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Schools: Offensive Weapons

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils have been arrested for taking weapons into schools in (a) Essex local authority, (b) Southend unitary authority and (c) Thurrock unitary authority in the last 12 months. [266588]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally. The data on arrests held by the Home Office cover arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) broken down at main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery; they would not show the number of people arrested specifically for taking weapons into schools. It is not possible to obtain the individual
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circumstances of persons arrested (for example whether the person arrested is a pupil) from the data on arrests held by the Home Office.

Special Educational Needs: Per Capita Costs

Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much on average his Department spent per pupil with special educational needs in (a) Braintree constituency and (b) Essex in the last five years. [266343]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Braintree constituency is not available. In addition it is for local authorities to determine how they spend their funds locally.

The following table shows the budgeted net expenditure by Essex local authority and England on the provision of education for children with special educational needs from 2004-05 to 2008-09:

Budgeted net expenditure on the education of children with special educational needs
England Essex local authority

 £ £ per pupil £ £ per pupil

2004-05

3,774,757,000

2,700

81,359,000

2,640

2005-06

4,120,549,000

2,900

87,946,000

2,760

2006-07

4,481,245,000

3,040

96,982,000

2,990

2007-08

4,863,604,000

3,240

103,046,000

3,070

2008-09

5,098,916,000

3,310

126,001,000

3,600

Notes:
1. Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, local authority functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as “notional SEN” and the individual schools budget (ISB) for special schools.
2. The ISB for special schools will include some general education costs for pupils with SEN in addition to those costs specifically for SEN while the figures recorded against “notional SEN” are only indicative of the amount that might by spent by schools on SEN. In 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 local authorities in England also budgeted £499.6 million, £528.5 million, £554.9 million and £552.6 million for SEN transport expenditure but this is not included in the above table as figures are not available prior to 2005-06.
3. The number of pupils with SEN for each year is calculated as the combination of the full-time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils in special schools, the headcount of the number of pupils in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools with statements, the headcount of the number of pupils in pupil referral units with statements, the headcount of SEN pupils without statements in maintained nursery, primary, and secondary schools, the headcount of SEN pupils without statements in pupil referral units and the headcount of pupils in independent schools and academies with statements. These figures are drawn from the DCSF January Schools Census.
4. Pupil numbers are only available up to 2008 and consequently we have been unable to convert pupil numbers to a financial year basis as the 2009 pupil numbers are not available yet. Consequently there is a mismatch between the financial year planned expenditure and the academic year pupil numbers. The number of pupils with SEN in the January preceding the financial year have been used to calculate the unit costs provided above (e.g. the 2008-09 unit cost is calculated by dividing the 2008-09 planned expenditure by the January 2008 pupil numbers).
5. Total expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 with per pupil figures rounded to the nearest £10.
6. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 23 March 2009.
7. Financial data are taken from local authorities’ Children, Schools and Families budget statements (formally section 52) submitted to the DCSF while pupil numbers are drawn from the DCSF January schools census.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much on average his Department and its predecessor spent on each pupil with special educational needs in (a) Castle Point and (b) Essex in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [267056]


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Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department allocates education funding to local authorities so the requested information for Castle Point constituency is not available. In addition, it is for local authorities to determine how they spend their funds locally.

The following table shows the budgeted net expenditure by Essex local authority and England on the provision of education for children with special educational needs from 2004-05 to 2008-09.

Budgeted net expenditure on the education of children with special educational needs
England Essex local authority

 £ £ per pupil £ £ per pupil

2004-05

3,774,757,000

2,700

81,359,000

2,640

2005-06

4,120,549,000

2,900

87,946,000

2,760

2006-07

4,481,245,000

3,040

96,982,000

2,990

2007-08

4,863,604,000

3,240

103,046,000

3,070

2008-09

5,098,916,000

3,310

126,001,000

3,600


Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many and what percentage of pupils with non-statemented special educational needs received at least one (a) fixed-term and (b) permanent exclusion from a mainstream school in each local authority area in each year since 1997; [264602]

(2) how many and what percentage of pupils with statements of special educational needs received at least one (a) fixed-term and (b) permanent exclusion from a mainstream school in each local authority area in each year since 1997; [264603]

(3) how many and what percentage of pupils without special educational needs received at least one (a) fixed-term and (b) permanent exclusion from mainstream schools in each local authority area in each year since 1997. [264604]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Data on pupil characteristics linked to exclusions were collected in the school census for the first time in 2005/06, but were collected from secondary schools only. In 2006/07, data were also collected from primary and special schools. However, the requested information for one year could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

This is because the special educational needs status can change between periods of exclusion and the Department is currently working on a methodology for the analysis of this information.

Special Educational Needs: Truancy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many parents of children with (a) statemented and (b) non-statemented special educational needs were fined for the unauthorised absence of their child from mainstream schools in 2008. [266446]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: This information is not collected centrally.


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Specialised Diplomas: Disadvantaged

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils enrolled on diploma courses are entitled to free school meals. [266335]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the summer we will have information about the proportions of pupils entered for diplomas, broken down by free school meals for those pupils sitting examinations in 2009.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety

Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list the (a) members and (b) secretariat of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. [267311]

Beverley Hughes: The Secretariat for UKCCIS is made up officials from the Home Office, Becta and DCSF.

The following is an alphabetical list of members of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) as of 16 February 2009. Organisation name is used in the main, except where the member is acting in an individual capacity.


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