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21 July 2009 : Column 1401W—continued
Zuzanna Zommer
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will publish a summary of the serious case reviews relating to the murder of Zuzanna Zommer in October 2007; [288700]
(2) if he will hold an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Zuzanna Zommer in October 2007. [288701]
Mr. Straw: There have been two reviews relating to the murder of Zuzanna Zommer by Michael Clark, who was subject to the sex offender notification requirements but not subject to statutory probation supervision at the time of the murder.
The first was a non-statutory review commissioned by the strategic management board (SMB) for West Yorkshire multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). No summary has been prepared for publication, but the SMB is prepared and has offered to share the findings of the review with the family of Zuzanna Zommer.
In December 2008, the National Offender Management Service and the association of chief police officers introduced a requirement for MAPPA serious case reviews to be completed where an offender managed at level 2 or 3 of MAPPA is charged with murder, rape, manslaughter, attempted murder or attempted rape. Where MAPPA serious case reviews are undertaken, it is a requirement of the process that SMBs produce an overview report, summarising the review, to be shared with the victim or the victim's family.
The second review has been commissioned by Leeds Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) and is yet to report. In line with usual practice with such statutory reviews, an executive summary of this review will be published once completed.
We will consider, in the light of the MAPPA serious case review and the anticipated report from the LSCB, what further action may be necessary.
Children, Schools and Families
Academies
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect of the academies programme on the provision of basic skills. [285429]
Mr. Coaker: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Academies evaluation looked at pupil progress in English and maths and science at KS3. They found that in English:
"...the average improvement for all Academies over the period 2002-2007 in the percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 or above at KS3 is 5.2% per year. This is substantially higher than the average annual change for the average of the three Comparison Groups and for England as a whole over the same period."
"the average annual improvement per Academy for the period (3.7%) is well above that for England as a whole, though only slightly above that for the three Comparison Groups."
In science the report found that
"the average improvement per Academy (5.1%) is also much higher than the average improvements for the Comparison Groups and for England as a whole."
Following the 2008 GCSE results, the 36 academies which have been open long enough to have results in both 2007 and 2008 had an increase of 4.3 percentage points in the percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including English and Maths (up to 29.5 per cent.) compared to 2.5 percentage points nationally.
Arts: Teachers
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many trained (a) music, (b) drama and (c) art teachers have been employed in maintained schools in each of the last five years. [288524]
Mr. Coaker: The number of teachers of music, drama and art in maintained secondary schools in England is collected as part of the Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey. This is an occasional survey that does not provide a full time series. The survey has only been conducted in 2007 in the most recent five years.
The following table gives data from the 2007 survey, the most recent survey available, for full-time equivalent teachers. It shows the number of teachers teaching at least one period a week of the subject, and the proportions with a post A-level qualification relevant to the subject.
| Number of music, drama and art teachers, and the proportions with a post A-level qualification in the subject in maintained secondary schools in England; 2007 | ||
| Number of teachers (FTE)( 1) | Proportion with a relevant post A-level qualification (percentage) | |
| (1) Teachers are counted once under each subject they teach. A teacher is included in the total for Music if they teach at least one period per timetable rotation of Music for example. Source: Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey, 2007. | ||
Building Schools for the Future Programme
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent progress his Department has made on its objective of bringing secondary school buildings up to 21st century standards; and if he will make a statement. [286961]
Mr. Coaker:
In the three years to 2010-11, we are investing £21.9 billion in our schools estate: a record amount and seven times the rate in 1997. This includes £9.3 billion for Building Schools for the Future, our strategic programme to provide world-class teaching and learning environments for all secondary school pupils, teachers and communities in England. 85 local authorities and about a third of all secondary schools are now engaged in the BSF programme. This includes
the six new projects which were announced on 15 July to enter the programme this month. They will be followed by six more starts in the next quarter and six more in the quarter after that.
Almost 90 schools have now benefited from BSF investment across England. We have also opened 133 academies, around half of which have brand new facilities, and we are well on our way to our target of 400 academies. In addition, schools and local authorities can invest their own funding to improve schools; secondary schools across the country share over £350 million of devolved formula capital grant in 2009-10. We are currently collecting information on the impact of our investment across the school estate and will publish our findings in due course.
Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to include sixth form colleges in the Building Schools for the Future programme. [288118]
Mr. Coaker: Pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2009, Official Report, column 529W, I restate that we have made our intention clear to bring Sixth Form Colleges within the scope of the Building Schools for the Future programme. That remains our position. We will make the details clear as soon as we are able.
Building Schools for the Future Programme: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made on Building Schools for the Future projects (a) in progress and (b) planned in Birmingham; and what projects have been completed in Birmingham. [288864]
Mr. Coaker: Birmingham is making good progress in Building Schools for the Future (BSF). It has a large programme with around 80 schools to deliver in total.
