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16 Jun 2009 : Column 232W—continued
Tranquillisers
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what scientific advice his Department has received from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the effectiveness of medical treatment by prescribed tranquillisers in the last five years. [279383]
Gillian Merron: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs do not advise on the effectiveness of medical treatment.
Transplant Surgery: Overseas Visitors
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2009, Official Report, column 1110W, on surgery: overseas residence, how many people recorded as resident outside the UK, excluding the Republic of Ireland, and categorised in Group 2 received organs between April 1998 and March 2008. [279540]
Ann Keen: The following table shows organ transplants from deceased donors into patients recorded as resident outside the United Kingdom excluding Republic of Ireland and categorised as Group 2; April 1998 to March 2008. All transplants listed took place in national health service hospitals.
| Number | |
Warfarin
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the net ingredient cost per head of population in each primary care trust area of prescriptions of warfarin was in the last three years for which information is available. [279461]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for individual primary care trusts in the period requested are taken from the Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool system and have been placed in the Library.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many potential sponsors are in discussion with his Department on the establishment of a new academy; and if he will make a statement. [279930]
Mr. Coaker: The Department is currently in discussion with around 200 individual sponsors for academy projects due to open in September 2009 and beyond. We expect to open the 200(th) academy in the upcoming academic year. As part of the National Challenge programme we will open up to a further 100 in September 2010, well on the way to our target of 400.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many academies have been established in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [279931]
Mr. Coaker: 50 academies have opened since June last year. 47 opened in September 2008 and a further three opened in January 2009.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Minister in his Department has lead responsibility for the academies programme; and if he will make a statement. [280006]
Mr. Coaker: I am the new Minister responsible for academies. I am delighted to be taking responsibility for Academies at this important point in the programme.
Academies have been successful in raising standards in areas where they had previously been low and we expect to open the 200(th) academy in the upcoming academic year. As part of the National Challenge programme we will open up to a further 100 in September 2010, well on the way to our target of 400.
Bullying: Greater Manchester
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of cases of bullying in secondary schools in (a) Tameside and (b) Stockport in each year since 2001. [279763]
Mr. Coaker: We are unable to provide figures for the number of bullying incidents in individual local authorities and schools as this information is not collected centrally. Our bullying guidance recommends currently that schools record incidents of bullying and report these data to their local authority. We have flagged up that schools can use the data to monitor their anti-bullying policies and respond to and manage individual cases more effectively, and that local authorities can use the data to identify trends and evaluate area-wide initiatives.
We intend to introduce a new statutory duty on schools to record incidents of bullying between pupils early next year, and will specifically consult on whether schools should be obliged to report these incidents to their local authority. We will consult on the scope of the legislation in the autumn and bring into force the new regulations in 2010.
Children: Protection
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the recommendations in Lord Laming's review of child protection services in England over the next five years. [278969]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 11 June 2009]: The Government are investing £130 million in social work reform over the full spending review period of which £57.8 million is additional new investment announced on 6 May 2009 as part of ‘The protection of children in England: action plan—The Government's response to Lord Laming’. This represents a substantial commitment to support the recruitment, training and development of social workers and will significantly increase the capacity of the system to implement change immediately.
Expenditure on children's social care has also increased by over 90 per cent. in real terms between 1997-98 and 2008-09, equating to an average real terms increase of 6.1 per cent. per annum. It is the responsibility of all partners on Children's Trusts to assess the adequacy of their funding of children's services. As Lord Laming acknowledged in his report, ‘The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report’, most of his recommendations require all partners on Children's Trusts to ensure that they are applying existing guidance and good practice effectively and do not depend on additional resources.
Departmental Training
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [279405]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Special advisers receive training as appropriate to enable them to fulfil their duties and responsibilities as set out in the “Model Contract for Special Advisers”.
However, special advisers in this Department have not attended any training courses in the last 12 months.
GCSE
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2008, Official Report, column 929W, on children: disadvantaged, how many and what proportion of (a) all pupils and (b) pupils eligible to receive free school meals in each local authority area did not attain any GCSE grades higher than a D in 2008. [278961]
Mr. Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 March 2009, Official Report, column 1330W.
National Curriculum Tests
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in each local authority area achieved a Level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 2 tests in 2008. [278955]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested at local authority level has been placed in the House Libraries.
Ofsted: Finance
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how much and what proportion of Ofsted’s budget was used to fund the inspection of schools in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [278406]
(2) what budget Ofsted has set for each of its divisions and directorates for 2009-10. [278407]
Mr. Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and copies of her replies have been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 June 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for a response.
Table A shows Ofsted’s expenditure on the inspection of schools for the 12 month period from April 2008 to March 2009, as well as its proportion of Ofsted’s total gross expenditure.
The total gross expenditure is derived from Ofsted’s draft resource accounts for 2008-09, presented to parliament on 9 June. We have used information from this analysis to complete the table.
Inspections carried out under Section 5 of the Education Act 2005 represent the routine programme of inspections of maintained schools. Inspections carried out under Section 8 of the Education Act 2005 represent additional monitoring visits for maintained schools judged to be in a category of concern. Ofsted also undertakes inspection activity in schools as part of its programme of surveys, and the gross expenditure relating to this work is included. The figures set out represent the full cost of inspection activity and include direct, indirect and overhead costs.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 9 June 2009:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for a response.
Table A shows the gross revenue budget for each directorate or area of Ofsted’s work for the financial year 2009-10.
| Table A: Gross revenue budget by Ofsted Directorate/area of work, 2009-10 | |
| Directorate/area of work | £ (million) |
Ofsted is currently undergoing an internal restructure and, from September 2009, a different directorate structure from that outlined will take effect.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
Pupils: Diabetes
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department plans to take to increase support for children diagnosed with diabetes in school. [279850]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: While there is no legal requirement on schools or school staff to manage a pupil's medicine or support a child's medical need, all pupils should have the opportunities of a good education and we would encourage schools to do what they can to support a child with a medical need.
To ensure that children with long term conditions receive the help and support they need so that they can take a full role in school life, it is our intention that the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Leaning Bill will make schools a statutory relevant partner in local children's trusts, primary care trusts and others, and require them to work in partnership with other local agencies to improve children's well-being. They will be represented on the children's trust board and contribute to the preparation and monitoring of the local children and young people's plan. We will also ensure that the relevant
guidance makes specific reference that partners need to consider locally to support schools in managing children with medical conditions.
We announced in the Child Health Strategy that we will update the guidance ‘Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings’. The revised guidance will include clear statements of expectations of those involved in supporting pupils with medical conditions, including schools and Primary Care Trusts. The Department will also be setting up a stakeholder group, which will include expert organisations such as Diabetes UK, to help review and revise the guidance.
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