report, column 1159W.
Schools: Finance
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) whether he has plans to control the overall levels of school balances; [256359]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local education authorities in preventing the accumulation of excessive school balances; [256360]
(3) what recent assessment he has made of the level of school balances. [256361]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We will shortly be publishing final data on school balances for 2007-08, but provisional data available through local authorities' published section 52 returns suggests that the total level of school balances at year end 2007-08 is £1.9 billion.
We have not conducted a formal assessment of the progress that local authorities have made with their schools to reduce excess surplus balances. However, my officials have been working with local authorities to gather information about when they have been successful in retrieving surplus balances from schools; or when the authority has encountered considerable opposition from the schools and the public which has resulted in the local authority withdrawing their proposals to claw back balances.
We continue to monitor school balances. When the three year funding settlement was announced in November 2007, local authorities were informed that we expected to see them work with their schools to reduce the total amount of surplus, uncommitted balances held by schools. If we do not see a sizeable reduction of the total balances by the end of 2010-11, then we will seek other
measures to reduce this total. We will conduct a wide consultation on a detailed proposition before the measure is implemented.
We have made it very clear that it unacceptable for schools to amass high levels of surplus, uncommitted balances and that their priority is to spend their funding to support the pupils of today.
Schools: Greater London
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of (a) primary schools for (i) infant and (ii) junior pupils and (b) secondary schools in each London borough were (A) community, (B) Church of England, (C) Roman Catholic and (D) other types of school at the last date for which figures are available. [255706]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The available information is shown in the table:
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