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Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special school pupils who were eligible for free school meals had an absence rate of 50 per cent. or above in 2007-08. [260537]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is shown in the table.

Primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2, 3) pupils eligible for free school meals who have an absence rate of 50 per cent. or above, 2007/08, England
Number of pupil enrolments with an absence rate of 50 per cent. or above( 4, 5)

Eligible for free school meals( 6) Not eligible for free school meals( 6) Eligibility for free school meals unknown( 6) Total

Primary schools(1)

1,700

2,870

8,080

12,640

State funded secondary schools(1, 2)

10,370

19,380

10,780

40,530

Special schools(3)

960

1,690

590

3,240

Total

13,030

23,940

19,440

56,410

(1) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(2 )Includes CTCs and academies.
(3 )Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools.
(4 )Absence rate is the total number of half day sessions missed due to authorised and unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions.
(5 )Number of pupil enrolments in schools from start of the school year up until 23 May 2008. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between five and 15, excluding boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the school year or are registered in more than one school).
(6 )Eligible for free school meals at the time of the January 2008 Census.
Note:
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
School Census

The information is a variation of table 3.2 in SFR03/2009, which was revised on 21 April 2009.

Absence data are collected a term in arrears. Therefore, for each census, schools provide data for pupils who have left the school, in which case free school meal eligibility may not be available. The table includes all enrolments, regardless of duration of enrolment. Some enrolments may be short term.

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of permanent exclusions were given to pupils in mainstream schools with a statement of special educational need in the most recent year for which figures are available. [273643]

Sarah McCarthy-Fry [holding answer 8 May 2009]: The following table shows the information requested for 2006/07.


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Primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) ; number and proportion of permanent exclusions given to pupils with statements of special educational need—2006/07
England

Number

Number of permanent exclusions given to pupils in mainstream schools, with statements of SEN(3)

620

Total number of permanent exclusions

8,680

Proportion of total number of permanent exclusions given to pupils in mainstream schools, with statements of SEN

7.12

(1) Includes city technology colleges and academies.
(2) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
(3) Includes maintained primary, maintained secondary, city technology colleges and academies.
Note:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
School Census

Sure Start: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in Denton and Reddish constituency have enrolled in Sure Start in each year since 2003. [277503]

Beverley Hughes: Tameside local authority currently has 15 Sure Start Children’s Centres offering access to services to around 11,756 children under five and their families. Of these, two are situated in Denton and Reddish constituency, with a combined reach of approximately 1,555 children.

The Department does not hold information centrally on how many children in Denton and Reddish constituency have enrolled in Sure Start in each year since 2003.

Health

Blood: Contamination

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what priority is accorded to pathogen inactivation for blood products by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs; and if he will make a statement. [277378]

Dawn Primarolo: Advice on measures to reduce the risk of transmission of bacterial and other infections via blood, particularly blood components such as red cells, platelets and plasma, is central to the work of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

Fractionated blood products such as albumin, clotting factors and immunoglobulins are regulated as medicinal products, and are subject to the requirements of the Community code for safety, quality and efficacy of medicinal products as defined in European Directive 2001/83/EC.

Dental Services

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the Steele Review of NHS dentistry in England; and if he will make a statement. [277855]


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Ann Keen: We expect the findings of the independent review team will be published in the early summer.

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the Steele Review of NHS dentistry in England; and from which budgetary allocation the funds for the review are drawn. [277856]

Ann Keen: The costs of the review are being met from the Department’s centrally managed programme funds. Final review costs will be available once Professor Steele’s review is complete and his report is published. We expect the report to be published in the early summer.

Employment Tribunals Service

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many actions under employment law have been brought against his Department in each of the last three years; how many such actions were brought under each category of action; and how many such actions were contested by his Department at an employment tribunal. [277414]

Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested about actions against the Department under employment law is given in the following table.

