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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Scotland
Devolution
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on the likely effect on the budget of the Scottish Parliament of the ending of end-year flexibility. [46783]
Michael Moore: I have regular discussions with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on a wide range of issues. The Government's priority is to deal with the deficit, and the end-year flexibility system has led to accumulated stocks of around £20 billion across the United Kingdom which would further increase the deficit if they were spent. The Government have therefore committed to abolish this system and to replace it with a new system which will provide flexibility while strengthening spending control. However, in recognition of the unique situation of the devolved Administrations, the Government have allowed Scotland to carry forward £130 million of agreed under spend from this year into next.
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the ending of end-year flexibility has been discussed with the Scottish Government in the Joint Ministerial Committee. [46785]
Michael Moore: I can confirm that the matter was discussed at the last Joint Ministerial Committee (Domestic) on 2 February 2011.
Firearms
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his contribution of 7 March 2011, Official Report, column 716, on the Scotland Bill, whether BB guns fall within the definition of air weapons which the Scottish Parliament will have the power to ban under the provisions of the Scotland Bill. [45941]
David Mundell: The term ‘BB gun’ is understood to be a type of airgun which fires a BB projectile through a smoothbore barrel. Since their muzzle energy is commonly so low as not to be lethal, BB guns and airsoft guns do not generally fall within the subject-matter of the Firearms Acts.
The Scottish Parliament will be able to legislate in relation to BB guns following the passage of the Scotland Bill, subject to complying with any other relevant constraints on legislative competence.
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Women and Equalities
Human Trafficking: Females
Mr Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the number of women victims of human traffickers who are subsequently re-trafficked. [45533]
Damian Green [holding answer 10 March 2011]: I have been asked to reply.
I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of trafficking issues.
We are committed to ensuring that victims of trafficking who voluntarily return to their home country get the support that they need to reintegrate effectively, and we work closely with non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners to achieve this.
Northern Ireland
Regulation
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what regulations his Department introduced between 2 February and 28 February 2011; [46965]
(2) what regulations his Department revoked between 2 February and 28 February 2011. [46966]
Mr Swire: My Department introduced no statutory instruments in the period between 2 February and 28 February 2011.
The Northern Ireland Office has responsibilities chiefly on constitutional, electoral and national security fields; they do not generally concern business regulation. My Department has not revoked any regulations during this period.
House of Commons Commission
Oral Questions
Duncan Hames: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many questions for oral answer were entered into the shuffle for each of the three most recent question times for each Government Department and other answering body; and if the Commission will make arrangements for the routine publication of these figures. [46624]
John Thurso: The number of questions for oral answer which were entered into the shuffle for each of the three most recent question times for each Government Department and other answering body is shown in the following table:
| Department | Date of Question Time | Substantive | Topical | Total |
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|
Church Commissioners, Public Accounts Committee and Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission |
||||
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For departmental question times lasting one hour, 25 substantive and 10 topical questions are drawn in the shuffle. Fewer questions are drawn for departments and other answering bodies with shorter question times. Fifteen questions are drawn for Prime Minister's Questions.
In response to the hon. Member's question the House of Commons Table Office will now provide weekly information on the Intranet on the number of hon. Members entered for each shuffle.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Finance
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effects on arts and cultural organisations of the reduction in levels of expenditure by local authorities. [46992]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Department's strategic bodies, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Arts Council England and English Heritage, are monitoring the effects of the local authority budget decisions on arts and cultural organisations. We continue to monitor and assess proposals being made about changes to library services across England. Consideration by the Secretary of State of whether or not any statutory powers should be used to assess an authority's compliance with the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 will be made on a case-by-case basis and after careful consideration of all relevant facts and local circumstances.
BBC
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will meet the Chairman-designate of the BBC Trust to discuss the requirements of that post in respect of the oversight of BBC editorial guidelines relating to the UK’s membership of the EU. [44955]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: I have no plans to do so.
