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11 Mar 2009 : Column 547W—continued
Higher Education
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to re-introduce polytechnic colleges into the higher education system. [262292]
Mr. Lammy: There are no plans to reintroduce polytechnic colleges into the higher education system. Publicly funded degrees should offer the range and balance of qualifications which students and the wider economy require in the future and to do this the higher education system may need to ensure that there are more opportunities provided to individuals to enter by vocational routes. Although some institutions will meet a greater proportion of this need than others, this does not mean the re-establishment of the polytechnic divide.
Higher Education: Anti-Semitism
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of anti-Semitism in universities; and if he will make a statement. [263286]
Mr. Lammy: This Government deplore acts of racial or religious intolerance and we are committed to tackling anti-Semitism and any form of racial intolerance. Higher education institutions have the primary responsibility for ensuring that their students are not subject to threatening or abusive behaviour on campus and addressing any complaints received.
We are committed to encouraging higher education institutions to ensure that discrimination has no place in any of their policies or practices and to act swiftly when incidents or complaints are brought to their attention. The Department is currently in the process of establishing a dedicated sub-group to the Cross Government Working Group against anti-Semitism to facilitate discussions between the Jewish community and higher education stakeholders.
Higher Education: Research
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support universities whose research has been judged as excellent and of national importance. [261977]
Mr. Lammy: The Department supports excellent research in universities through the dual support system of institutional funding through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and project-based funding through the Research Councils. The Department's grant letter to HEFCE asked them
“to continue to recognise and reward the highest levels of research excellence wherever it is found”.
The recent research assessment exercise (RAE), published in December last year demonstrates the world-class performance of university research in the UK: 54 per cent. of work was found to be of world-leading quality or internationally excellent. The RAE results drive institutional funding for research and HEFCE announced funding allocations on 5 March.
Research: Small Businesses
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2009, Official Report, column 775W, on research: small businesses, which other Government departments are participating in the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI); and whether the revised SBRI format will have been extended to each participating department by April 2009. [260654]
Mr. Lammy: The SBRI is a mechanism by which Government Departments can seek to encourage the business community to develop innovative solutions to meet the Department's needs. All Departments are eligible to participate, and, following the successful outcome of the pilot programme, I encourage all those with appropriate research and development needs to consider using this mechanism.
Lord Drayson and Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle, wrote to ministerial colleagues on 5 November inviting participation in the scheme. The Technology Strategy Board, which manages the SBRI programme, has over the last year engaged with all central departments, to seek to identify suitable opportunities for the use of SBRI. As stated in my answer of 25 February, a £10 million competition with the Department for Communities and Local Government will be launched in March, and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Health, and the Department for Transport also have advanced plans for SBRI competitions in 2009. The TSB is continuing to work with other Departments to identify further cases where the Departments could benefit from making use of SBRI to meet their technology development needs.
Children, Schools and Families
Building Schools for the Future Programme
Mr. Newmark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has for the funding of (a) Wave 5 and (b) subsequent waves of
the Building Schools for the Future programme; and what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the economic downturn on the budgets for those waves of the programme. [262742]
Jim Knight: We remain fully committed to the BSF programme and I currently expect funding for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) for both waves 5 and 6 projects to be determined in the same way as for previous waves, when local authorities receive approval of the business case for their project.
The Department is continuing to monitor the impact of the current economic conditions on capital programmes such as BSF, and is working with Partnerships for Schools and HM Treasury to ensure the programme moves forward as planned. On 3 March 2009, my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced Government action to safeguard capital infrastructure investment in projects being delivered through the private finance initiative.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many apprenticeship places have been created by the Building Schools for the Future Programme. [261917]
Jim Knight: DCSF does not hold information on apprenticeship places that have been created by the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. However, DCSF has responded to the pre-Budget report in November which announced that Government Departments and their Agencies committed that whenever they let a new construction contract they will consider making it a requirement that successful contractors have apprentices as a proportion of the project workforce. DCSF announced on 23 February 2009 that all construction companies winning contracts for the Building Schools for the Future programme will be required to have formal training programmes—creating up to an extra 1,000 apprenticeship places from June 2009—including posts in construction, information technology and facilities management.
Partnerships for schools is putting in place arrangements for monitoring the numbers of apprenticeships and training places in existing and new projects.
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service: Standards
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make it his policy to review for benchmarking purposes the methods used by Ofsted in conducting inspections of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in each region. [258203]
Beverley Hughes: Matters concerning the review of inspection methodology are for Ofsted rather than the Department. In September 2008, Ofsted published a consultation document, “Inspection of Children and Court Advisory Support Services (CAFCASS) 2009-12.”
