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2 Mar 2009 : Column 1317W—continued
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing (a) special needs education and (b) social care for children diagnosed with foetal anti-convulsant syndrome resulting from mothers receiving sodium valproate treatment during pregnancy in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [259372]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The budgeted net expenditure by local authorities in England on special educational needs is £5,098,916,000(1) for the financial year 2008-09. The Department does not collect data about local authorities’ expenditure specifically on social care provision for children diagnosed with foetal anti-convulsant syndrome and no estimate has been made of the cost.
(1) The data are drawn from local authorities Children, Schools and Families Financial Data Collection Budget (Tables 1 and 2) submitted to the DCSF.
Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils with statemented special educational needs of behavioural, emotional or social difficulties were given (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five and (f) more than five fixed-period exclusions from (i) mainstream primary and (ii) mainstream secondary schools in 2007-08. [260289]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on exclusions for the 2007/08 school year will not be available until the summer.
Teaching Methods
Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment his Department has made of the comparative effect on educational attainment of streaming classes by ability and using mixed-ability classes. [260158]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
Analysis of research suggests that no single model of pupil grouping will be of benefit to all pupils all of the time. For example, there is some
evidence that being taught in a mixed ability class can be beneficial for low attainers, but that ability-based classes can be beneficial for high attainers.
We promote setting—the grouping of pupils according to their ability in a particular subject—as an effective way of ensuring that individual pupils are receiving personalised help appropriate to where they are in their learning. Similarly, we promote effective pupil grouping practices, and guided work, as tools for delivering the most appropriate curriculum to each individual in mixed ability classes.
We do not promote streaming—where pupils are assigned to classes on the basis of an overall assessment of their general ability and pupils remain in their streamed classes across the majority of subjects—as it assumes that children will have the same level of ability in all subjects.
We published “Grouping Pupils for Success” in September 2006 which provides guidance on effective setting and grouping practices, and highlights their associated advantages and disadvantages. “Personalised Learning—A Practical Guide”, published in October 2008, also has chapters on both “High quality teaching and learning” and “Pupil Grouping”, which describe the repertoire of teaching strategies and techniques practitioners can use to address the varied needs of a mixed-ability class. Copies of both of these documents have been placed in the House Libraries.
Treasury
Banks: Iceland
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the authorities in Iceland on payments to UK depositors in Icelandic banks; what assessment he has made of the position of these depositors in respect of compensation for monies lost; and if he will make a statement. [254757]
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Icelandic government on Icelandic banks in respect of UK depositors and creditors. [255848]
Ian Pearson: The Government have taken urgent action to protect the interests of UK depositors in Icelandic banks and are actively pursuing a full resolution. The Government have and will continue to ensure that Parliament and the public are updated on developments as and when possible, without compromising negotiations with the Icelandic Government.
The Chancellor, along with the Governor of the Bank of England and the chairman of the FSA, gave details of discussions related to Icelandic banking situation to the Common’s Treasury committee on 3 November 2008.
The Government continue to work closely with the Icelandic authorities to ensure the fair treatment for UK depositors and creditors.
Banks: USA
Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether UK-based banks with entities or subsidiaries in the US are able to gain access to the US’s Troubled Assets Relief Programme. [258126]
Ian Pearson: The Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TARP) is a US scheme and eligibility criteria for the TARP program are a matter for the US Administration.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers the Financial Services Authority has to investigate the operations of subsidiaries of United States-based banks operating in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [259051]
Ian Pearson: This is an operational matter for the Financial Services Authority. I understand that the chairman of the FSA, Lord Turner, will write to the hon. Gentleman.
Departmental Data Protection
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what auditing his Department undertakes to ensure that IT security policies are being followed; and on how many occasions (a) IT security policies have been breached by employees and (b) a member of staff has been sanctioned for a breach of such policies in the last 12 months. [259714]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury conduct periodic audits of IT systems and business processes, which include, where relevant, the degree to which IT security policies are being followed. In the last 12 months, there have been no identified cases of IT security policies has being broken by employees, and no employees have been sanctioned.
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s IT security hierarchy. [259715]
Angela Eagle: A copy of HM Treasury’s IT security hierarchy will be placed in the Library of the House. Reference can be made to:
to see how the hierarchy fits into the overall HM Treasury organisational structure.
