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12 July 2010 : Column 558W—continued
Free Schools
22. Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many proposals for free schools his Department has received from groups in (a) Weaver Vale constituency, (b) the Halton borough council area and (c) the Cheshire west and chester unitary Authority area. [6977]
Mr Gibb: As of 7 July the Department for Education had not received any proposals to establish free schools from groups in the Weaver Vale constituency, Halton borough council area or in the Cheshire west and Chester unitary authority area. I understand that the New Schools Network has received several hundred inquiries of which 38 have already let to formal proposals.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether people may establish free schools in the form of grammar schools. [456]
Mr Gibb: Current grammar schools are eligible for conversion to academies.
Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what conditions the New Schools Network will be obliged to meet in assessing applications for the construction of new Free Schools. [5202]
Mr Gibb: The New Schools Network are providing advice and support to proposers interested in setting up Free Schools, on behalf of the Department. The role of the New Schools Network is to help interested groups develop their ideas and prepare to submit their proposal form, not to assess applications.
The Department will assess proposal forms and consider whether they have the potential to lead to an acceptable business case and plan for the new school, which Ministers may approve. The decision which Ministers take will be based on the criteria published at:
Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the likely number of successful applications for free school status to be processed by the end of 2010. [5206]
Mr Gibb: We have made no estimate of the likely number of successful applications for Free Schools that will be processed by the end of 2010. This will depend on the number of groups who come forward with proposals to set up new schools and how many of these groups successfully complete the rigorous application and approval process.
Academies Bill
23. Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on the provisions of the Academies Bill. [6978]
Mr Gibb: We have received a number of representations relating to the provisions contained within the Academies Bill. These have included teacher representative organisations, the Special Education Consortium, the Church of England and the Catholic Education Service.
Alongside these representations we have also had approaches from individual Peers and Members of this House.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of his Department's officials are working on the Academies Bill. [5028]
Michael Gove: A dedicated Bill team of five officials with support from a lead Bill lawyer are currently working on the Academies Bill. In addition, a number of other colleagues (policy officials, legal advisers and private office staff) spend some of their time working on the Bill alongside other responsibilities.
Academy Status
24. Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many expressions of interest in academy status his Department has received from schools in (a) Crawley constituency, (b) the West Sussex local education authority area and (c) England. [6979]
Mr Gibb: So far one expression of interest in academy status has been received from a school in Crawley constituency. Ten expressions of interest in academy status have been received from schools in West Sussex. A total of 1,836 expressions of interest have been received from schools in England.
Teach First Programme
25. Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the number of participants in the Teach First programme who have stayed in the teaching profession after completing the programme. [6980]
Mr Gibb: The most recent figures up to 2007 show that 416 Teach First participants remain in teaching in the UK after completing the programme. This represents 49% of all Teach First participants since 2003. Of the 416 that have remained in teaching, 240 are now in leadership positions within schools.
ContactPoint
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education from what (a) local and (b) national data sources information was collected for the ContactPoint database. [6957]
Tim Loughton: The basic information on ContactPoint was drawn from a number of national sources, including the General Register Office, the Department for Education's Schools Census, the child benefit database and the NHS Personal Demographics Service. In addition local authorities and national partners had begun to add information from a range of local sources, including social care systems.
Academies
Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the application of the National Curriculum in (a) English, (b) mathematics, (c) science and (d) ICT to teaching in academy schools; and what steps he plans to take on curriculum freedoms in academy schools. [1206]
Mr Gibb: Academies are not required to follow the National Curriculum. Academies will still be required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) secondary, (b) primary and (c) special schools have applied to become academies under his recent proposals. [3582]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 21 June 2010]: We have released this information at:
This list will be updated regularly.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in England are academies; and how many such schools offer sixth form provision. [4019]
Mr Gibb: There are currently 203 academies open; 174 of these academies offer sixth form provision.
Academies: Food
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that academy schools meet the same requirements as other schools in respect of the (a) provision of school meals and other food in schools and (b) teaching about food and nutrition. [4719]
Mr Gibb: The freedom and autonomy enjoyed by academies is crucial to enabling them to drive up standards.
We believe that academies should have the freedom to respond to parental demand and provide a high standard of food and an appropriate curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils. We will require academies to provide free school meals for pupils who are entitled to them in the same way as for maintained schools.
Academies: Tamworth
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools in Tamworth constituency are applying for academy status. [2875]
Mr Gibb: No schools in Tamworth have yet applied. The lists of schools that have expressed an interest in conversion to academy status have been published on the Department for Education website.
Academies: Wigan
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the allocation of funding to local education authorities where no school applies for academy status. [1755]
Mr Gibb: Local authorities currently receive funding for maintained schools through the dedicated schools grant, which is calculated using a guaranteed unit of funding (GUF) for each pupil in a local authority. The funding is distributed to schools using a local formula on which the local authority's Schools Forum is consulted.
The Government have committed to changes to the funding system through the introduction of a pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils. We are reviewing if
changes need to be made to the current funding system and we expect to be launching a consultation on school funding in the summer.