The BBC’s obligations on impartiality are set out in its charter and agreement. The details of the BBC charter and agreement can be found at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/about/how_we_govern/charter_and_agreement/
The role specification makes clear that the chairman of the BBC Trust is required to ensure that
“the BBC fulfils its responsibilities as outlined in the Royal Charter.”
Broadband
Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will put in place mechanisms to ensure the delivery of high-quality on-demand content to households which do not wish or cannot afford to pay for subscription services. [21018]
Mr Vaizey: At present, we are satisfied with the current arrangements which place an obligation on public service broadcasters to make available high-quality content and much of this can be accessed on-demand without any extra charge. People also need access to the infrastructure to connect to on-demand services and we announced earlier this year our plans to create a broadband infrastructure for our country that meets the needs of all its citizens and businesses, and that will stand comparison with anywhere in the world.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether tender documents for further contracts to provide high-speed broadband services are to be issued by individual local authorities. [46792]
Mr Vaizey: Local authorities in England will be the procuring authority. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the respective devolved Administration will be co-ordinating local interest and determining the appropriate level of procurement.
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Broadband: Lancashire
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions Broadband Delivery UK has had with Lancashire county council on its issue of tender documents for a contract for the provision of high-speed broadband. [46970]
Mr Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) has had a number of discussions with Lancashire county council about their tender documents once we were contacted and told of their intention to issue them. BDUK expects Lancashire county council to be submitting a bid as part of the Wave 2 process which would be considered in the same way as any other bid received as part of this process.
Broadcasting: Advertising
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of the broadcast advertising production sector to the economy. [32384]
Mr Vaizey: We do not hold data on the economic contribution of the broadcast advertising production sector. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport Creative Industries Economic Estimates provide estimates of the advertising sector as a whole and the latest data show that the advertising sector contributed 0.7% of total UK GVA in 2008.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of his Department’s adherence to each of the principles of good employment practice set out in the Cabinet Office publication Principles of Good Employment Practice. [42615]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport recognises the importance and value of good employment practices in delivering public services. The voluntary Principles of Good Employment Practice are expected to be relevant in circumstances where Government’s employees transfer to the contractor’s work force. The principles were developed from discussions with trade unions and suppliers. In such circumstances, the Department should ensure that suppliers are aware of the principles and encourage application of the principles.
To date, no assessment has been made since the issue of Procurement Policy Note: The Withdrawal of the Two-Tier Code Information Note 22/10 (17 December 2010). There will be a review of the application of the new principles through the Public Services Forum (PSF), a national forum chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude). The PSF brings together Government, public, private and voluntary sector employers and trade unions. The review will take place during 2011.
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Internet: Young People
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what consultation his Department is undertaking on steps to address levels of internet addiction among young people. [46418]
Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will not be undertaking any such consultation.
Olympic Games 2012: Berkshire
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many contracts relating to the London 2012 Olympics have been awarded to businesses and organisations based in (a) Reading West constituency, (b) Reading and (c) Berkshire; and what the monetary value is of each such contract. [46634]
Hugh Robertson: Information on businesses in the south-east of England that have directly supplied the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is available in the business section of the London 2012 website at the following link:
www.london2012.com/get-involved/business-network/oda-suppliers/index.php
Currently 42 businesses have been awarded contracts in Berkshire, with an estimated value of £ 17,456,470.35; of these, eight contracts were awarded to businesses in Reading with a value of £ 12,670,055.40 and four to businesses in the Reading West constituency valuing £1,387,094.58. These figures only account for the contracts awarded by the ODA to its own top tier of contractors (tier one contractors). The figures do not include the value of contracts further down the supply chain, in tiers two, three and so on, which are awarded by the tier one contractors and not by the ODA. The ODA estimates that the total value of supply chain contracts to the regions runs into millions of pounds, but these are not public procurements and so the full value of contracts won across the UK is not captured by the figures provided. The ODA estimates that overall up to 50,000 contracts will be generated throughout its supply chains.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is a private company, as such we do not record details of contracts awarded by LOCOG.
