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27 Feb 2009 : Column 1115W—continued
Olympic Games: China
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she has made an assessment of UK public opinion on London 2012's contribution to the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony; and if she will make a statement. [258904]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 26 February 2009]: No formal assessment has been made of public opinion in the UK on London's Handover Ceremony in Beijing.
Since the August Handover ceremony, my Department's research has shown that interest in the 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games has risen by six percentage points.
The Museums Libraries and Archives Council has carried out some assessment as part of their “People's Record” project. 5,000 people gave their views on the Handover celebrations and the Cultural Olympiad; the results will be published in spring.
The London Organising Committee of the Olypmic games will build on the experience gained and lessons learnt during this ceremony to deliver the ceremonies in 2012.
Children, Schools and Families
Capgemini
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in respect of which consultations conducted by his Department Capgemini has undertaken work. [259312]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Full public consultations undertaken by the Department for Children, Schools and Families are conducted by the Department's Communications Directorate. Capgemini has not undertaken any work on these consultations.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's 2002 long-term partnering agreement with Capgemini. [259314]
Jim Knight: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families will place a copy of the business services framework agreement between the Department and Capgemini dated 6 November 2001 in the Libraries following agreement with Capgemini on what potentially sensitive commercial information may or may not be released.
Children: Protection
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) within how long after their completion local authorities are expected to supply his Department with copies of serious case reviews; [248680]
(2) what procedures his Department follows when it receives a full serious case review. [248681]
Beverley Hughes: Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are asked to provide an anonymised copy of each full serious case review to the Department for Children, Schools and Families as soon as possible after the publication of the executive summary. This is to inform biennial overview reports which analyse the key findings from serious case reviews taken as a whole and identify the implications for policy and practice. When an individual serious case review is complete the report is then evaluated by Ofsted. DCSF children and learners teams in the Regional Government Offices have a support and challenge role, in particular with respect to the implementation by LSCBs and local agencies of recommendations in individual serious case review reports.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many serious case reviews initiated in 2008 were not published within four months of their being requested by the local safeguarding board. [252944]
Beverley Hughes:
These data are not compiled centrally. The first annual Ofsted report on Serious Case Reviews, ‘Learning Lessons, Taking Action', published on 1 December 2008, gave information on 50 serious case reviews evaluated by Ofsted between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008. It noted that of the 50 reviews evaluated, five were completed within four months, although the report also observed that ‘a significant number of reviews
were delayed because they were awaiting the outcome of coroners' courts and/or criminal proceedings'. Guidance in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 is clear, that any delays in completing serious case reviews should not prevent early lessons learnt from being implemented.
Departmental Sick Leave
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in his Department or its predecessors were on sick leave for (a) over 30 days, (b) over 50 days and (c) over 100 days in each of the last five years. [256319]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department was set up as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. All sickness absence data are available on the Department's website:
Information for individual members of staff who had sick leave for the periods specified is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportion cost.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in his Department were recorded as having been on sick leave for over 12 months on 31 December in each of the last five years. [256634]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department was set up as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. The figures for the Department apply from 31 December 2007 onwards.
| Number of people who have been on sick leave for over 12 months on 31 December | |
| Number | |
Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 10W, on education maintenance allowance (EMA), whether the regular updates on the EMA delivery issues provided to Ministers by the Learning and Skills Council are provided in written form. [257823]
Jim Knight: The processing statistics supplied by the contractor via the Learning and Skills Council to officials in the Department for Children School and Families were provided in written form. These statistics were provided daily during the working week, between September 2008 to January 2009. Officials are currently collating these records and we will make them available before 12 March.
Music: Education
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many (a) people and (b) schools have registered with the Sing Up website; [258323]
(2) what percentage of primary school pupils in the relevant age category have taken part in the Sing Up programme. [258324]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: People register on the Sing Up website only if they want to receive the magazine that is sent out once a term. Other people can visit the site without registering. The data for February show that there have so far been 26,149 registrations on the website, including from 13,489 individual schools.
Over 100,000 children have been directly involved in Sing Up activity, such as workshops in the Southbank Centre and Birmingham Symphony Hall. Over 20,000 people have participated in Sing Up training and CPD activity and the website attracts 20,000 visitors each week. There is no measure of how many children are subsequently reached by those who have received training or visited the website.
