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25 Nov 2009 : Column 220W—continued
Departmental Food
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables and (h) fruit procured by his Department that was produced in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300187]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Since the start of the current contract for provision on 1 April 2009 (and thus from when figures are available) the proportions of UK production of the categories in question up to 31 October 2009 are:
| Percentage | ||
| (1) Including sausages and burgers. | ||
It is not possible to provide separate figures for fruit and vegetables.
Departmental Plants
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent by his Department on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants since February 2009. [301000]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families has spent a total of £5,265 on potted plants since February 2009. There has been nil expenditure on cut flowers during this period.
Education: Assessments
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which qualifications have been accredited for the 2009-10 academic year; if he will estimate for each qualification the proportion of the final mark which is to be based on teacher assessment; and if he will make a statement. [300700]
Mr. Coaker: The National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ) lists all currently accredited qualifications from entry level to level 8. As of 19 November 2009, 9,748 qualifications are listed. Further details of these qualifications can be found online:
The Section 96 page of the DCSF website
provides a link to the list of qualifications the Secretary of State has approved to be delivered in maintained schools, and for under 19-year olds in further and work-based education and training. Approximately 7,500 qualifications are currently listed. The methods of assessment vary according to the qualification and could only be provided for each qualification at disproportionate cost.
History: Secondary Education
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the proportion of students in year nine who were not taught history in that year in (a) 2005, (b) 2008 and (c) the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300696]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: History is a statutory subject for all pupils to the end of key stage 3, normally school year nine. We do not have an estimate of the proportion of students in year nine not taught history.
Schools: Sports
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which sport has the highest rate of participation for females in schools. [300772]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department's annual PE and Sport Survey collects data from maintained schools in England and relate to the range and type of sporting activities that schools provide for their pupils. However, at the moment, it does not break this down by pupils' gender. We are proposing to make changes to the survey from next year which will enable us to show this information broken down by gender.
Social Services: Haringey
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he has taken in response to the Ofsted joint area review of Haringey council's children's services held in July 2009; and if he will make a statement. [300995]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 23 November 2009]: In June 2009 Ofsted carried out a further inspection of Haringey's safeguarding services to assess progress following the joint area review (JAR) report of December 2008. Ofsted's subsequent report made clear that the leadership and management team in Haringey had made progress in a number of important areas, but it highlighted issues relating to front line practice that needed prioritising. The Secretary of State met with the leadership of the council to discuss the report and subsequently wrote to the council on 3 July. In his letter to the council, he made clear that Haringey must prioritise improving standards of front-line practice and supervision and that Haringey's plans must be kept under vigilant review with progress accelerated to keep children safe. He explained that Peter Lewis' monthly reports, alongside the rigorous monitoring the Department has put in place and the independent scrutiny of the LSCB, would be used to ensure that all partners keep focused on the priorities identified in Ofsted's report. He has asked Ofsted to conduct a further progress inspection before the end of January 2010, at which point he will decide whether any further action is needed to keep children safe in Haringey.
Teachers: Pay
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was paid in salary and wage costs for teachers and teaching staff in maintained schools in the last 12 months; and what estimate he has made of the proportion paid to such staff who earn more than £50,000 per annum. [300843]
Mr. Coaker: The available information on how much was paid in salary and wage costs for teachers and teaching staff in maintained schools in 2007-08 for England was £17,521,117,000. The Department estimates that there were approximately 28,000 teachers earning more than £50,000 per annum in England costing in total £1,665,021,000. This makes up 9.5 per cent. of the total spend on teaching staff.
Notes:
1. The source of the salary information is the Database of Teacher Records (DTR) and is provisional.
2. Overall teacher numbers from the Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618g were apportioned by the information from the DTR to provide the estimate of the numbers of teachers receiving these salaries and the salaries given by multiplying this by the average salary over £50,000 from the DTR.