Education
Academies
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) by what date he expects schools graded good by Ofsted to be able to apply for academy status; [39122]
(2) what criteria he plans to use to determine the schools which will be first to be invited to apply for academy status; [39121]
(3) what account he plans to take of the (a) contextual value added by and (b) the financial position of a school in determining which schools are next to be invited to apply for academy status. [39120]
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Mr Gibb: We want to give all schools that wish to do so the opportunity to become academies. Schools rated as outstanding and schools rated as good with one or more outstanding features in their most recent Ofsted inspection can already apply to become an academy in their own right.
All schools can apply as part of a chain where at least one school in the chain is either outstanding or good with outstanding features. In addition to the Ofsted inspection, applications are considered according to a range of factors including whether there is a substantial budget deficit or plans to support a weaker school.
Children: Disability
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding will be available to local authorities for the provision of disabled children’s services in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013. [27000]
Sarah Teather: We have announced that £800 million of funding will be provided to local authorities through the new early intervention grant (EIG) over the spending review period (£198 million in 2011-12; £202 million in 2012-13; £206 million in 2013-14; and £210 million in 2014-15).
The new early intervention grant (EIG) has been set up to provide funding to local authorities to support early intervention and preventative services for children, young people and their families. It is not ring fenced.
It will be for local authorities to determine how they use that resource to best effect, including what services would be funded for families with disabled children.
Connexions: Finance
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department allocated to Connexions in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [40702]
Mr Gibb: The budget totals for Connexions are as follows:
|
|
£ million |
National Curriculum
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) which subjects will be considered under his Department’s National Curriculum review; [33677]
(2) who he has appointed to lead his Department’s reviews of each National Curriculum subject; [33678]
(3) what arrangements are in place to encourage members of the public to contribute to the National Curriculum review. [33679]
Mr Gibb
[holding answer 18 January 2011]: Details of the review of the National Curriculum, including its scope, timetable and how it will be led and managed, were given by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend, in a written ministerial statement
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issued on 20 January 2011,
Official Report,
column 47WS. Further detail is available in the remit for the review which has been placed in the House Libraries.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2011, Official Report, column 558W, on education maintenance allowance: Ashton-in-Makerfield, for what reason the education maintenance allowance was withdrawn before a full equality impact assessment was undertaken in respect of the replacement scheme. [41950]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 28 February 2011]: In reaching the decision to end the EMA scheme we focused on the evaluation evidence and other research, which indicates that EMA is not targeted on young people who most need financial support to enable them to participate in education.
Discussions on distributional impacts, including impacts on equality, informed the process for spending review discussions and decisions, and the Department for Education worked closely with HM Treasury to assess the impact on different sections of society.
We are replacing the education maintenance allowance with a new learner support fund so that we can target support more closely to those students facing genuine financial barriers to participation.
A full equality impact assessment for the introduction of the new learner support funding will be published in due course, once final arrangements for the operation of the new fund have been developed.
Education Maintenance Allowance: Somerset
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students at Bridgwater college and Strode college (a) in total and (b) resident in Wells constituency receive weekly education maintenance allowance payments of (i) £10, (ii) £20 and (iii) £30. [39224]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Wells with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Peter Lauener dated 14 February 2011:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question PQ39224 that asked:
“How many students at Bridgwater College and Strode College (a) in total and (b) resident in Wells constituency receive weekly education maintenance allowance payments of (i) £10, (ii) £20 and (iii) £30.”
Information on the number of young people who have received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is available for upper tier local authorities but not by constituency.
EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
The table below shows as at 25 January 2011 the take-up for the 2010/11 academic year in total and broken down by payment bands for Bridgwater and Strode Colleges and Somerset Local Authority.