Care Proceedings
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how much local authorities spent on residential assessments in care proceedings in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [5763]
(2) how much local authorities spent on psychiatrists' and psychologists' fees in care proceedings in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [5764]
(3) how much was incurred in costs by local authority legal departments in representing the authority in care proceedings in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [5768]
(4) how much was spent by local authorities on fostering children subject to care proceedings in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [5769]
Tim Loughton: Information about how much local authorities spend on residential assessments, psychiatrists' and psychologists' fees and legal representation in care proceedings and on fostering children subject to care proceedings is not collected centrally.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on the provision of guardians in care proceedings in each of the last five years; and what proportion of its budget this represents in each such year. [5770]
Tim Loughton: The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service's (CAFCASS's) funded expenditure for each year was:
| Expenditure (£ million) | |
These figures comprise CAFCASS's grant in aid funding from the Department for Education and additional funding from the Department for specific activities. In this spending review period (2008-11), this additional funding has been for Contact Point and Family Contact Services.
CAFCASS's allocated programme resource budget for 2010-11 is £138.2 million (including a one-off allocation of £10 million for service improvement). This excludes additional funding from the Department for specific activities.
How CAFCASS spend their allocated budget each year is an operational matter for CAFCASS. The chief executive of CAFCASS, Anthony Douglas, will respond by letter to the hon. Member and a copy of his response will be placed in the Libraries.
Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated July 2010:
I am writing to you in response to Parliamentary Question that you tabled recently:
PQ005770: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on the provision of guardians in care proceedings in each of the last five years; and what proportion of its budget this represents in each such year.
Cafcass does not collect specific figures relating to how much is spent on the provisions of guardians in care proceedings. Cafcass practitioners work in both public and private law proceedings. Cafcass also utilises the services of approximately 300 self-employed contractors, most of which, work as children's guardians in care cases.
Please note, there has been a significant increase in the past 18 months in care applications by local authorities and the total expenditure of Cafcass has also increased over the last 5 years, this is reflected in the table below.
| Public law care requests | Total expenditure of Cafcass (£ million) | |
Children: Carers
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in how many households in South Thanet constituency a child under the age of 18 years fulfils the role of a carer for a disabled parent. [2686]
Tim Loughton: There is no central collection of local or national data on the number of children under the age of 18-years-old who provide care for a disabled parent.
However, a 2004 study of 6,178 young carers (Chris Dearden and Saul Becker) found that half (50%) of those young people providing care were doing so for someone with a disability. The same research indicates that over two-thirds (70%) of young carers are caring for an adult.
Children: Databases
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library a copy of each representation he has received from (a) local authorities and (b) children's organisations on his Department's decision to end the ContactPoint database. [1938]
Tim Loughton: We have confirmed with local authorities and other partners our firm intention to end the ContactPoint database as soon as is practicable. Both coalition partners' manifestos included a clear commitment to scrap ContactPoint, to fulfil a longstanding policy commitment, discussed with a wide range of interested organisations in recent years. We have consistently opposed a database, which contains details about all children in England, accessed by hundreds of thousands of people and we signalled our opposition in debates on the original legislation in the 2004 Children Act.
The Department has received no representations from local authorities or children's organisations on this Government's decision. We will however continue to engage with and draw on the views of a wide range of
organisations as we consider the scope for a more proportionate approach to protecting children most in need.
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on first quarter grant payments to local authorities in respect of the ContactPoint database in June 2010; and if he will make a statement. [1939]
Tim Loughton: We have confirmed with local authorities and other partners our firm intention to end the ContactPoint database as soon as is practicable. Both coalition partners' manifestos included a clear commitment to scrap ContactPoint, to fulfil a longstanding policy commitment. We are considering the scope for a more proportionate approach to protecting children most in need.
In the interim, while ContactPoint remains in limited operation, my Department has provided guidance on what local authorities and partners should do to ensure the safe and legal operation. The Department has paid local authorities £3.75 million to cover costs of operating ContactPoint during the period April to June 2010. We are considering the extent of grant funding beyond this period, and more detailed plans on the way forward will be announced later in the summer.
Departmental Catering
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on catering in each year from 1997 to 2009. [4854]
Tim Loughton: The information requested is not separately identified within the Department's published resource accounts. Detailed records on catering expenditure are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Conferences
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the expenditure by his Department and its predecessors on (a) organising and (b) attending conferences in each year since 1997. [5939]
Tim Loughton: The information requested is not separately identified within the Department's published resource accounts. Detailed records on the costs of organising and attending conferences are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Furniture
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent on (a) refreshments and (b) furnishings in his private office in each year from 2005 to 2010. [5623]
Tim Loughton: The information requested on refreshments is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The amount spent on furnishings in the Secretary of State's private office in each year from 2005 to 2010 by the previous Government is as follows:
| £ | |
All spending is made in accordance with the principles set out in 'Managing Public Money' and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Departmental Postal Services
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on postage in 2009. [3341]
Tim Loughton: In the period January-December 2009, the predecessor to the Department for Education, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, spent a total of £160,882 on postage directly and through its distribution partner.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of his Department's contracts with its suppliers are under review as a result of the recently announced reductions in public expenditure; and what the monetary value is of all such contracts which are under review. [3636]
Tim Loughton: We are in the process of identifying contracts for review from which savings can be made through renegotiation or termination. The total value of all those contracts or the potential savings will not be known until the scale of the activity is determined.
Following this preparatory work a project plan will be produced detailing the potential costs and benefits along with a schedule of activity.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to analyse the distributional effect of the options for reductions in his Department's expenditure. [5213]
Tim Loughton: The Government set out in their document 'Spending Review Framework' that it will "look closely at the effects of its decisions on different groups in society, especially the least well off, and on different regions." (2.4, page 7)
Further information will be available at the spending review.