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what scanning for vulnerabilities his Department conducts of each of its IT devices; what method is used for IT device scans; and how many vulnerabilities have been detected as a result of such scans in the last 12 months. [259716]
Angela Eagle: The Department has a number of measures in place to scan for, and report on, vulnerabilities, including the use of more than one anti-virus software product. It is departmental policy not to publish precise details of the measures used and their detection rates, as this could provide useful information for individuals who might seek to attack our IT systems.
EC Budget
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the nature was of the fines levied on the United Kingdom recorded under Article 7 1 0 of the European Communities budget for (a) 2006 and (b) 2007. [256231]
Ian Pearson: Chapter Seven, Article 7 1 0 of the EC budget—fines, periodic penalty payments and other penalties—only relates to fines imposed by the European Commission on companies for infringements of EC competition rules and does not apply to member states. Details of competition fines imposed on companies in cartel cases by European Commission decisions are listed on the website of the Directorate-General Competition:
Empty Property
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated cost in empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) HM Treasury residual estate is in 2008-09. [258516]
Angela Eagle: HMRC does not incur empty property business rates for vacant properties on their estate because the liability for rates passes to their PFI contractor as soon as HMRC vacate a property.
The estimated cost in empty property business rates for the vacant properties on the HM Treasury residual estate is £200,970.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated cost in empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by the Government Actuary's Department is in 2008-09. [258517]
Angela Eagle: The Government Actuary’s Department does not have any vacant property and has not incurred any cost in empty property business rates.
Equality: Finance
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) funding and (b) other resources HM Revenue and Customs has provided to each regional equality and diversity partnership in the last 12 months. [259529]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs has not provided funding or other resources to any of the regional equality and diversity partnerships in the last 12 months.
EU Grants and Loans
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much European capital funding has been made available to (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Tees Valley District (i) since 1997 and (ii) in the last 12 months. [257747]
Mr. McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
Figures on European capital funding that has been made available to the UK, the North East and Tees Valley since 1997 are not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The following table shows European structural funds allocations to the North East and the United Kingdom for the years 1997 to 2008.
| United Kingdom structural funds allocations (excluding community initiative/cross border programmes) | ||
| € million, 1994 prices | ||
| Total North East | England t otal UK | |
| (1)( )Excludes objective 3, 4 and 5a. | ||
Financial Services Authority: Public Appointments
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will appoint a senior official from the Bank Workers' Union to the post of deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority. [258220]
Ian Pearson: There are no plans to make such an appointment.
Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the change in tax revenue which would occur if incomes at £100,000 and above were taxed at a marginal rate of 50 per cent. in 2009-10. [259620]
Mr. Timms: The table ‘Additional full-year yield from the introduction of additional higher rates of tax on TAXABLE incomes over a specific amount' contains comprehensive information on income tax and is available in the Library of the House of Commons. The table excludes any estimate of behavioural response.
The version of the table currently available is based upon the 2005-06 Survey of Personal Incomes projected forward to 2008-09 in line with Budget 2008, including changes made on the13 May 2008. An updated table for 2009-10 based on the latest available survey will be placed in the Library before the summer recess.
Inflation
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on measures to maintain the target level of inflation. [260047]
Ian Pearson: The Governor of the Bank of England and the Chancellor discuss economic and financial developments on a regular basis.
Monetary policy decisions are made by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. The MPC has full operational independence from the Government in deciding how to meet the Government’s inflation target of 2 per cent. on a consumer price index basis.
International Monetary Fund
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the International Monetary Fund on its assessment of (a) public and (b) private debt in the UK since January 2009; and if he will make a statement. [259071]
Yvette Cooper: The Government continue to work closely with international partners in responding to the financial crisis. An IMF delegation visited the UK between 12 and 23 May 2008. During that time they held a large number of meetings, including with Ministers, Government officials, and external organisations, at which a broad range of economic issues was discussed.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was discussed in the meetings between his Department and representatives of the International Monetary Fund during their recent visit to the UK in May 2008; whether a record of each meeting was kept; who was present at each meeting; and if he will make a statement. [259148]
Ian Pearson: An IMF delegation visited the UK between the 12 and 23 May 2008. During that time they held a large number of meetings, including with Ministers, Government officials, and external organisations, at which a broad range of economic issues was discussed. These meetings then informed the Concluding Statement, which the IMF mission team published immediately following the Mission in May 2008, and the Article IV Staff Report and Public Information Notice (PIN), both of which were published by the IMF in August 2008.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reports on the British economy have been produced by the International Monetary Fund in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [259149]
Ian Pearson: Under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. Staff reports produced in the context of these consultations can be found on the IMF's website at
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