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15 July 2009 : Column 459W—continued
| Table 4: The number of people self employed resident in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside and the North East | |||
| Thousand | |||
| 12 months ending | Jarrow | South Tyneside | North East |
| (1) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV)(%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV≤ 5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV≤ 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV≤ 20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.) Source: Annual Population Survey/Annual Labour Force Survey | |||
Government Departments: Recruitment
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that recruitment agencies which advertise vacancies on behalf of the Government do not require candidates to have obtained security clearance to obtain an interview. [285689]
Tessa Jowell: It is Government policy that an existing security clearance should not be specified as a pre-requisite for recruitment, except in certain defined circumstances. The Cabinet Office has regular contact with the Recruitment and Employers Confederation and the Association of Professional Staffing Companies to ensure that its membership, which includes recruitment agencies, is aware of the policy.
Statistical Indices
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what statistical indices have been used to measure levels of happiness and well-being in the UK in the last 30 years. [286294]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated July 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what statistical indices have been used to measure levels of happiness and well being in the UK in the past 30 years. (286294)
The general approach to measuring happiness is to assess life satisfaction, both overall and for particular aspects of life, by surveys. The question "How satisfied are you with your life overall these days?", with a response scale of 1-10, has been included in a number of studies over time, including the British Household Panel Survey, managed by the Institute for Economic and Social Research at Essex University. Summary results from these studies have been reported in the Office for National Statistics' Social Trends publication and elsewhere.
The Department for Food and Rural Affair's Sustainable Development Indicator set now includes wellbeing measures, including survey results on life satisfaction.
The new economics foundation (nef) has calculated a Happy Planet Index which combines environmental impact with wellbeing to measure the environmental efficiency with which people in the UK and in other countries live long and happy lives. The nef has also published National Accounts of Wellbeing, which use a variety of indicators to reflect aspects of how people experience their lives.
The ONS is currently reviewing these and other approaches to measuring the wellbeing of UK society, to complement the long-established measures of economic wellbeing published regularly in the economic National Accounts. We have placed a number of reports and links on the ONS website, at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15205&;Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=240
Lord Ashcroft: Taxation
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether her Department has received provisional recommendations from the Information Commissioner in relation to the request by the hon. Member for Pendle under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for information on the assurances given by Lord Ashcroft on his tax status prior to his elevation to the peerage. [285679]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 13 July 2009]: It is not Cabinet Office practice to comment on ongoing investigations by the Information Commissioner.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment was made of the effectiveness of the City Technology College programme when developing Government policy on academies; and if he will make a statement. [285428]
Mr. Coaker: There was no formal assessment of City Technology Colleges used in the development of the Academies programme. However, the contribution of external sponsors, the use of greater freedoms and innovation in learning and ICT were all characteristics of CTCs that influenced the development of the Academies programme.
All but three of the original CTCs have converted to Academy status, and a number have sponsored new Academy projects.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will assess the effect of policies on (a) diplomas and (b) academies on (i) local democratic accountability of the education system and (ii) levels of educational inequality. [285431]
Mr. Coaker: We are currently still in the first year of diploma teaching so it is too early to assess its impact on local accountability. Each diploma line of learning will be evaluated for the first three years after roll out and we will analyse the findings of the evaluation to ensure the implementation is having a positive impact on the education system.
One of the main aims of diplomas is to widen educational participation among young people. Data on the types of learners taking up diploma places will be available for analysis later this year, and this will help us to identify and address any areas of inequality.
With regards to academies and local accountability, all academies must have a local authority governor and a parent governor. Governing bodies are bound by law to act in the best interest of the academy, its pupils and the local community. They must set out their proposals for working with other schools and the wider community in their annual development plan. All academies are inspected by Ofsted on the same basis as other schools, and their results are published along with all maintained schools.
A major goal of the academies programme is to tackle educational inequality and there are a number of measures that guarantee this is achieved. To ensure a fair admissions process, academies, like maintained schools, are required to follow the School Admissions Code. The independent PricewaterhouseCoopers evaluation said that there was no evidence that academies have a negative impact on neighbouring schools in terms of pupil profile and therefore not created any inequalities.
The School Census shows that the proportion of pupils with special education needs (with and without statements) in academies is 29.5 per cent.-compared to an average of 19.2 per cent. for all schools. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in academies is 33.8 per cent.-compared to an average of 14.4 per cent. for maintained secondary
schools. Between 2007 and 2008 the rate of improvement for pupils gaining 5 A*-C grades (including English and maths) that attend academies and are eligible for free school meals has been double the national improvement rate, 5.3 percentage points compared to 2.4 percentage points.
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