Departmental Travel
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) name and (b) version is of each computer software package used by his Department to calculate its expenditure on travel. [3877]
Tim Loughton: To calculate its expenditure on travel, the Department for Education (DfE) uses a set of software packages provided to it by the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the shared services agreement between the two Departments.
The main software package used is the Oracle Resource Management system version 11.5.10, which itself uses two underpinning software systems (Discoverer and Discoverer Plus system versions 10G) to calculate and produce financial reports to budget holders and senior management on travel expenditure. These reports can also optionally be downloaded locally and converted into spreadsheet format using Microsoft Excel version 2003 which is installed on every computer.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to publish the report of the cross-government review of financial support for 16 to 18 year olds commissioned by his Department's predecessor; and if he will make a statement. [5453]
Mr Gibb: The Department has published the Barriers to Participation in Education and Training research which was commissioned to inform the review on the Department's website on 24 June 2010. We have no plans to publish anything further. The evidence collected will inform the comprehensive spending review in the autumn.
Education: Finance
Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had on education funding with the F40 group since his appointment; and if he will make a statement. [3328]
Mr Gibb: I have not had any formal discussions with the F40 group since being appointed Minister for Schools, though I have met them in the past and spoke at their conference in Church House last November.
I am aware that the F40 group represents the local authorities who received the lowest per pupil funding under the present funding system. This Government have already committed to changes to the funding system through the introduction of a pupil premium for disadvantaged children. As well as the premium, any changes to the funding system will need to support our policy objective of raising standards and closing the attainment gap between those from the richest and poorest in society. We expect to be launching a consultation on school funding in the summer.
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the consultancy budget is for (a) his Department and (b) the education service in 2010-11. [5502]
Tim Loughton: The Department's budget for consultancy in 2010-11 is £54.5 million. This amount was allocated prior to the recent reductions in the budget of the Department and the forthcoming spending review may result in further changes being made.
Separate figures for educational services beyond the immediate Department are not available.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for a further phase of the Children, Young People and Families Grant programme to fund work by the third sector to improve educational outcomes. [6468]
Tim Loughton: Decisions on the policy and funding priorities for the Department for Education including the future of the Children, Young People and Families Grant programme are still under consideration. As soon as we are in a position to provide clarity to organisations, we will, of course, make a formal announcement.
Education: Public Appointments
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people are employed as (a) regional advisers on 14 to 19 education and (b) support staff to 14 to 19 regional advisers. [4082]
Michael Gove: There are currently 11 14-19 regional advisers; one per English Government office region, a 14-19 rurality adviser and a 14-19 gender equalities adviser.
Regional advisers do not have support staff, but work closely with Government offices and a number of regional and local partners.
My letter to the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls) of 7 June stated that the role of 14-19 advisers would not continue from September.
Foster Care
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to enable foster carers to continue to care for those who have been in foster care after they reach the age of 18; and if he will make a statement. [5506]
Tim Loughton: The Government are currently funding a programme of Staying Put 18+ pilots which support young people to stay with their foster carers up until the age of 21 so that they can make a more gradual transition into adulthood. The pilot is being evaluated by the University of Loughborough and we will use the evaluation evidence to help spread best practice among all local authorities.
Free School Meals
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools rated (i) outstanding and (ii) other than outstanding by Ofsted are eligible for free school meals. [4522]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 25 June 2010:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
The latest period for which published figures about maintained school section 5 inspection outcomes are available is the spring term of 2009/10. This answer, therefore, takes into account those
schools which were open on 21 April 2010 and had received an inspection on or before 31 March 2010. This period spans two different school inspection frameworks, the first covering September 2005 to August 2009 and the second from September 2009 onwards.
Information about the number of pupils on roll and the number of pupils eligible for free school meals in each school has been taken from the Department for Education's 2009 January School Census. The number on roll at each school has been adjusted, in line with Department for Education National Statistics, to remove part time pupils aged under five and any students aged 16 or over at the start of the academic year as they are not able to claim free school meals regardless of their economic circumstances. Information on which schools were open on 21 April 2010 has been taken from the Department for Education's Edubase system.
In this answer the term 'secondary school' is used to cover maintained secondary schools including middle deemed secondary schools, academies and city technology colleges.
On 31 March 2010 there were 22,249 schools open and eligible for a section 5 inspection in England. Two hundred and fifty-eight open schools which have not yet been inspected by Ofsted are excluded from this analysis, as are maintained nursery schools, special schools and pupil referral units. This leaves a pool of 16,904 primary schools and 3,189 secondary schools to contribute to this answer.
Of those primary schools judged outstanding during their most recent inspection, 12.8% of pupils were recorded as eligible for free school meals. Of those primary schools that were judged good, satisfactory or inadequate during their latest inspection, 17.8% of pupils were recorded as eligible for free school meals.
Of those secondary schools judged outstanding during their most recent inspection, 11.4% of pupils were recorded as eligible for free school meals. Of those secondary schools that were judged good, satisfactory or inadequate during their latest inspection, 14.7% of pupils were recorded as eligible for free school meals.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future (a) eligibility for and (b) funding available for the provision of free school meals. [4865]
Mr Gibb: All pupils who meet the current eligibility criteria will continue to receive free school meals. There are no current plans to extend free school meal eligibility or increase free school meal funding. We will look again at the case for any extension in the light of evidence from pilots of extended eligibility in Durham, Newham and Wolverhampton which are running until July 2011.