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| As at 25 January2011 | EMA Take-up | £10 | £20 | £30 |
EMA take-up data showing the number of young people who have received one or more EMA payments during 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 is available on the YPLA website at the following address:
http://ema.ypla.gov.uk/resources/research/takeup/
Education: Finance
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what purposes he has allocated funding from the public purse to (a) the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and (b) the National College for School Leadership; and what tasks have been completed as a result of the provision of such funding. [40249]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 11 February 2011]:The information is as follows:
(a) The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) is an independent charity which derives its income from a range of sources. The Department has grant funded SSAT to support the Specialist Schools and Academies programmes. SSAT’s work has included helping schools to meet the standards of the Specialist Schools programme and developing networks of specialist schools and academies. SSAT has also won a number of contracts from the Department in open competition. These relate mainly to the provision of school improvement services. Details of SSAT’s income from all sources are available in SSAT's published accounts, which are available on the Charity Commission website.
(b) The National College website contains full details of its activities and funding in annual reports and accounts for current and previous years, see:
www.nationalcollege.org.uk
The college has three broad objectives: (i) to ensure a strong supply of school leaders; (ii) to improve the quality of school and children's centre leadership, and (iii) to identify and deploy the best leaders to support struggling schools. Evidence shows that:
150,000 leaders have participated in the college’s programmes since 2000, and that
schools which engage in the college’s programmes improve faster than those that do not, with the most engaged schools improving fastest.
Employment Schemes: Young People
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department allocated to the January Guarantee in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [40701]
Mr Gibb: The January Guarantee offered any 16 or 17-year-old who was not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January 2010 a place on an Entry to Employment Programme. The January Guarantee did not operate in any other year.
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£40 million was made available to deliver the January Guarantee. This included funding for 10,000 additional Entry to Employment places, education maintenance allowance for those young people who were eligible, and advice and support for young people to find a suitable opportunity. The funding covered the costs incurred in both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 financial years; for example, where young people were offered places that continued beyond March 2010.
Free Schools
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many staff of his Department (a) in total and (b) in full-time equivalent terms are assigned to the Free Schools Team; [37910]
(2) how many civil servants in his Department have been allocated to work on free schools. [37969]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 February 2011]: As at 15 February 2011, there are 97 people employed in the Free Schools Group. This is equivalent to 94.92 FTE (full-time equivalent) people.
Further Education
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to increase the number of 14 and 15-year-olds taking further education courses; and if he will make a statement. [37037]
Mr Gibb: We expect the vast majority of 14 and 15-year-olds to follow the National Curriculum and take GCSEs and, where appropriate, other qualifications at level 2. In her report, published on 3 March, Professor Alison Wolf recommended that the Government make explicit the legal right of further education colleges to enrol young people under 16, and ensure that funding procedures make this practically possible. She also stressed the importance of a core academic programme for all young people to the age of 16, regardless of the type of educational institution they are attending. We are currently considering all of Professor Wolf’s recommendations and will publish a Government response in the spring.
Grammar Schools
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of secondary school children who attend selective schools. [38009]
Mr Gibb: In 2010, there were 164 wholly selective secondary schools in England. The percentage of all state-funded secondary school pupils attending these schools was 4.9%.
Members: Correspondence
Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of 13 December 2010 and 12 January 2011 on his constituent Miss Hannah Kelly. [42810]
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Tim Loughton [holding answer 28 February 2011]: The Minister of State for Children and Families, the hon. Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), replied on 5 March.
Music and Mathematics
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on a potential link between participation in music lessons and attainment in mathematics by children and young people. [38929]
Mr Gibb: Research commissioned by the Department for Education from the Institute of Education shows that quality music education improves behaviour, attention and concentration and has a hugely positive effect on numeracy and language skills. From an analysis of available evidence the Institute of Education concluded that active engagement with music can improve mathematical performance. Ensuring all young people have the best possible music education will help the Government achieve our twin aims of driving up standards and reducing the attainment gap.
Postgraduate Education: Finance
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he intends to inform providers of Postgraduate Certificate of Education courses of the (a) funding and (b) criteria for funding for the year beginning in September 2011. [33292]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), wrote to the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) on 31 January 2011 to notify them of the national initial teacher training place allocations and financial incentive arrangements for trainees for academic year 2011/12. We have confirmed that eligible graduates starting Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses in that academic year will receive £9,000 training bursaries in the subjects of physics, chemistry, engineering and mathematics and £6,000 bursaries in biology, combined/general science and modern foreign languages.
