| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
6 Jan 2010 : Column 462W—continued
Home Education
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he has conducted an impact assessment of proposals for annual registration of home-educated children; and if he will make a statement. [308174]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: An Impact Assessment of the proposals for a registration and monitoring scheme for home-educated children was published on 19 November 2009 on the Department's website:
alongside the Children, Schools and Families Bill.
We will be revisiting the Home Education Impact Assessment over the coming weeks to take into account comments we have received from the DCSF Select Committee, the Local Government Association and others on the proposed costs and we will publish an updated version in the new year in line with the usual requirements for the passage of the Bill.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children have been recorded as harmed by their parents in the home-educated environment in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [308175]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department does not collect this information.
Immobilisation of Vehicles
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors have paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on (a) privately-owned and (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [302748]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: This Department does not pay for its officials or staff members vehicle clamping fines, parking fines, speeding fines and or similar.
Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with which private companies his Department has contracts involving work in Leeds West constituency; and what the (a) monetary value and (b) purpose is of each. [306948]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: This could be answered only at disproportionate cost.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the Minister for Children plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Totnes of 21 October 2009 on a proposed meeting with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trafficking of Women and Children. [308529]
Ms Diana R. Johnson:
My ministerial colleague, the Minister for Children, Young People and Families (Dawn Primarolo), replied to the hon. Member for Totnes on 11 November 2009, agreeing to a meeting to discuss the important issues around human trafficking raised last
year in a Westminster Hall adjournment debate on safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation.
Offenders
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many employees of his Department have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997. [308507]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department requires employees to notify their manager immediately they are arrested and charged with a criminal offence. If the employee is convicted, the Department will investigate and start a disciplinary process which may lead to dismissal. New employees must declare convictions during the recruitment process. Records back to 1997 are not held electronically nor in the format requested and a comprehensive search of paper based files back to 1997 would result in disproportionate cost.
Ofsted: Complaints
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many complaints about Ofsted were referred to the Ombudsman in each of the last three years; [309205]
(2) how many complaints about Ofsted which were referred to the Ombudsman in each of the last three years were subject to a full investigation. [309204]
Mr. Coaker: These are matters for the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The information requested is not held by the Department for Children Schools and Families or by Ofsted.
Primary Education: Class Sizes
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the revised School Admissions Code on infant class sizes; and if he will make a statement. [308179]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: This revision to the School Admissions Code does not alter the duty on admission authorities to comply with the statutory limit on infant class sizes. In addition, the revision in itself will not create additional pressure on reception class places. Most local authorities admit children to reception classes in two phases in the September or January following their 4(th) birthday. Around 20 per cent. of local authorities also have a third 'summer' entry, where they admit pupils in April. Requiring admission authorities to provide for places for all children from the September following their 4(th) birthday will have the effect of bringing forward the start date of some entries to September but not increasing the size of the cohort overall in the year. Admission authorities will already be under a duty to comply with infant class size to accommodate those existing entries at later stages in the school year.
Pupils: Bullying
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to assist schools in dealing with incidents in schools of (a) bullying between pupils and (b) verbal and physical abuse of school staff by pupils. [307816]
Mr. Coaker: The DCSF has made it clear to schools that all forms of bullying, including those motivated by prejudice, should not be tolerated, In 2007 the DCSF published over-arching guidance-"Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-bullying Work in Schools", and we have added more tailored advice for schools covering all the equality strands: race, religion, sexual orientation and disability, gender and gender identity. We also produced guidance to schools on how to prevent and tackle cyberbullying of pupils and staff. Our cyberbullying guidance to schools makes it clear that bullying and harassment of pupils and staff online is unacceptable and provides advice and practical support to teachers on how to prevent and deal with harassment when it happens.
The guidance gives staff the practical skills to feel confident challenging all forms of bullying and supporting young people who experience bullying. Alongside our guidance, we are funding the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the National Strategies to provide support and challenge to local authorities and schools to ensure they have effective strategies to prevent and tackle bullying. The DCSF has also given schools the legal power to regulate the conduct of their pupils in and outside of schools. We intend to introduce a new duty on maintained schools and short-stay schools in 2010 to record incidents of bullying between pupils, racist incidents and incidents of verbal and physical abuse against school staff.
Schools: Lancashire
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make an assessment of the likely effects on other schools and colleges in east Lancashire of the proposed establishment of the Mohiuddin International Girls' College; and if he will make a statement. [306337]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: This is not an issue on which the Secretary of State can make an assessment. Local authorities are responsible for planning maintained school place provision in their area and the Learning and Skills Council is responsible for planning further education provision. It is, therefore, for them to consider what, if any, effect the proposed college might have.