3. The total spend on teaching staff is taken from the Section 52 Outturn statements 2007-08.
4. It includes teachers employed directly by the school; including supernumerary/peripatetic teachers on short-term contracts and covers expenditure on salaries and wages consisting of gross pay, including bonus and allowances, maternity pay and the employer's contributions to national insurance and superannuation plus threshold payments and other payments relating to teacher pay reforms.
5. These figures are in cash and rounded to nearest £1,000.
International Development
Burundi: Overseas Aid
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what level of support, and in which sectors, his Department intends to provide to Burundi in the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [300226]
Mr. Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) is currently providing £10 million a year to Burundi. Our current strategy for support to the country covers the period from 2008 to 2011. Because Burundi is still recovering from 13 years of conflict, DFID support is focused on helping the country rebuild its health, education and justice systems. The budget allocation is:
£6 million for the social sectors including £4 million for essential medicine. DFID is also supporting our partners in building schools, providing free textbooks and improving the standard of secondary education.
£2 million for justice to build accountable systems for public financial management and prepare for free and fair elections in 2010. This includes providing legal aid to vulnerable citizens and raising awareness about governance issues.
£2 million for humanitarian support to care for returning refugees, orphans and vulnerable children.
In 2010 DFID will review this and future support to the country with the Government of Burundi and other partners. Future support will also be made in light of the broader UK Government Corporate Spending Review and planning for the period 2011 to 2013.
Christmas
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Christmas parties his Department plans to host in 2009; what has been budgeted for each such reception; what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables, (h) fruit and (i) alcohol to be served at each such function which is produced in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [300871]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not plan to host any Christmas parties in 2009.
Departmental Air Travel
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many domestic flights within Great Britain officials from his Department took in an official capacity in 2008-09; and at what cost to the public purse such flights were taken. [300535]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: This information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.
All travel by civil servants at the Department for International Development (DFID) is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the "Civil Service Management Code" and staff handbooks.
Departmental Assets
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the (a) description and (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement. [300204]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no plans at present to sell any of its property, whether in the UK or overseas between 2009-10 and 2013-14.
DFID may, however, dispose of assets such as vehicles or equipment as these reach the end of their useful lives. In such cases, disposals will be immaterial (substantially written down against book value) and carried out in line with DFID procedures. We are unable to provide budgeted figures without incurring disproportionate cost, as this information is not held centrally.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what efficiency savings projects his Department put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300932]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has agreed to deliver savings in administrative costs of £4 million in 2008-09, £8 million in 2009-10 and £12 million in 2010-11, including through Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) related projects. This commitment is part of DFID's overall value for money (VFM) programme.
Delivery against 2008-09 targets was reported in DFID's 2009 annual report. The report is available at:
A further progress report will be included in the forthcoming autumn performance report.
DFID is planning further efficiency savings in areas identified by the OEP, which will contribute to the £9 billion to be delivered across Government in the next spending review period.
Departmental Food
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables and (h) fruit procured by his Department that was produced in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300184]
Mr. Michael Foster: A second report on the proportion of domestically produced food used by Government Departments and also supplied to hospitals and prisons under contracts negotiated by NHS Supply Chain and HM Prison Service was published in November 2008, covering the year from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. This report and the first one covering the previous year can be found at:
The report gives details of the proportion of individual meat, fruit and vegetable categories purchased.
The report indicates that overall proportion of domestically produced food procured by the Department for International Development (DFID) in 2007-08 was 55 per cent. DFID actively encourages the provision of fair trade or other ethically trading standards produced items which will normally be imported.
DEFRA intends to publish the report covering the year from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 shortly.
Departmental Legal Costs
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the (a) cost and (b) purpose of legal representation and advice sought by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies was in each year since May 1997. [300329]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development uses a number of sources of legal expertise in both the UK and overseas. Records are available for full expenditure only from 2003-04. DFID does not maintain central records of the purpose of each piece of legal representation and advice.
| Expenditure | |
| Cost (£) | |
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