The TDA has now given initial teacher training providers the details of their training place allocations for 2011/12.
Pre-school Education: Finance
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) playgroups and (b) providers of early years care on their ability to provide each child with 15 hours of care a week; if he will assess the merits of allowing such providers to request top-up payments from parents to cover any additional costs; and if he will make a statement. [30595]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 14 December 2010]: Good quality early education helps tackle disadvantage and improve children’s life chances. We announced in the spending review that funding has been protected so that all three and four-year-olds will continue to receive 15 hours per week of free nursery education, and that this will be extended to every disadvantaged two-year-old from 2013.
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Fairness is at the heart of the Government’s agenda. Local authorities have a statutory duty—under section 7 of the Childcare Act 2006—to secure nursery places free of charge, effectively prohibiting top-up fees. This ensures that there are no barriers to accessing the benefits of nursery education for all children, but particularly the most disadvantaged. Parents are free to purchase additional hours and services outside of the hours for which providers receive funding from local authorities.
Many providers up and down the country are offering an excellent service to parents and their children within existing funding levels. The Government are listening to the views of early years providers and their representative bodies concerning funding issues. The Government are seeking to improve the efficiency with which funding is distributed to providers, through the Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) reforms, as well as reducing bureaucratic burdens on providers who deliver free nursery education. Many providers will also be benefiting from other support that local authorities provide for early learning and care. Providers will want to take into account this whole package of support before deciding whether delivering free places fits with their business model.
Pupil Numbers: Home Education
Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2011, Official Report, column 26W, on home education: Durham, if he will put in place a mechanism to collect information on the number of home-schooled children. [43142]
Mr Gibb: We are still considering in detail our approach to home education and whether any changes need to be made to the existing arrangements.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Young People's Learning Agency 16 - 19 Funding Statement, which areas will be entitled to the £150 million additional funding for young people in disadvantaged areas in 2011-12; and to how much funding each area will be entitled. [38658]
Mr Gibb: The £150 million of redirected funding will help increase the total funding in the national funding formula which addresses student deprivation to almost £770 million in 2011/12; an increase of more than one-third from 2010/11. This funding will be allocated through the disadvantage uplift and Additional Learner Support elements of the funding formula. It is not possible at present to say which geographical areas, or how much each area, will receive of this deprivation funding as this will not be known until the funding allocations for 2011/12 are finalised and communicated to providers by the end of March.
Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to allocating funding through the pupil premium to schools in which a significant proportion of children are members of families whose leave to remain in the UK precludes them from recourse to public funds. [39443]
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Mr Gibb: The deprivation pupil premium for 2011-12 will be allocated to local authorities and schools with pupils that are known to be eligible for free school meals as recorded on the January 2011 school census, pupil referral unit census and alternative provision census. Each pupil known to be eligible for free school meals will attract £430 of funding which will go to the school or academy, via the local authority or YPLA if the pupil is in a mainstream setting, or will be managed by the responsible local authority if the pupil is in a non-mainstream setting. We aim to extend the coverage of the pupil premium from 2012-13 onwards to pupils who have previously been known to be eligible for free school meals.
Children whose parents are in receipt of one of the following are entitled to receive free school meals and, as a result, will be eligible for the pupil premium:
Income support (IS)
Income based job seeker’s allowance (IBJSA)
An income-related employment and support allowance
Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Child tax credit (provided they are not entitled to working tax credit) and have an annual income which from 6 April 2010 does not exceed £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs(1)
Guarantee element of state pension credit.
Children who receive IS or IBJSA in their own right are also entitled to receive free school meals.
We have considered what other criteria might be used for allocating the pupil premium within the necessary timeframe. Determining eligibility for families who do not have recourse to public funds is not currently feasible due to legal and cost barriers in accessing data concerning such families in a useable format. If the family has no recourse to public funds and is unable to claim free school meals then they will not be eligible for the pupil premium.