Schools: Nottingham
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in Nottingham North constituency have been (a) rebuilt and (b) significantly refurbished since 1997. [308294]
Mr. Coaker: As part of the local authority's return to the 2007 and 2009 DCSF School Building Surveys, the following schools were reported to have benefited from investment in the Nottingham, North constituency since 1997:
Rosslyn Park Primary and Nursery School
Ambleside Primary School
Southwark Primary School
Ellis Guilford Schools and Sports College
Hadden Park High School (2002-03 project)
River Leen School
Westbury School
Henry Whipple Primary School
Robin Hood Primary School
A further three schools have benefited from BSF investment to date.
Bigwood School (phase 1)
Oak Field School and Specialist Sports College
Hadden Park High School (phase 1)
Schools: Security
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the numbers of children (a) kidnapped and (b) harmed where inadequate school perimeter fencing was a contributory factor in the latest period for which figures are available. [308324]
Mr. Coaker: The Department does not collect this information.
Secondary Education: Standards
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department plans to publish the 2009 secondary school achievement and attainment tables. [307868]
Mr. Coaker: The 2009 secondary school achievement and attainment tables are planned to be published on 13 January 2010.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether the position of screening tools and staff training in relation to young people with special educational needs and communication difficulties in custody announced on 10 November 2009 will be provided for all staff in youth justice settings. [309189]
Mr. Coaker: A hidden disability questionnaire has been developed by Dyslexia Action and is currently being rolled out in Prison Service young offender institutions. However, we are supporting the Communication Trust-as announced on 10 November 2009 during the debate on the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill-to develop and tailor screening tools and training appropriate for staff who work with young offenders in wider youth custody settings and to staff in youth offending teams. We are currently working with the Communications Trust to develop and agree plans and time scales for delivering this.
Travelling people: Computers
Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 29 October 2009, Official Report, column 615W, on travelling people: computers, (1) how many laptops
given to Travellers have (a) been reported as lost or stolen and (b) not been recovered; and what steps are taken (i) to recover such laptops and (ii) in circumstances in which the laptops are not returned; [308795]
(2) whether parents are permitted to use the laptops loaned to their children. [308796]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: Since the last answer on 29 October 2009, there have been no reports of laptops being lost or stolen or not recovered. All laptops are tagged by the local authority based Traveller Education Support Service who own them, so could be traced. Laptops are also insured against accidental damage or loss. The circumstances relating to a laptop not returned to the Service would be investigated and every effort would be made to recover it. Finally, to promote family learning, greater parental engagement in education and to improve parental literacy skills, parents are encouraged to use the laptops loaned to their children and are given training alongside their children in the safe and appropriate use of the internet.
Vetting
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he next plans to review the requirements for Criminal Records Bureau disclosures; and whether he has (a) set a timetable for that review and (b) plans to appoint a lead reviewer in respect of that review. [307860]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on 14 December 2009, Official Report, column 50WS, about the publication of Sir Roger Singleton's report 'Drawing the Line' on the vetting and barring scheme (VBS), and the Government's response to Sir Roger's report, both of which are in the House Library.
The Government's response to recommendation 10 of the report makes clear our intention to review the requirements and the advice in relation to Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures once the VBS is in place, and to take forward the review in the new year.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has issued any advice or guidance to the NHS in the London North Central planning region on the provision of accident and emergency facilities in that region; and if he will make a statement. [309021]
Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time in accident and emergency departments in hospitals in (a) England and (b) Milton Keynes was in each year since 1997. [308087]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information on waiting times in accident and emergency (A and E) facilities is collected by the Department for its Quarterly Monitoring of A and E (QMAE) dataset. Trusts do not submit information on average waiting times, but they do submit information on time spent from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge in hourly time bands. This information for (a) type 1 (major) A and E departments in England and (b) Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have been placed in the Library. Data have been provided from quarter 3 2002-03 onwards, as this is the first quarter in which QMAE data based on full data returns were published.
An alternative source of information on time spent within A and E departments is available from the A and E Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data, which are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care.
A and E HES data indicate that the median time spent between arrival and departure in all types of A and E departments in England in 2007-08 was 112 minutes. A and E HES data are only available for 2007-08 and are not available for Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust individually. 2007-08 A and E HES data cannot be reliably split by type of A and E, therefore the reported median waiting time figure is for all types of A and E.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |