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9 Feb 2010 : Column 902W—continued
Schools: Bureaucracy
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what forms were sent to schools by his Department for headteachers to complete in each year from 2006 to date; and if he will make a statement. [304736]
Ms Diana R. Johnson: The requested information cannot be supplied without incurring disproportionate cost.
Social Services: Children
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many allegations of conduct warranting a child social services investigation have been received by local authority social services in each of the last five years. [315249]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 3 February 2010]: The Department does not collect this information.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of births were in areas where a children's centre was operational in the last 12 months; what percentage of such births were reported to local children's services and children's centres; and if he will make a statement. [315356]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 3 February 2010]: Sure Start children's centres are becoming a universal service for all young children and their families. At the end of December 2009, there were 3,381 designated children's centres and we are on track to reach our target 3,500 centres by March 2010. All children born in England will therefore soon have access to early childhood services through their local children's centre.
The Department does not collect information nationally on how much data are reported from the NHS to children's centres. But health services are part of the children's centre core offer, with health visitors in children's centres playing a key role delivering the 'Healthy Child Programme' (the evidenced-based child public health programme offered to all families from pregnancy to five years of age) and making the vital first link to the wide range of services on offer including antenatal and postnatal care.
Information sharing is crucial and we plan to publish a leaflet shortly focusing on health, children's centres and information sharing. Its target audience will include health visitors and midwives because of their unique early interaction with all new parents and it will set out minimum standards we expect centres and health professionals to adhere to, in terms of sharing and retaining birth data. This leaflet is designed to be read alongside the cross-Government guidance on information sharing which is the overall authority in this area. The guidance can be found at:
Teachers: Early Retirement
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of teachers who have taken early retirement from each type of institution in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk, (c) Essex, (d) Cambridgeshire, (e) Bedfordshire, (f) Hertfordshire and (g) England in each year since 1997. [314873]
Mr. Coaker: A table giving the number of teachers awarded early retirement benefits from the teachers' pensions scheme in each local authority in the east of England Government office region and England in each year from 1996/97 to 2008/09, the latest information available, has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Teachers: Training
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of guidance on capability procedures for teachers issued by his Department. [316195]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 8 February 2010]: The Department's guidance on the capability procedures for teachers is readily available in the public domain and can be found at the following link:
http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction= productdetails&PageMode=publications&Productld=DFEE 0125/2000
Home Department
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many meetings of (a) the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and (b) its sub-committees have taken place since 1 November 2008; [312107]
(2) what steps he is taking to fill the vacancies on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs; and when he expects those vacancies to be filled; [312109]
(3) what assessment he has made of the effects of the vacancies on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the functioning of the Council. [312110]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has had the following meetings since 1 November 2008:
25 November 2008
23 and 24 March 2009
14 May 2009
19 June 2009
10 November 2009
14 December 2009
10 March 2008
6 July 2009
29 October 2009
The Prevention Working group - Hepatitis
22 January 2009
Anabolic Steroids Working Group
1 April 2009
1 October 2009
Pathways to Problems Working Group
10 June 2009
Cognitive Enhancers Working Group
8 August 2009
8 October 2009
New Psychoactive Substances Working Group
8 August 2009
8 October 2009
Polysubstance Use Working Group
30 August 2009
I understand that the ACMD is scheduled to meet to discuss the cathinones in February and has a Technical Committee and ACMD meeting scheduled for March.
A recruitment campaign has been initiated to fill the statutory positions on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Adverts will be placed for the positions by early February 2010. The appointment of new members will be made following open competition, and will be undertaken in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Office of the Commission for Public Appointments (OCPA). The process will be scrutinised by an Independent Public Appointments Assessor. It is expected that these vacancies will be filled within three months of advertising.
I met with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on 10 November to discuss, and agree, ways in which the Council would function in the future. The outcome of this meeting is published in a joint statement
The chair of the ACMD has stated that it is continuing to work to advise Government on issues concerning harmful drugs. As is normal practice, the ACMD can co-opt members where specific expertise is required and it is expected that new ACMD members will be recruited over the coming months. I therefore do not believe it is necessary to make any further assessment of the effects of the vacancies on the functioning of the ACMD.
Alcohol Disorder Zones
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcohol disorder zones are in force. [313347]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 26 January 2010]: There are currently no Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs) in place.
ADZs came into force in June 2008 and the Home Office has been clear that an ADZ should only be used as a measure of last resort, after all other tools and powers have been tried. The Government are aware that a number of local areas have threatened to impose an ADZ, in order to achieve compliance from the licensed trade. To support areas, the Home Office is running a series of 50 alcohol enforcement workshops in our alcohol priority areas, in order to ensure that frontline agencies are aware of the full range of powers they have available to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder, and to ensure that those powers are used effectively.
Additionally, I recently announced the introduction of the mandatory code of practice for the alcohol industry, in order to ensure that irresponsible practices by the licensed trade are prohibited.
Anti-terrorism Control Orders
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police force was responsible for the enforcement of the control order in the case of each of the seven individuals who have absconded from an order. [316088]
Mr. Hanson: The Metropolitan police force was responsible for the enforcement of four of the seven control orders. It is not possible to provide a further breakdown of the police forces responsible because of the national security sensitivities of these cases and the need to avoid publishing any information that could lead to the identification of an individual who is subject to an anonymity order.
The written ministerial statements in relation to control orders published on 11 December 2006, 16 January 2007, 22 March 2007, 24 May 2007, 21 June 2007, 17 September 2007, 12 December 2007 and 10 March 2008 gave further information about the seven control order absconds.
Assaults on Police: Sick Leave
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sickness days were taken consequent on assaults on (a) police and (b) community support officers in each police force in each of the last five years. [312989]
Mr. Hanson: The available data are given in the table. Data are collected only for 'all officers' and 'all staff'. CSO's are counted, but not separately, under 'all staff'.
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