Nature of the case Outcome Number

2008-09

Equal pay claim

Case withdrawn by claimant

2

Disability Discrimination Act

Case withdrawn by claimant

2007-08

Unfair dismissal

Case withdrawn by claimant

3

Disability Discrimination Act

Case withdrawn by claimant

Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation

Case contested by Department. Tribunal found in favour of the Department

2006-07

Constructive dismissal

Case withdrawn by claimant

2

Unfair dismissal

Case withdrawn by claimant


Epilepsy

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the extent to which the NHS is achieving compliance with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the waiting time for a specialist consultation for those suspected of having epilepsy. [277766]

Ann Keen: We have made no estimate of the extent to which the national health service is meeting the waiting time guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of
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his Department’s guidance note of May 2008, Long Term Neurological Conditions—A Good Practice Guide to the Development of the Multidisciplinary Team and the Value of the Specialist Nurse, on the number of epilepsy specialist nurses in the NHS. [277821]

Ann Keen: We have made no assessment.

It is the responsibility of local health bodies to assess their workforce needs, which may include the provision of epilepsy specialist nurses.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people (a) in total and (b) under the age of 25 years have been diagnosed with epilepsy in (i) England, (ii) the East Midlands and (iii) Leicester; [278127]

(2) how many people were diagnosed with epilepsy in each of the last 10 years; [278128]

(3) how many people are estimated to have undiagnosed epilepsy in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands and (c) Leicester. [278132]

Ann Keen: Information on the number of people with either diagnosed, or undiagnosed, epilepsy is not collected centrally.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many support groups there are in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands and (c) Leicester for those diagnosed with epilepsy and their families. [278134]

Ann Keen: We do not collect information on the number of support groups for those diagnosed with epilepsy.

Health Professions: Immigration Controls

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of recent changes to Tier One immigration rules for highly skilled migrants on numbers of applications to postgraduate medical training posts; and if he will make a statement. [277380]

Ann Keen: International medical graduates play an important and valued part in the United Kingdom’s national health service. The Department and UK Border Agency are working together to ensure that the needs of the NHS are taken into account when any changes are made to immigration law and are developing transitional measures for international medical graduates who have trained in UK medical schools.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effects of recent changes to Tiers One and Two of the immigration rules on medical workforce planning; and if he will make a statement. [277381]

Ann Keen: International medical graduates play an important and valued part in the United Kingdom’s national health service. The Department and UK Border Agency work together to ensure that the needs of the NHS are taken into account when any changes are made to the immigration rule.


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Hospitals

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to NHS hospital trusts on the rules and conventions that apply to clinical attachments; and if he will make a statement. [277295]

Ann Keen: The Department has not produced any specific guidance on the role and use of clinical attachments in the national health service, but would expect all employing organisations to follow the guidance set out by the General Medical Council covering good medical practice in the engagement of these individual doctors.

Lung Cancer

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of primary care trusts participated in the National Lung Cancer Audit for 2007; and what steps his Department has taken to encourage primary care trusts to participate in the National Lung Cancer Audit for 2008; [277741]

(2) how many primary care trusts did not submit data to the National Lung Cancer Audit for 2007. [277742]

Ann Keen: Primary care trusts do not submit data to the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA). Audit data are submitted by 28 cancer networks, covering all the national health service trusts providing services for people with lung cancer. NLCA started in 2005 and coverage has progressively improved. Their 2007 report found that all cancer networks were participating and only six of their constituent NHS trusts did not contribute data.

The NLCA is part of the national clinical audit and patient outcome programme, which comprises over 20 national audits managed by the health quality improvement partnership with funding from the Department.

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many lung cancer patients the NHS had in 2007; and how many of these were aged (a) under 50, (b) between 50 and 59, (c) between 60 and 69 (d) between 70 and 79 and (e) 80 or more years old. [277824]

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of lung cancer patients who do not have access to a specialist thoracic surgeon. [277825]

Ann Keen: We do not routinely collect this information. It is for local service providers to determine the work force required to deliver the service needs.

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of lung cancer patients are being treated by a (a) cardio-thoracic and (b) specialist thoracic surgeon in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [277828]


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(2) what proportion of lung cancer patients who had a surgical resection were treated by a (a) cardio-thoracic and (b) specialist thoracic surgeon in the latest period for which figures are available. [277829]

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. It is for local service providers to determine the work force required to deliver the service needs.


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