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on which date he informed the Secretary of State for Health of the proposed decision not to extend entitlements to free school meals. [5165]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 July 2010]: The Secretary of State for Health was informed of the decision not to take forward the previous Administration's significantly under-funded and unaffordable plan to extend eligibility to free school meals on 7 June. All children who are currently eligible for free school meals will continue to be eligible and we are continuing to support three pilots which are exploring the costs and benefits of extending eligibility. We shall review the case for any extension when we have that evidence.
Free School Meals: North East
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost per pupil of providing free school meals in the North East for (a) primary school children and (b) secondary school children was in the latest period for which figures are available. [1963]
Mr Gibb: This information is not held by the Department. It is for each local authority to decide what they charge for a school meal, based, for example, on the local cost of food, catering services, fuel costs and whether, and if so how much, they subsidise school meals. From this local authorities then decide how much cost they can apportion to a free school meal.
However, the School Food Trust's latest survey of school food take up shows that the average school lunch prices in 2009 were £1.77 in the LA-catered primary sector and £1.88 in the LA-catered secondary sector.
Further Education
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which Minister in his Department has responsibility for (a) sixth form colleges and (b) 14 to 19 year olds in further education colleges. [5454]
Mr Gibb: I am Minister responsible for sixth form colleges and 14 to 19-year-olds in further education colleges.
GCSE: Leicester
Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils from each ethnic background gained five GSCEs at grades A* to C in Leicester local authority area in each of the last five years. [3531]
Mr Gibb: The information required is given in the following table:
| Percentage of pupils achieving five or more grades A*-C at GCSE including equivalents in selected years | |||||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| (1) Includes pupils for whom ethnicity was not obtained or refused, or could not be determined. (2) Indicates that the figure was suppressed in order to protect pupil confidentiality as fewer than 10 pupils sat exams. Source: National Pupil Database | |||||
Iraq
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the budget is of each current project in Iraq funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [4783]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education funds no projects in Iraq.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether he plans to publish the Sex and Relationships Education Guidance to Schools, issued for consultation in January 2010; and if he will make a statement; [5432]
(2) what assessment he has made of the compatibility of his proposals for sex and relationship education with proposed guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on sex and relationships education within personal, social, health and economic education; and if he will make a statement. [5433]
Mr Gibb: We are currently considering our approach to sex and relationships education and, in particular, how we take forward our manifesto commitment to ensure that the school curriculum includes teaching young people about sexual consent. Schools will need some guidance to support them in this, but it is too soon to say whether it will cover all of the issues that were included in the guidance that was published for consultation in January 2010, or the draft guidance published recently by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Schools are required by law to 'have regard to' guidance issued by the Secretary of State. At present, that duty applies to the SRE guidance published in 2000.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what files his Department holds on (a) sexual and reproductive health education and (b) personal, social and health education; and if he will make a statement. [5437]
Mr Gibb: Policy on abortion and sexual and reproductive health is a matter for my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health. In the case of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education the Department maintains records in the normal way.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency will not receive the pupil premium. [3617]
Mr Gibb: The Government are committed to the introduction of a pupil premium for disadvantaged children, and we will bring forward our proposals in due course.
Pupils: Heart Diseases
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many incidents of sudden cardiac arrest involving pupils on school property there were in each of the last five years; and how many such incidents resulted in death. [3919]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not collect these data.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Mr Ivan Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much per pupil funding was allocated to Bury Metropolitan Borough Council for (a)
primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in each year from 1996-97 to 2010-11. [5951]
Mr Gibb: Per pupil revenue funding figures for primary school pupils in Bury (ages three to 10) are shown in the following table. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
| Real terms revenue funding per pupil (£)-SSA/EFS plus grants | |||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Notes: 1. Price Base: real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 31 March 2010. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged three to 10 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DfES grant for these LAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-07 to 2008-09, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LA). 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. | |||||||||
Per pupil revenue funding figures for secondary school pupils in Bury (ages 11 to 15) are shown in the following table. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
| Real terms revenue funding per pupil (£)-SSA/ EFS plus grants | |||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Notes: 1. Price Base: real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 31 March 2010. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 11 to 15 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DfES grant for these LAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-07 to 2008-09, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LA). 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations. 5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. | |||||||||
Figures for special schools are not available on a comparable basis.
Figures prior to 1997-98 are not available on a comparable basis.
Since 2006-07, the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) has been the main source of school funding, and this does not allow a primary/secondary split of the figures. These figures are not comparable with those for earlier years because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded.