(1) Where a parent is entitled to working tax credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment ceases, or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are entitled to free school lunches.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average level of funding per pupil in (a) Barnet local education authority area and (b) London in 2011-12. [40641]
Mr Gibb: In 2011-12, Barnet will receive a guaranteed unit of funding per pupil of £5,642, including £725 for specific grants that have been mainstreamed into the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). The London average guaranteed unit of funding per pupil is £6,290.
The final DSG allocations for local authorities will be based on the January 2011 pupil count and will be published in summer 2011.
Schools: Capital Investment
Mr Gale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools other than academies had rebuilding programmes (a) authorised and (b) funded since his statement to the House on 5 July 2010, Official Report, columns 47-73, and the publication of further details on 12 July 2010; and if he will include details for each
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non-academy school named in the further list published on 6 August 2010. [41215]
Mr Gibb: The question requests details of schools (a) authorised and (b) funded since the statement of 5 July 2010, Official Report, columns 47-73. Project authorisation is confirmed through the approval of the final business case, at which point a promissory note is issued. This is also the point at which the funding is finalised and agreed.
We have therefore defined (a) and (b) as the approval of schools at final business case after 5 July 2010 that have been given a commitment to fund through a promissory note.
There are 80 non-academy schools that have been given such approval and information is provided as follows. Some schools have been renamed since the publication of details on 12 July 2010. The table is correct as at 11 February 2011 and reflects the current name of each school.
| Authority | School name |
|
The International School and Community College East Birmingham |
|
|
New SEN Facility to replace Springfield and Elms special Schools |
|
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|
Inclusion Centre(s)/PRU (Gorton EV, Chorlton, Burnage, Newall Green Inclusion Centres) |
|
Schools: Finance
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what date he expects his Department's capital expenditure in schools from March 2012 to be published. [36422]
Mr Gibb: The Department expects to publish school capital allocations for 2012-13 by December. Details of allocations from 2012-13 will depend on the outcome of the Capital Review, but overall allocations are expected to be broadly in line with those for 2011-12.
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much capital funding has been allocated by his Department for school building, repair and maintenance to each local authority area in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [42850]
Mr Gibb:
On 13 December 2010, the Secretary of State for Education announced over £2 billion of capital allocations to local authorities and schools for new
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pupil places and to address their capital maintenance needs in 2011-12. Details of these allocations by each local authority area can be found on the Department's website. Further allocations will be made for 2012-13 until 2014-15 in the light of the outcome of the capital review which the Secretary of State launched last year and which is expected to report shortly.
In addition to the funding already announced, funding will be provided, for example, for those Building Schools for the Future and academy projects that are continuing, to ensure the projects' completion.
Schools: Vocational Guidance
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanism he plans to establish to ensure that schools deliver a professional and individualised careers service to pupils seeking to enter higher education. [25142]
Mr Hayes: The coalition Government are committed to improving the quality and consistency of information for prospective university students. We want applicants to be able to easily understand what a course will cost, what it will contain and where it might lead. To ensure pupils make well-informed choices about their options at 18, they need access to impartial careers advice that is independent of any organisation with a vested interest and underpinned by objective information and data. That is why schools working in partnership with expert, independent careers advisers will be at the heart of our new arrangements for careers guidance. Both strong leadership and a work force of the highest calibre are needed to guarantee a consistent level of professional expertise. We are therefore working with the Careers Profession Alliance to establish common professional standards and a code of ethics and to ensure that careers qualifications include an appropriate focus on the essentials of careers guidance.