National Curriculum Tests: Special Educational Needs
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many and what proportion of (a) all children identified with speech, language and communication difficulties, (b) children identified with speech, language and communications difficulties from the 10 per cent. most deprived areas and (c) children identified with speech, language and communication difficulties from the five per cent. most deprived areas achieved the national standard in all Key Stage 1 assessments in each year since 1997; [257607]
(2) how many and what proportion of children identified with speech, language and communication difficulties from (a) the 10 per cent. most deprived areas and (b) the five per cent. most deprived areas achieved the national standard in Key Stage 1 (i) reading, (ii) writing, (iii) mathematics and (iv) science assessments in each year since 1997; [257608]
(3) how many and what proportion of children identified with speech, language and communication difficulties achieved the national standard in Key Stage 1 (a) reading, (b) writing, (c) mathematics and (d) science assessments in each year since 1997. [257609]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department only collects data by type of special educational need for children at School Action Plus or with statements. School Action Plus, under the SEN Code of Practice, is where a school receives some external help to meet a child’s SEN. A SEN statement is drawn up by a local authority, following an assessment, where it is necessary to determine the special educational provision which a child’s learning difficulties call for.
The available 2008 information is attached to the “Statistical First Release: Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2007/08”, which can be found at:
Analysis similar to that requested for pupils with speech, language and communication difficulty attaining the expected level in Key Stage 1 was carried out using 2006 data and the relevant information is given as follows.
This information is not available for years before 2005 when type of SEN information for pupils was not collected.
The analysis only relates to the primary SEN type of pupils. Some of these children may also have a secondary SEN type which has not been taken into consideration in the analysis.
| Percentage of pupils achieving level 2 (expected level) or above in Key Stage 1 assessments in 2006 | ||||
| Number of pupils with speech language and communication difficulty at school action plus = reading/writing/maths 8,875, science 8,870 | ||||
| Number of pupils with speech language and communication difficulty with statements = reading/writing/maths 2,410, science 2,405 | ||||
| Reading | Writing | Maths | Science | |
| Note: Figures relate to seven-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) in maintained schools. | ||||
The Department intends to publish similar information for pupils with special educational needs based on 2008 data later this year.
Further information can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
School Meals: Nutrition
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent assessment is of the effect of secondary schools allowing pupils to leave school premises at lunchtime on the ability of schools to deliver higher nutritional standards in school meals. [257819]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Food based standards for school lunches have been in place since September 2006. Schools must also meet the Government's nutrient based standards for school lunches, which were introduced for primary school lunches in September 2008 and will be introduced in secondary and special schools in September 2009. Clearly, secondary school pupils who leave the school premises at lunchtime and do not eat a school lunch will not benefit from the healthier food on offer at the school. It is for head teachers to decide whether to adopt a stay on site policy.
Schools: Catering
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary school premises have a dining hall. [256009]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not hold up-to-date information on the numbers and proportions of primary and secondary schools that have a dining hall. It is thought that:
(a) most primary schools have halls where dining takes place. For some schools this is a dedicated dining hall, for many it is a multi-purpose hall used for assembly, PE and dining;
(b) most, if not all, secondary schools have dining halls.
Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.7 billion in 2008-09 and will rise further to £8.0 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to local authorities and schools. This enables them to fund priority projects which could include providing a dining hall at a school that does not have one.
Schools: Inspections
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons agreements of contracts between Ofsted and inspection contractors have not been reached in accordance with the originally planned timetable. [259625]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 26 February 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for a response.
The original timetable for the awarding of new inspection contracts made provision for decisions being made in January 2009. In October 2008, a decision was taken to delay this by one month to allow the process to take full account of organisational changes within Ofsted.
On 25 February 2009, bidders were informed about the outcomes and a press release was placed on the Ofsted website. The contract award is subject to an Alcatel (standstill) period under European legislation, which will end on 9 March 2009. Publicity during the Alcatel period is being kept deliberately ‘low key’, restricted to information that bidders are obliged to provide under the London Stock Exchange Disclosure and Transparency Rules (DTR).
A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Special Educational Needs
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which maintained special schools opened in 2008; and what the cost of establishing each was. [256346]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department’s records, based on information supplied by local authorities, indicate that the following maintained special schools opened in 2008. The Department does not have a record of the cost of establishing these schools; this will be held locally.
| Name of maintained special school | Postal/town | Postal/county area | Date opened |
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