Ofsted is currently evaluating the responses to the consultation and its work to pilot the new arrangements. It is intended that a new framework for the inspection of CAFCASS will be implemented from April 2009.
Children In Care
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils with special educational needs have been placed in residential care (a) inside and (b) outside their local authority area in each of the last 10 years. [258345]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Information requested is not collected centrally by the Department.
Children: Day Care
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of (a) two, (b) three and (c) four year olds whose parents use the free entitlement to child care receive the maximum number of free hours available. [260053]
Beverley Hughes: Virtually all four year olds and 95 per cent. of three year olds take up some of their free early education entitlement. At present, pupils in the maintained sector are counted only as “full time” or “part time”, but from this summer, data will be collected via the School Census on the hours of free entitlement taken.
An estimate from the Childcare and Early Years Parents survey in 2007 showed that of the eligible three and four year olds benefiting from the free entitlement, nearly three-quarters (73 per cent.) had used 12-hours or more of their entitlement.
The first phase of the free entitlement for two year olds was for 7.5-hours per week in 32 local authorities which reached approximately 13,500 children between 2006-08. From April 2009, these local authorities, along with a further 31, will move to deliver up to 15-hours a week over 38-weeks a year. From September 2009 all remaining local authorities will begin delivering up to 10-hours a week, over 38-weeks a year. The different number of hours that will be delivered is a deliberate step to allow us to evaluate a range of approaches.
The latest figures on early education places for three and four year olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 12/2008 “Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2008”, available on my Department's website:
Children: Protection
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the statement of 20 November 2008, Official Report, column 376, on safeguarding children, who supplied him with the professional advice he was given regarding the publication of the serious case review. [247864]
Beverley Hughes: The advice was provided by senior officials.
Departmental Absenteeism
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff of his Department were recorded absent for non-medical reasons on (a) 2 February 2009 and (b) 3 February 2009; what estimate he has made of the (i) cost to his Department and (ii) number of working hours lost due to such absence; and what guidance his Department issued to staff in respect of absence on these days. [260471]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department issued guidance to staff on the days in question, advising them to make reasonable efforts to come into work and, if this was not possible, to work from home using, for example, the Department's remote access. Staff were also told to also take account of local advice in the light of weather conditions and travel arrangements.
Absences were handled locally by managers and information was not collected centrally on those unable to work. Therefore, the information on staff numbers, costs and working hours lost could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Art Works
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which works of art from the Government Art Collection each Minister in his Department has selected for display in a private office. [259438]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The three works of art from the Government Art Collection selected for display in the Department's Private Office are all located in the Secretary of State's Office.
An Accurate Map of the West Riding of Yorkshire;
A Field Near Vernham Dene; and
The New Houses of Parliament.
Departmental Scientists
Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department’s budget for scientific advice and research is in 2008-09; for what purposes the equivalent budget for 2007-08 was used; and how many people employed in his Department have a science or engineering degree. [260773]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The DCSF does not commission scientific research and advice. We do commission social and economic research and analysis in order to provide evidence to support policy-making activity across the full range of the Department’s responsibilities according to need. Our current forecast is that we will spend £31 million on social and economic research and analysis in 2008-09. In 2007-08, the figure was £27 million. We do not collect information on staff with a science or engineering degree centrally.
Departmental Surveys
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessor spent on staff surveys in each of the last five years; and which company was contracted to conduct each such survey. [259681]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the last five years the Department (and the former Department for Education and Skills) has spent £94,363 on staff surveys. All surveys in the period were delivered by ORC International Ltd.
| Cost (£) | |
| (1) No staff survey held. | |
Departmental Training
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his Department's policy is on holding departmental away days outside his Department's buildings. [262025]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department believes that away days can be beneficial and necessary for staff development, team building and planning to help deliver the Children's Plan.
The organisation of away days outside the Department's buildings will be based on sound planning and, where accommodation costs and other charges are involved, our policies on appropriateness and value for money.
Education Maintenance Allowance: Lancashire
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people (a) are eligible for and (b) are claiming education maintenance allowance in West Lancashire constituency. [261967]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for West Lancashire with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
Education: Young Offender Institutions
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment Ofsted has made of standards of education in the juvenile secure estate in the last five years. [259292]
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 Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 4 March 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
From 1998 to March 2007, Ofsted inspected standards in education and training in the juvenile estate with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons. From 1996 to April 2004, Ofsted inspected standards in education and training at local authority secure children’s homes and secure training centres with the Social Services Inspectorate; and from April 2004 to March 2007, it did so with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Since April 2007, Ofsted has had sole responsibility for the inspection of
secure children’s homes and secure training centres. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons maintains its lead responsibility for the prison estate.
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