Students: Finance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost to the public purse of educating a pupil in (a) England and (b) London was in each of the last three years. [40420]
Mr Gibb: The available information is shown in the following table.
| Net school-based expenditure (excluding pre-primary) per pupil in England and local authorities in London from 2007-08 to 2009-10 | |||
| Total school-based expenditure (excluding pre-primary) per pupil | |||
|
|
2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
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| Notes: 1. School-based expenditure includes only expenditure incurred directly by the schools. This includes the pay of teachers and school-based support staff, school premises costs, books and equipment, and certain other supplies and services, less any capital items funded from recurrent spending and income from sales, fees and charges and rents and rates. This excludes the central cost of support services such as home to school transport, local authority administration and the financing of capital expenditure. 2. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DfE annual schools census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 3. Financial information used in this answer is taken from the DfE section 251 outturn statements. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 14 February 2011. | |||
Teachers: Training
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for in-school teacher training; and if he will take steps to safeguard the Graduate Teacher scheme in Tees Valley district. [38350]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 4 February 2011]: The Secretary of State for Education wrote to the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) on 31 January 2011 to notify them of the national initial teacher training place targets for academic year 2011/12. The TDA has written to training providers with detailed allocations for 2011/12 including those for the Graduate Teacher Programme in the Tees Valley. These allocations have seen small increases for both the primary and secondary phases. As set out in the Schools White Paper 2010, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, our intention is that there should be an increasing emphasis on school-led training, for example through Teach First and Teaching Schools.
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Teaching Methods: Peterborough
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the performance in (a) Peterborough and (b) other locations of the (i) Every Child Counts and (ii) Every Child a Reader programmes; and if he will make a statement. [46317]
Mr Gibb: We have not carried out analysis on a local authority basis of the Every Child a Reader (ECaR) and Every Child Counts (ECC) programmes.
Regular management information on the programmes is collected and shared by the Institute of Education and Edge Hill university, who deliver training for ECaR and ECC respectively. Edge Hill university has recently published its annual management report on ECC at:
http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/everychildcounts/general/Impact.html
Independent evaluations are currently under way for both programmes, with final reports expected to be with the Department by the end of March.
Vocational Education Review
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his letter of 9 September 2010 to Alison Wolf, what plans he has to publish Alison Wolf’s interim report on vocational education. [34873]
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education by what date he expects the Wolf Review of vocational education to report. [41379]
Mr Gibb: The Wolf Review of Vocational Education reported on 3 March 2011. The Government are very grateful to Professor Wolf for such a valuable piece of work. We are now considering her recommendations and will publish a formal response this spring.
Vocational Guidance
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to monitor the quality of careers advice procured by schools for young people. [39554]
Mr Gibb: Through the Education Bill, schools will be placed under a duty to secure access to independent, impartial careers guidance for all pupils aged 13 to 16. A new national quality standard for careers guidance providers will serve as an indicator of quality for schools who will be free to determine how best to fulfil the new duty, based on their understanding of the needs of their pupils.
We will put in place a strong accountability system to ensure that schools are helping all their pupils to prepare for successful progress post-16. We are reforming performance tables to remove perverse incentives for schools to encourage pupils to pursue courses that are of little or no value. In addition, we are developing a Key Stage 4 Destination Measure to show young people and parents what a school’s former pupils go on to do at age 17.
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Written Questions: Government Responses
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to answer question 42085, on regulations, tabled on 16 February 2011 for answer on 28 February 2011. [46989]
Tim Loughton: A response to the hon. Member's question was issued on 14 March 2011, Official R eport, columns 44-46W.
Justice
Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons he has not accepted the recommendations of Sir Rupert Jackson and others to abrogate the indemnity principle in response to the consultation on the Green Paper, Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales; and if he will reverse his decision. [46207]
Mr Djanogly: As indicated in the Ministry of Justice consultation paper ‘Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Recommendations’, published on 15 November 2010, the Government are not persuaded that it is necessary to abrogate the indemnity principle and are therefore not proposing any further work on it at this stage.
Community Orders
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average hourly cost to the public purse is of supervising an individual on unpaid work on (a) Mondays to Fridays (i) during the day and (ii) during the evening, (b) Saturdays and (c) Sundays in respect of (A) group and (B) individual placements. [45965]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is developing systems to break down current expenditure on a service by service basis, including unpaid work (also known as community payback). Once the information has been reviewed and validated, we will then consider how best to use it to meet commitments under the Government’s Transparency Agenda.