Per pupil unit of funding figures for 2005-06 to 2009-10 for Bury local authority are provided as follows. Finalised figures for 2010-11 are not yet available. The figures shown are for all funded pupils aged three to 19 and are in real terms:
| Real terms funding per pupil (£)-DSG plus grants pupils aged three to 19 | |||||
| 2005-06( 1) | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| (1) Baseline. Notes: 1. This covers funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant, School Standards Grant, School Standards Grant (Personalisation) and Standards Fund as well as funding from the Learning and Skills Council; it excludes grants which are not allocated at LA level. 2. Price Base: real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 31 March 2010. 3. These figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 19. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. | |||||
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what grants his Department made to Bury Metropolitan borough council for schools outside the per pupil funding formula for each year from 1996-97 to 2010-11. [5952]
Mr Gibb: Tables have been placed in the Libraries, setting out the grants allocated to Bury Metropolitan borough council for schools for each year since 1996-1997. These grants were allocated in addition to per pupil formula funding allocated through the local government finance system up to 2005-2006, and Dedicated Schools Grant since 2006-07.
Pupils: Sikhs
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2010, Official Report, column 428W, on pupils: Sikhs, by what date he plans to have completed consideration of the law and agreed practice on carrying kirpans in schools. [5747]
Mr Gibb: Cross-Government discussions with the Sikh community continue; these are expected to continue until after the summer recess, with decisions taken in the autumn.
Schools: Discipline
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what evidence his Department has assessed on the effects of no notice detentions on discipline in school. [5079]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 July 2010]: We will be consulting with many organisations in the development of discipline policy. The introduction of no notice detentions would not remove the requirement for schools to act reasonably when making the necessary arrangements for detentions.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with organisations representing children who are carers on no notice detentions. [5089]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 July 2010]: We will be consulting with many organisations in the development of discipline policy. The introduction of no notice detentions would not remove the requirement for schools to act reasonably when making the necessary arrangements for detentions.
Schools: Erewash
Jessica Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received from (a) headteachers, (b) parents and (c) charities in the borough of Erewash in favour of greater autonomy for schools. [5207]
Mr Gibb: The Department has received two registrations of interest from schools wanting further information on converting to academies-The Long Eaton School and Kirk Hallam Technology College. A list of all outstanding and non-outstanding schools that have registered an interest in converting to academy status was published on the Department's website at:
on 25 June. No other recent representations have been received from the borough of Erewash.
Schools: Finance
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on limiting (a) the number of schools to receive grants, (b) the amount of such grant and (c) the terms of each grant he has the power to award to schools. [5167]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 July 2010]: We have no plans to limit the number of schools that can receive grants. Decisions about which grant will be available to schools in the future will be taken as part of the next spending review process in the autumn.
Frank Dobson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the total
reserves held by schools in England; and what reserves were held by such schools in each financial year since 1985-86. [5168]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 July 2010]: Local authority maintained schools in England had a total net revenue balance of £1.78 billion for the financial year 2008-09. The Government started to collect data on revenue balances from 1999-2000, when the figure was £741 million. The 1999-2000 figure does not include maintained nursery schools; these data were first collected in 2003-04. There are no relevant data for the years before 1999-2000.
This information, along with breakdowns of surpluses and deficits at England, local authority and school level from 1999-2000 to present are currently available on the section 251 website at:
Schools: Leeds
Mr Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussion she has had with representatives of Leeds Local Authority on the future of Parklands Girls School in Leeds. [5561]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with representatives of Leeds local authority on the future of Parklands Girls School in Leeds. However, officials have had discussions with Education Leeds about the school in question and are awaiting a decision from Leeds city council about the future of Parklands Girls School following its publication of a statutory proposal on 16 April 2010 to close Parklands Girls School on 31 August 2011 and replace it with an academy opening on 1 September 2011.
Schools: Management
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of teaching posts there will be in free schools. [4806]
Mr Gibb: The number of teaching posts in free schools will depend on the number of groups who come forward with proposals to set up new schools, how many of these groups successfully complete the rigorous application and approval process and the staffing structures and size of the new schools.
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who will be responsible for the provision of services to pupils with special educational needs in free schools; and if he will make a statement. [4807]
Mr Gibb: Like academies, the funding agreement contract will include provisions which require the school to have regard to the SEN Code of Practice and use best endeavours to meet any guidance on exclusions. Where a school fails to meet its SEN funding agreement obligations, the Secretary of State has the role of ensuring that those obligations are met. Disability discrimination legislation will also apply to free schools to prevent discrimination against disabled pupils and, as with other schools, free schools will have to make reasonable adjustments to prevent such discrimination.
Schools: Sports
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanisms are in place to prevent the sale or redevelopment of school sports facilities other than playing fields. [4001]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 29 June 2010]: The legislation that protects school playing fields, under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, extends to all of a school's outdoor areas. No school or local authority in England can dispose or change the use of a school playing field or any part of a school playing field without the Secretary of State's consent. The legislation defines playing fields as land in the open air which is provided for the purposes of physical education or recreation, and includes playgrounds, hard games courts, social areas etc as well as grassed playing fields.
Schools: Standards
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future of the Black Country Challenge programme; and if he will make a statement. [1513]
Mr Gibb: The Department has not taken any decisions on the Black Country Challenge programme.
Schools: Transport
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's budget is for 16 to 19 (a) school and (b) transport for 2010-11. [4020]
Mr Gibb: No specific funding is provided by central Government to fund post-16 transport. Local authority statutory responsibilities for transport in relation to post-16 students are funded through revenue support grant and through income generated by councils, including council tax. Formula grant is not hypothecated to a particular service. Local authorities are free to use the funding in line with the wishes of their electorate to meet local needs while taking into account their statutory responsibilities.
The Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) has also provided £12 million in 2010-11 (and in each of the previous four years) through the transport partnership fund to support the development of local innovative and sustainable transport projects.