With regards to projects in progress-the five sample schools in Birmingham's Wave 2 BSF project (which consists of 11 schools and eight academies in total) are due to start construction on or before financial close has been reached. This is scheduled to take place before the end of August 2009. The first schools in this wave are scheduled to open at the start of 2011.
A further 14 schools will be delivered through Birmingham's Wave 5 BSF project. This project is progressing well, with the local authority currently finalising its education strategy. The first schools in this wave are currently scheduled to start construction at the end of 2010 and open in 2012.
Birmingham also has a number of follow-on projects which are not yet active in BSF. These projects will deliver the remaining schools in the local authority. No BSF projects have yet been completed in Birmingham.
Building Schools for the Future Programme: Finance
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the funding to be allocated to the Building Schools for the Future programme for (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [288696]
Mr. Coaker: Resources from comprehensive spending review 2007 provided £9.3 billion for the building schools for the future and academies programmes for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. This was made up of £3.7 billion PFI credits, and £5.6 billion of capital grant. £1.1 billion of capital grant was spent in 2008-09, with the balance to be allocated over the remaining two years, the timing of which will depend on the achievement of project milestones.
Children in Care
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children have been placed in care in the last five years; and what proportion were returned to their parents within two months. [285000]
Mr. Coaker: Information on the number of children that have been placed in care in the last five years and the proportion that returned with their parents within two months can be found in the following table.
| Children started to be looked after and the proportion who ceased to be looked after within two months due to returning to parents or those with parental responsibility( 1,2,3) , 2004 to 2008, Coverage: England | ||
| Years ending 31 March | Children that started to be looked after during the year | Percentage returned to their parents (or those with parental responsibility) within two months |
| (1) Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked in the year has been counted. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (3) Reason episode ceased defined as "Returned home to live with parents, relatives, or other person with parental responsibility (not under a residence order or special guardianship order)". (4) Children who started to be looked after during the last two months of the year may subsequently return to their parents within two months but this information will not be available until the next data collection. Therefore the percentage could increase. Source: SSDA903 | ||
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of meeting the legal requirements associated with placing a child in care in the latest period for which figures are available. [288311]
Dawn Primarolo: Loughborough university has conducted research into the costs of providing children's services. This work calculated that the costs to children's services of obtaining a court order at 2006/07 prices were £2,765.
The fees (in current prices) charged by the courts for obtaining a care order are as follows. There are three stages to these fees with costs varying depending on which stage is reached in proceedings.
1. On an application for a care or supervision order under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989: £2,225
2. Where an issues resolution hearing or pre-hearing review has been listed: £700
3. Where a final hearing has been listed: £1,900.
In response to the recommendation about court fees set out in Lord Laming's report 'The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report', the Ministry of Justice has appointed Francis Plowden to conduct a review of court fees, and to establish whether or not the level of court fees act as a deterrent when local authorities decide whether or not to commence care proceedings. Francis Plowden is expected to present his findings to the Lord Chancellor and to the Secretary of State for Justice by mid September 2009.
Children in Care: Missing Persons
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children went missing from care homes in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997. [285477]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Member to the reply given on 12 June, Official Report, column 1068W, to the hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara). Information on the number of looked after children that went missing from care homes was not collected prior to 2001. This information cannot be provided below local authority level.
Children: Abuse
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will establish mechanisms to track the annual number of cases of (a) violence, (b) sexual abuse, (c) neglect, (d) maltreatment and (e) exploitation of children, including, (i) within the family, (ii) in schools and (iii) in institutional or other care. [288650]
Dawn Primarolo: National data show 29,200 children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008. A child has a child protection plan where there are concerns about their safety and welfare as set out in the statutory guidance "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (2006). 45 per cent. of these plans were due to neglect, 25 per cent. due to emotional abuse, 15 per cent. due to physical abuse, 7 per cent. due to sexual abuse and 8 per cent. due to multiple abuses.
Children: Disadvantaged
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of households in poverty with children of school age who do not receive free school meals. [288335]
Dawn Primarolo: It is estimated that on a Before Housing Costs basis, in 2007/08 that 0.9 million households in the United Kingdom in poverty with children did not receive free school meals.
Notes:
1. The FRS undercounts the total number of children receiving free school meals when compared to administrative data.
2. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey.
3. The estimates exclude households with only children aged under four years who would not be at school.
4. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.
5. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years.
6. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' series, which uses net disposable household income, adjusted (or "equivalised") for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.
7. Incomes have been equivalised using OECD equalisation factors.
8. Numbers of households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 people.
Source:
Family Resources Survey (FRS) 2007-08.
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