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29 Oct 2009 : Column 587W—continued
Children's Centres: Derbyshire
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) Sure Start and (b) Children's Centres have been opened in (i) Derbyshire and (ii) North East Derbyshire constituency since 1997. [296067]
Dawn Primarolo: Derbyshire local authority has 46 Sure Start Children's Centres of which 11 are recorded as former Sure Start Local Programmes. Of these 46 children's centres, five are in the North East Derbyshire constituency, of which one is recorded as a former Sure Start Local Programme.
We are on track to achieve our target of at least 3,500 Sure Start Children's Centres by March 2010, offering access to services for all children under five and their families. As of 31 August 2009 there were 3,059 centres operational in England, providing access to services for over 2.4 million children and their families.
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on Sure Start Children's Centres in (a) Derbyshire and (b) North East Derbyshire constituency since the programme's inception. [296068]
Dawn Primarolo: Funding for Sure Start Children's Centres in Derbyshire and North East Derbyshire is provided to Derbyshire local authority as part of the Sure Start Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG). The local authority is responsible for managing Sure Start Children's Centres performance across its area and will decide how much to allocate to centres in each area.
The following table shows the spend on Children's Centres and Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) by Derbyshire local authority since the start of the programme. The Department will not receive audited figures for 2008-09 until the end of October 2009.
| £ | |||
| Children's centres revenue | Children's centres capital | SSLP revenue | |
| (1) In 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 Derbyshire local authority chose to pool its revenue funding in a Local Area Agreement (LAA) which was paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG, formerly the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, ODPM) as part of the LAA grant revenue. This funding was not ring fenced to SureStart activities; Derbyshire local authority had the freedom to spend the funding pooled in its Local Area Agreement in line with local priorities. The authority was not required to report details of its spend of Sure Start revenue to the Department. | |||
Derbyshire local authority will hold full records of its Children's Centres and SSLP spend.
SSLPs were given multi year capital allocations from programme inception to the end of 2005-06. Therefore it is not possible to disaggregate allocations by financial year. Derbyshire received a capital allocation of £4,872,260 and spent £4,686,552 for the life of the programme.
From 2004-05 revenue funding for Children's centres was included within the wider SSEYCG Main Revenue block. Children's Centres capital funding was ring fenced in 2004-6 but from 2006-07 was included in the wider SSEYCG Main Capital block. Funding in these blocks is not ring fenced and the authority had the freedom to decide how much to spend on each area supported by the grant, in line with local priorities. these allocations are shown in the following table.
| £ | ||||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-06( 1) | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| (1) In 2004-06 local authorities received a two year allocation for the Sure Start Grant. Therefore it has not been possible to disaggregate the allocations for 2004-05 and 2005-06. | ||||||
Christmas
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Christmas functions arranged by his Department (a) he and (b) officials of his Department (i) hosted and (ii) attended in 2008; what the cost to the public purse was; and if he will make a statement. [295455]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and families (DCSF) hosted two Christmas functions in 2008. The cost of these events was approximately £2,136. This information was also published on 13 October 2009, Official Report, column 15WS.
Information on events hosted or attended by DCSF officials is not readily available and gathering this information would be at a disproportionate cost.
All spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in "Managing public Money".
Class Sizes
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average size of (a) primary and (b) secondary school classes was in (i) 1997, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2005 and (iv) the last year for which figures are available. [295424]
Mr. Coaker: The requested information is shown in the table.
| Maintained primary( 1) and state-funded secondary( 1, 2) schools: average class size( 3) , as at January each year, in England | ||
| Primary | State-funded secondary | |
| (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )Includes CTCs and academies. (3 )One teacher classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. Source: School Census. | ||
Class Sizes: East of England
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average (a) middle school and (b) upper school class size has been in each constituency in the East of England in each year since 1999. [296164]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The requested information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The latest available information on class sizes can be found in the SFR "Schools, Pupils and Their Characteristics: January 2009" at:
Classroom Assistants: Derbyshire
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teaching assistants have been appointed in (a) Derbyshire and (b) North East Derbyshire constituency since 1997. [296069]
Mr. Coaker: Information on the number of teaching assistant appointments is not collected centrally. Figures are however available for the number in service. The following table shows the number of teaching assistants in service in local authority maintained schools in Derbyshire local authority and North East Derbyshire constituency in January 1997 and 2009.
| Full-time equivalent teaching assistants in local authority maintained schools( 1) , years January 1997 and 2009: Coverage: Derbyshire local authorities( 2) and North East Derbyshire parliamentary constituency | ||
| 1997 | 2009 | |
| (1) Excludes academies and city technology colleges. (2) Derbyshire local authorities were re-organised with effect from 1 April 1997. The new authorities that make up the former Derbyshire area are shown for 2009. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | ||
Climate Change: Teaching Aids
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what materials his Department provides to schools on the subject of the environment and climate change. [295759]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department's primary resource to support teaching about the environment and climate change is the Sustainable Schools website:
The website offers a wide variety of informative and engaging materials to aid schools in their teaching of sustainability issues within the curriculum, including the environment and climate change.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency has also published "Sustainable development in action: A curriculum planning guide for schools" which includes cross-curriculum dimensions, reflecting some of the major ideas and challenges facing society.
In addition, through the Growing Schools programme, the Department has funded the Renewable World website:
This is an innovative resource which allows pupils to explore the use of renewable and non-renewable materials in the past, present and future. This helps them understand that many of our cheap, oil-based products come at a high environmental cost, and to explore more sustainable options for the future.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on freelance press officers in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [293395]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The information requested is as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) No figures retained | |
Departmental Manpower
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many civil servants were employed by his Department on a permanent basis in each of the last 12 months. [295349]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Statistics on employee headcount and full-time equivalents (FTE) for the Department for Children Schools and Families are published regularly through the Office for National Statistics website:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&;Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422
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