Science: GCE A-level
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to encourage an increase in the number of students studying scientific subjects at A-Level. [6036]
Mr Gibb: The Government recognise that more needs to be done to inspire greater numbers of young people to study science subjects at A-level. The quality of teaching in schools will be a key factor in this and we have already made it clear we will seek to attract more science and maths graduates into teaching. We will also be looking at what more can be done to support this in our pursuit of a fairer education system including reform of curriculum and qualifications.
Sixth Form Colleges: Inspections
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the frequency of Ofsted inspections of sixth form colleges graded outstanding; and if he will make a statement. [4519]
Mr Gibb: We want to give all outstanding schools and colleges freedom from bureaucracy. The Government are therefore working to remove the requirement for outstanding sixth form colleges to be subject to the routine cycle of Ofsted inspections, unless their performance drops.
Sixth Form Education
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many secondary schools graded as outstanding by Ofsted do not have a sixth form. [4518]
Mr Gibb: As of May 2010 there were 626 secondary schools that were graded as outstanding by Ofsted in their most recent inspection. Of these, 191 schools do not have a sixth form.
Sixth Form Education: Tamworth
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether each school in Tamworth constituency which has applied for academy status will be able to retain a sixth form if successful. [4120]
Mr Gibb: The plans for a new academy in Tamworth to open from September 2010 and for this academy to include an 860 place post-16 centre from September 2011 are well advanced. The post-16 centre would replace several school sixth forms and forms part of Staffordshire's cross-Tamworth proposals for secondary and post-16 education. We would want to consider how any application for academy status from other schools with sixth forms in Tamworth would impact on the new Tamworth Academy.
Special Educational Needs
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to improve the standard of training of teachers in respect of pupils with special educational needs. [2799]
Tim Loughton: The Government are committed to raising the status of the teaching profession and to moving to a high quality system of teacher recruitment and training.
I am reviewing existing policies and programmes to make sure that they support our commitment to high quality teacher training including in respect of pupils with special educational needs.
Teachers are able to increase their awareness of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) through information available to them about children with SEN as a result of the SEN Information Act 2008. The second report, following this Act, will be published in October 2010 and brings together information about children with SEN in one place.
Teachers: Hartlepool
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the teacher to pupil ratio was in each school in Hartlepool constituency in each of the last five years. [5411]
Mr Gibb: The following table provides the within school pupil:teacher ratio (PTR) in each local authority maintained school in the Hartlepool constituency in each January from 2005 to 2009, the latest year for which information is available.
| Pupil:teacher ratios (PTR)( 1,2) in local authority maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools( 3) -Each January 2005 to 2009: Coverage: Hartlepool parliamentary constituency | ||||||
| Pupil teacher ratio | ||||||
| LAESTAB No. | School name | 2005 | 200 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) For statistical purposes only, pupils who do not attend both morning and afternoon at least five days a week are regarded as part-time. Each part-time pupil is treated as 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE). (2) The within-school PTR is calculated by dividing the total FTE number of pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools. (3) There are no city technology colleges or academies in Hartlepool constituency. Source: School Census | ||||||
Teachers: Retirement
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on raising the retirement age for secondary school teachers. [5640]
Mr Gibb: Under the provisions of the Teachers' Pension Scheme, the normal pension age (that is the age at which pension benefits can be accessed without any actuarial reduction) is 65 for those who joined the scheme on or after 1 January 2007; and 60 for those who were members of the scheme prior to that date. The point at which a teacher retires-which can be after or before the normal pension age-is, however, a matter for the individual to determine in discussion with their employer.
The Government have set up an Independent Commission under the Chairmanship of Lord Hutton to conduct a fundamental structural review of public service pension provision, to ensure these provisions are sustainable and affordable in the long-term. Any future changes that may be made to the provisions of the Teachers' Pension Scheme will be informed by the outcome of this review.
Teachers: Training
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent progress has been made on the Training and Development Agency for Schools' review of the qualified teacher status standards. [1386]
Mr Gibb: The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) review of Qualified Teacher Status standards was put on hold due to the general election.
We are currently undertaking a review of all of our policies and as soon as we are able to provide more information, we will, of course, make a formal announcement.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to answer Question (a) 1938 and (b) 1939, on the ContactPoint database, tabled on 8 June 2010. [6279]
Tim Loughton: I replied to the hon. Member's questions today.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to provide a substantive answer to question 3825, on departmental public expenditure, tabled on 17 June 2010. [7941]
Tim Loughton: A response will be issued to the right hon. Member shortly.
Young People: Bradford
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his latest estimate is of the funding his Department will provide for Bradford's My place project, Culture Fusion over the lifetime of the project; and if he will make a statement. [6106]
Tim Loughton: The Bradford Myplace project was awarded a grant of £5,000,000 by BIG on behalf of the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in March 2009. The Department for Education (DFE) has not yet made a decision on the future of Myplace funding. However, the Government are committed to a full comprehensive spending review in the autumn and DFE Ministers are currently considering their spending priorities.
Young People: Unemployment
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effects on levels of (a) employment and (b) deprivation in (i) Birmingham Erdington constituency and (ii) the Birmingham local authority area of recent reductions in area-based grant allocations to local authorities, including allocations to the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. [6917]
Robert Neill: I have been asked to reply.