The NOMS Specification, Benchmarking and Costing (SBC) Programme is creating specifications to be used in commissioning the services NOMS funds. This includes work to support benchmarking by estimating how much it should cost to deliver each service.
Using fieldwork undertaken in 2009, the average approximate hourly cost of supervising an individual sentenced to unpaid work, excluding the cost of commencing the sentence, and rounded to the nearest pound, is estimated to be:
For group placements, £9 on weekdays (average of daytime and evenings) and £11 on weekends, and for individual placements, £5 per hour irrespective of the timing of the placement.
More information, including an explanation of how these figures are derived is available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/directory-services.htm
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average hourly pay rate is of supervisors of unpaid work in (a) London and (b) the rest of England and Wales. [45966]
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Mr Blunt: Probation staff are employed by the 35 probation trusts. As such, actual pay is set by a combination of a local trust’s pay scale, and the level of experience of the individual member of staff.
Further, trusts decide which grades of staff are responsible for the delivery of unpaid work.
NOMS does not collect information on average pay rates for the supervision of unpaid work on a consistent basis.
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to bring forward proposals for reform of the criminal injuries compensation scheme. [46971]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is currently subject to review.
We will bring forward proposals once the review has been concluded.
Departmental Land
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will takes steps to reduce the size of his Department's estate; and if he will make a statement. [45893]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is reducing the size of its estate in order to provide flexibility in the way that people work and to help reduce costs. There are a number of projects currently under way, including:
reducing the size of the Department's Estate by decreasing the number of central London HQ buildings from 18 to 4;
the closure of HMP Lancaster Castle and HMP Ashwell and the change of use of HMP Morton Hall to an immigration removal centre (IRC);
the closure of 142 magistrates and county courts, which will significantly reduce the court service estate;
the reduction of the probation estate by taking advantage of lease breaks to exit properties and consolidate staff into a smaller number of buildings, and encouraging co-location of other related departments and flexible work space arrangements.
Disability Living Allowance: Tribunals
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appeal tribunal cases relating to disability living allowance were heard in (a) Reading West constituency, (b) Reading and (c) Berkshire in each of the last 10 years. [46629]
Mr Djanogly: The Tribunals Service only holds data relating to its Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction from and including the 2007/8 business year. Prior to this date, the information was held on the SSCS’s previous case management system and is no longer accessible to the Tribunals Service. The data from 2007-08 are recorded against the tribunal venue where an appeal was heard.
The number of DLA appeals heard in (b) Reading is shown in the following table. The number of appeals held in (c) Berkshire is the same as (b) as Reading is the only SSCS tribunal venue in this county.
Appeals for people living in Reading and in Berkshire are not necessarily heard in Reading.
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| Disability living allowance cases heard in Reading | |
|
|
Number |
The Tribunals Service can provide data for the number of DLA appeals where the appellant gave an address in the Reading (RG) postcode area. It will take approximately one week for these data to be extracted from the database and when this information is complete, the data will be placed in the Library of the House.
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Employment Tribunals Service
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunal cases were heard in each region between 2008 and 2010. [46020]
Mr Djanogly: The information in the following table shows the number of jurisdictional cases that were heard in each employment tribunal office and region for the complete financial years 2008-09, 2009-10 and quarters 1 and 2 of 2010-11 (April-September 2010). For the purposes of this question, the term ‘hearing’ includes case management discussions, pre-hearing reviews, merits hearings, review hearings and, where necessary, remedy hearings.
| Number of employment tribunal cases by region | |||
| Hearings | |||
| Northern region | |||
|
|
2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 (1) |
| Hearings | |||
| Southern region | |||
|
|
2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 (1) |
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| (1) 2010-11 data are for quarters 1 and 2 (April-September 2010) (2) The figures provided may include certain discrepancies in respect of the Nottingham and Leicester offices because different databases were being used to collate data at different times. Rounding: Figures in the table are rounded independently and thus may not add to totals. The following conventions have been used: Values less than 100 remain as unit values; Values from 100 to 999 are rounded to the nearest 10; Values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest 100. Source: ET Central database March 2011 | |||