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28 Jun 2010 : Column 422W—continued
Departmental Official Hospitality
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what budget his Department has allocated for entertainment, including alcohol, in each of the next three years. [1315]
Michael Gove: The Department does not allocate a budget for the provision of entertainment or alcohol. All expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in Treasury guidance "Managing Public Money".
As this is the last year of the spending review period CSR07, the Department does not have an allocated budget for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the proposed further phase of the Children, Young People and Families grant programme to fund work by the third sector to improve educational outcomes will proceed. [2798]
Tim Loughton: Decisions on the funding priorities for the Department for Education including the future scope of the Children, Young People and Families grant programme from April 2011 are currently still under consideration. As soon as the Department is in a position to provide clarity, we will, of course, make a formal announcement.
Departmental Publications
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what (a) documents and (b) other information for which (i) his Department and (ii) its associated public bodies are responsible are published or provided in the UK in languages other than English; for what reason each such publication is required to be made available in a language or languages other than English; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the translation work so incurred in the latest period for which figures are available. [1777]
Michael Gove: The information requested cannot be supplied without incurring disproportionate cost.
Education: Finance
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate has been made of the likely reduction in the number of (a) jobs and (b) specific projects as a consequence of the reduction in his Department's area-based grants to Sheffield city council announced on 10 June 2010. [2661]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 16 June 2010]: Local Government, like the rest of the public sector, is being asked to make a contribution to the £6.2 billion of cross-Government savings in 2010-11. This will enable the Government to take immediate action to tackle the UK's unprecedented deficit inherited from the previous Government Where revenue grants have been reduced, no local authority will face a reduction of more than 2%. Sheffield will see a reduction of 1% in their overall funding from Central Government in 2010-11. The Government have also announced further removal from ring fencing of central government revenue and capital grants. This gives councils extra flexibility to make decisions about where savings are found. It is for local authorities to manage the reduction across all their funding sources to protect frontline services. This flexibility means that reductions in spending could be managed without a reduction in jobs or frontline services.
Eleven Plus: Dartford
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in each primary school in Dartford constituency passed the 11 plus examination in each of the last five years. [3088]
Mr Gibb: This information is not held centrally.
Free School Meals
Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the funding of universal free school meals pilot due to begin in September 2010. [1222]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State's letter to the right hon. Member on 7 June, which is now in the Libraries of the House, confirms that we are committed to ensuring that the Department does not make unaffordable promises for the future, and that spending is focused on priorities that best support the coalition Government's two primary educational objectives-raising standards for all and narrowing the gap between rich and poor. Having examined the options in depth, the Secretary of State has decided that we will not be able to proceed with the free school meal pilots that were due to start in September this year, nor the extension of free school meals to some primary school children this year. We will continue the existing pilots in Durham, Newham and Wolverhampton so as to assess better the case for increasing eligibility in the future.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to extend to students in further education institutions the free school meal scheme available to 16 to 19-year-olds studying in sixth forms. [3142]
Mr Gibb: There are no plans to extend free school meal eligibility to include students in further education institutions. Discretionary learner support funds are available to provide exceptional short-term financial support for eligible learners aged 16 to 18. This funding exists to respond to hardship needs that are preventing learners from engaging or completing their course.
Free Schools
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures are in place to prevent (a) academy, (b) state and (c) state-funded independent schools from being (i) operated and (ii) managed by a group with a narrow or factional objective. [687]
Mr Gibb: Proprietors of academies and independent schools are subject to a vetting process at the initial application stage which examines whether they are a fit and proper person to run a school. This includes an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check and background suitability checks into the activities of the organisation/individuals. Individuals may be prohibited from taking part in the management of an independent school on grounds relating to misconduct.
State-funded independent schools will be established as academies, and all proposals to establish such schools will be subject to similar rigorous checks. Generally, the Secretary of State would expect that all proposals will comply with all aspects of the rigorous suitability and vetting tests throughout the application process, including due diligence and CRB checks. He will reject any proposers who advocate violence, intolerance, hatred or whose ideology runs counter to the UK's democratic values. Where there are serious concerns about the quality of leadership and management provided by a governing body in maintained schools, local authorities currently have statutory powers to intervene in certain circumstances. These powers can include appointing additional governors to a school or applying to the Secretary of State for permission to replace the governing body with an interim executive board to lead the changes required in the school.
Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free schools his Department has made budgetary provision for in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13. [1217]
Mr Gibb: Future plans for all education funding depends on the spending review which has yet to be undertaken. These plans will include provision for the introduction of free schools. Details, including numbers, will be published as part of the spending settlement later this year.
GCSE
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many GCSE A*-C grades or equivalents obtained by pupils at maintained schools other than academy schools in 2008-09 were for (a) academic GCSEs, (b) applied GCSEs and (c) other qualifications judged to be equivalent to A*-C grade at GCSE; [2784]
(2) what proportion of GCSE A*-C grades or equivalent obtained by pupils at academy schools in
2008-09 was for (a) an academic GCSE, (b) an applied GCSE and (c) another qualification judged to be equivalent to an A*-C GCSE; [2785]
(3) what percentage of key stage 4 examination entries in non-academy maintained schools in 2008-09 were for (a) academic GCSEs, (b) applied GCSEs and (c) other qualifications judged to be equivalent to A* to C grade at GCSE; [2794]
(4) what proportion of key stage 4 examination entries in academy schools in 2008-09 were for (a) academic GCSEs, (b) applied GCSEs and (c) other qualifications judged to be equivalent to A* to C at grade GCSE. [2795]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is presented in the following table:
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of key stage 4 examination entries in each school which was subsequently replaced by an academy school was for a GCSE, excluding applied GCSEs the last year before the school was replaced by an academy school. [2908]
Mr Gibb: The requested information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
GCSE: Doncaster
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children at schools in (a) Don Valley constituency and (b) Doncaster borough have obtained five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C in each year since 1997. [2742]
Mr Gibb: The number of pupils attending maintained schools in Don Valley constituency achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including equivalents in each year since 2004/05 is given in the following table. Data for years prior to 2004/05 can only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Figures showing the percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including equivalents for all constituencies between 2004/05 and 2008/09 have been placed in the House Libraries.
| Number of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent attending maintained schools in Don Valley parliamentary constituency 2004/05 to 2008/09( 1,2) | ||
| Total number of pupils | Number of pupils achieving 5 + A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent | |
| (1) Pupils at the end of key stage 4 (2) Includes pupils attending all maintained schools including academies, city technology colleges and special schools located in Don Valley constituency. Source: National Pupil Database (Final data) | ||
The number of pupils attending maintained schools in Doncaster borough achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including equivalents in each year since 1996/97 is given in the following table.
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