Tackling the UK's record deficit is the Government's top priority, and we believe that it is right that local authorities make a contribution to the efficiency savings of £6.2 billion in 2010-11. We have adopted a fair approach to the reductions in grants and funding streams and have limited the amount councils lose. The impact on the area of reductions in grants this year will be for the local authority to decide. We have ensured that councils, including Birmingham, are able to deliver essential frontline services by making no changes to the £29 billion they receive through Formula Grant and by increasing flexibility for local spending decisions through removing restrictions on how they spend their money.
Youth Services: Bristol
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what representations his Department has received from the National Lottery on grants to the My place project in Bristol for the purchase and refurbishment of a building; [4992]
(2) when he plans to decide on the approval of funding for the My place project in Bristol. [5055]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has not yet made a decision on My place funding. The Big Lottery Fund have therefore deferred their confirmation of in-principle My place grants until a decision is made. The Government are committed to a full comprehensive spending review in the autumn and Ministers will shortly be considering their spending priorities.
Deputy Prime Minister
Constituencies
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he plans to issue to the Boundary Commission on whether the whole of a local authority ward should fall within a single parliamentary constituency; and if he will make a statement. [7088]
Mr Harper: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 5 July 2010, Official Report, column 24W, a Bill will be introduced before the summer recess to implement the coalition agreement commitment to make provision for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. The independent Boundary Commissions will draw those constituency boundaries. Detailed provisions will be included in the Bill and Parliament will have the opportunity to debate it in full.
Constituencies: Sheffield
Mr Betts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by what mechanism Sheffield constituencies will be drawn to ensure that all are within five per cent. of a target quota of registered electors without (a) crossing local authority ward boundaries and (b) first reviewing local authority ward boundaries. [7244]
Mr Harper: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 5 July 2010, Official Report, column 24W, a Bill will be introduced before the summer recess to implement the coalition agreement commitment to make provision for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. The independent Boundary Commissions will draw those constituency boundaries. Detailed provisions will be included in the Bill and Parliament will have the opportunity to debate it in full.
Diamond Jubilee 2012
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Government plan to announce the launch of the UK-wide competition for towns to bid for city status as part of the national celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee; what the timescale will be for applications; how many towns will be awarded city status in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland; and what criteria will be used to determine the successful towns. [6303]
Mr Harper: An announcement will be made in due course which gives further details of the national competition for city status. It would be inappropriate to give further details at this stage in the planning process.
Elections: Registration
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he plans to take to seek to ensure 100% electoral registration; and if he will make a statement. [7026]
Mr Harper: The Government will be considering what steps can be taken to improve registration rates in the context of the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration in Great Britain.
The Electoral Commission Report, "The completeness and accuracy of electoral registers in Great Britain", published in March 2010, reported that the registration rate in the United Kingdom was 91-92% (based on figures from 2000). The report also found that: "there was a decline in registration levels from the late 1990s to 2006. The same evidence base suggests that the registers have stabilised since 2006, although it is likely that the completeness of the registers has declined since the last national estimate in 2000."
The report also says the process of estimating registration rates is an "imprecise science" and says that "All current
approaches to estimating the completeness and accuracy of the electoral registers at a national level are imperfect", but that "The completeness of Great Britain's electoral registers remains broadly similar to the levels achieved in comparative countries."
Mr David Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the total registered electorate in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland on 5 May 2011; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of that electorate expected to vote in local elections held on that date. [7210]
Mr Harper: The Government have not made such estimates.
Electoral Systems: Referendums
Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to announce the proposed date for a referendum on the alternative vote; and if he will make a statement. [5984]
Mr Harper: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced to the House on 5 July 2010, Official Report, columns 23-25, the Government intend that the referendum will be held on 5 May 2011. Further details and legislation will follow in due course.
Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the result of a referendum on the alternative vote is to be binding under his proposals for such a referendum. [5985]
Mr Harper: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced to the House on 5 July 2010, Official Report, columns 23-25, the Government intend that the referendum will be held on 5 May 2011. Further details and legislation will follow in due course. As indicated in that statement, the Bill will make explicit provision for the boundary commissions to report on more equally sized constituencies and for the process to be completed by the end of 2013. In the event of a vote in favour of the alternative vote in the referendum, the 2015 general election will be held on the new electoral system and according to the new boundaries.
Justice
Ammanford Magistrates Court
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate has been made of the savings which will accrue to his Department as a result of the closure of Ammanford magistrates court. [6760]
Mr Djanogly: The 2009-10 operating cost of Ammanford magistrates court was £110,392. The closure of Ammanford court house would also remove the need for HMCS investment in backlog maintenance of around £45,000.
An initial impact assessment has been produced for the consultations on proposals for provision of court services across the HMCS estate. This can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
The impacts, costs and benefits of any court closures will be considered more fully during the consultation phase and a full impact assessment will be produced alongside the consultation responses.
I must stress that no decision has yet been taken to close Ammanford magistrates court and I encourage responses to the public consultation that is ongoing and which closes on 15 September.
Annual Reports
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to his Department and its non-departmental public bodies was of printing annual reports in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [7646]
Mr Djanogly: Annual reports and accounts, like all House of Commons papers, are produced and published according to long-established and sophisticated parliamentary procedures, with adherence to strict rules regarding the laying and subsequent publication of the completed document. The printing cost of the annual reports for MoJ HQ and its executive agencies are shown in the following table .
HM Treasury cancelled the mandatory round of full Spring Departmental Report publication for 2010. With an advertising and marketing freeze in place, the printing of the department's annual reports has been put on hold.
| Total printing costs per year | |||
| £ | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| n/a = not applicable, print in-house, not able to identify specific recharge | |||
Ministry of Justice does not centrally collect information on the cost of all annual reports published by all non-departmental bodies and it could be given only at disproportionate cost. This would involve contacting a large number agencies associated with the department. Retrieving the data would involve searching their individual records.
Asbestos: Compensation
Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to provide compensation for people who were exposed to asbestos and have developed asbestos-related diseases on the same basis as was planned by the previous administration. [7016]
Mr Djanogly: I can confirm that we will be proceeding with the implementation of the previously announced limited extra-statutory scheme to provide one-off payments of £5,000 to individuals who had begun, but not resolved, a legal claim for compensation for pleural plaques at the time of the House of Lords judgment. The detailed arrangements for the extra-statutory scheme, including details of the precise qualifying criteria, are still in the process of being finalised and we hope that the scheme will be in a position to start accepting claims as soon as possible.
Courts
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the unused courtroom capacity in (a) Retford, (b) Worksop, (c) Mansfield and (d) Sheffield magistrates court was in 2009. [6611]
Mr Djanogly: The utilised and unutilised courtroom capacity at each of these courts is shown in the following table.
| Courtroom capacity April 2009 to March 2010 | ||
| Percentage | ||
| Utilised | Unutilised | |
| Note: The working assumption is that a courtroom is available 25 hours per week (five hours per weekday). These data come from an internal management system, are subject to our minimal levels of quality assurance and are based on the data currently available. | ||
Courtroom utilisation is the time a courtroom is used, against the hours that a courtroom is available for use. Utilisation rates currently average 64% across the magistrates courts. The Government's aim is to increase utilisation of courtroom time to at least 80%.
Courts: Attendance
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the average cost to HM Courts Service of each non-attendance at court by a (a) defendant and (b) witness. [6759]
Mr Djanogly: We have no estimate of the average cost to HM Courts Service of non-attendance of defendants and witnesses at court. Courts manage their business in order to minimise the impact of non attendance by defendants and witnesses.
Details of ineffective or cracked trials where defendants or witnesses do not attend are set out in the following table.
Departmental Buildings
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many buildings his Department occupies in (a) London and (b) the UK. [6851]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) records indicate that it has a total of 2,090 occupations within properties in the United Kingdom. Of these 278 are in London. The MoJ estate includes ownership and use of (or shared use of) a range of buildings, including prisons, approved premises, probation offices (both administrative and operational), Crown, county and magistrates' courts.
These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
Departmental Human Resources
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on human resources in each year since 1997. [5103]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: My Department spent £100.9 million in 2008-09 and £88.6 million in 2009-10 on human resources. The amount spent for the years 1997-2007 (prior to the establishment of the Ministry) could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in his Department are entitled to the use of (i) a car with a dedicated driver, (ii) a car from the Government car pool and (iii) a taxi ordered through a departmental account. [3199]
Mr Blunt: There are no civil servants or special advisers in the Ministry of Justice entitled to the use of a car with a dedicated driver nor are any entitled to use a car from the ministerial car pool.
MoJ staff, including Ministers and the Department's two special advisers have access to the use of a taxi ordered through departmental taxi accounts or to a car ordered through the Government Car and Despatch Agency, both the taxi account and the car and despatch agency may be used only in exceptional circumstances which may include:
by the time you cease work either public transport is not available for your journey from work to home or it would not be reasonable to expect you to use public transport
heavy baggage has to be transported for work-related reasons.
Departmental Reorganisation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to relocate officials working in his Department from central London to Bassetlaw. [6555]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The location of public sector activity and plans for the Government's estate will be considered alongside other public spending issues over the course of the spending review.
Departmental Training
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training has been provided for Ministers in his Department since the formation of the present administration; and at what cost. [6450]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: Since the formation of the present administration, three Ministers in my Department have completed an 'Induction Workshop for New Ministers' run by the National School of Government. The National School of Government is funded through its core learning programme to deliver induction and other training to Ministers. There was no separate charge to my Department.
In addition, one Minister is currently completing a National School of Government 'Finance in Government Workshop', at a total cost to my Department of £1,000.
No other training has been provided for Ministers.
First Offenders: Custodial Treatment
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) convicted of first offences and (b) given a custodial sentence of six months or less for a first offence in each year since 2005. [7537]
Mr Blunt: Figures for the total number of people who were convicted of their first offence (including indictable, triable-either-way and summary offences) and given a custodial sentence of six months or less for a first offence in each year since 2005 are presented in the following table.
| Number of people convicted in England and Wales courts for their first offence and sentenced to immediate custody of six months or less for their first offence | ||
| Number of people who were convicted for their first offences | Number of people who were given a custodial sentence of six months or less for their first offence | |
Other information on trends in sentencing can be found in "Sentencing Statistics 2008" which was published on 28 January 2010 and can be found at:
The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large-scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
Magistrates
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for how many hours magistrates sat in (a) Worksop and (b) Retford in each of the last 10 years. [6612]
Mr Djanogly: The information requested is provided in the following table:
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