Employment and Support Allowance: Kirkcaldy
Mr Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency have been in receipt of employment and support allowance payments for more than one year. [37453]
Maria Miller: Information on the numbers of claimants who have been receiving employment and support allowance for over 1 year (as at May 2010) is as follows:
|
|
More than one year |
| Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. 2. ESA data are now available on the Department’s website at http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html 3. ESA replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 4. Data include those claimants receiving “credits only”. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Funeral Payments
Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the future of his Department's arrangements for funeral payments and related matters; what recent (a) discussions he has had with and (b) representations he has received from others on funeral payments and related matters; and if he will make a statement. [48813]
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Steve Webb: Funeral payments are not being considered as part of the wider plans for reform of the Social Fund as announced in the “White Paper Universal Credit: welfare that works”. Funeral payments will sit outside universal credit and will continue to be delivered by the Department.
I met representatives of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement and the National Association of Funeral Directors on the 6 of December 2010. At that meeting we discussed a range of issues including the powers we are taking in the Welfare Reform Bill to extend access to social fund budgeting loans to include funeral costs and maternity items. This change will provide additional support to those on low incomes at expensive times in their lives.
Housing Benefit: Jobseeker's Allowance
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition of reasonable job offer his Department plans to use in determining whether a person in receipt of jobseeker's allowance should continue to be entitled to housing benefit. [46041]
Steve Webb: As now, where a claimant does not demonstrate good cause or reason when failing to apply for, or accept, a job when informed of that job by an employment officer of the Department, or where a claimant fails to avail him or herself of a suitable employment opportunity, then that claimant's jobseeker's allowance may be subject to a sanction.
The imposition of such a sanction would have no impact on entitlement for housing benefit. Entitlement to housing benefit will remain as now, with receipt of income-based jobseeker's allowance providing linked entitlement to full eligible housing benefit (which continues even when a JSA sanction is imposed).
Under proposals in the welfare reform White Paper, ‘Universal Credit: welfare that works’, where a jobseeker's allowance claimant fails to accept a job offer, he or she will be liable to a sanction of three months for a first failure, six months for a second and then three years for a third failure.
Poverty: Children
Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take to reach the Government's targets for the ending of child poverty. [43446]
Maria Miller: The Government are committed to tackling child poverty, as the coalition document affirms. We will be stating how we intend to do this in the forthcoming child poverty strategy, to be published shortly.
Social Fund
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the (a) capacity and (b) propensity of applicants for support from the Social Fund to access credit from (i) mainstream providers, (ii) high-cost credit lenders and (iii) credit unions. [49783]
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Steve Webb: We do not have comprehensive information in this area. In respect of credit unions, there are a high number of growth fund loan users who also have declared that they have a social fund loan with the average amount across the country being 31%, with a range of 12% in the East of England and 59% in the North East (figures to February 2011).
Social Fund: Airdrie
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Social Fund (a) budgeting loans, (b) crisis loans and (c) community care grants for the purpose of buying television sets over the value of (i) £500 and (ii) £1,000 were made in Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each of the last five years. [48854]
Steve Webb: In the case of budgeting loans, applicants are asked to tick which of seven categories they need help for, but are not asked to specify the items they require. Television sets would come under the category ‘to buy furniture or household equipment’. Data are not available on the number of awards for each category.
The number of crisis loans or community care grants initially awarded for the purpose of buying television sets over the value of (i) £500 or (ii) £1,000 to residents of Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each of the financial years 2005-06 to 2009-10 was extremely low, being recorded as nil or negligible.
Notes :
1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, the information given does not include applications which were processed clerically and had not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System by the end of the relevant financial year.
2. Data are available for initial awards only. No information is available on the number of awards of the type described which were made after review.
3. Exact numbers have not been given for data protection reasons. ‘Nil or negligible’ means less than five.
Source:
Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
Social Security Benefits: Disability
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will put in place measures to ensure that disabled people in (a) North Swindon constituency and (b) England are made aware of (i) policy changes that may affect them and (ii) the support that is available in dealing with such changes. [38309]
Maria Miller: The Treasury published the document, “Overview of Impact of the Spending Review 2010 on Equalities” alongside the spending review announcement. And we have published a summary of the changes which affect disabled people on the Department for Work and Pensions' website at:
www.dwp.gov.uk/adviser/updates/spending-review-2010
where people are able to register for updates to help keep them fully informed.
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We work with disabled people, who can tell us about the overall effect of public policy and services on their lives, in order to inform policy and strategy development. We will continue to communicate as widely as possible with disabled people about how we can make reforms which enable economic recovery, while ensuring that the impact on disabled people and other disadvantaged groups remains proportionate.
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has commissioned independent assessments to assess the effect of his proposed reform of the mobility component of disability living allowance for (a) people with autism, (b) people with sight impairment, (c) people with Downs' Syndrome and (d) carers; and if he will make a statement. [48861]
Maria Miller: Consideration was given to the equality impacts of the reforms when the proposals were being developed, including the impacts on those with specific conditions. At this point the new assessment has not been finalised and the impact on carers and particular groups of people with disabilities will only be determined when this is completed.
The impact assessment for disability living allowance reform was published on 16 February 2011 and can found at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dla-reform-wr2011-ia.pdf
The equality impact assessment for disability living allowance reform was published on 8 March 2011 and can found at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-dla-reform-wr2011.pdf
These Documents are published by the Department for Work and Pensions and not commissioned independently.
People were also invited to put forward their views on this proposal as part of the wider DLA reform consultation document which was published on 6 December 2010 and ended on 18 February 2011. The response to this consultation will be published shortly.
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has commissioned independent assessments to assess the effect of his proposed reforms to the independent living fund on (a) people with autism, (b) people with sight impairment, (c) people with Downs' syndrome and (d) carers; and if he will make a statement. [48970]
Maria Miller: The Government's position on the Independent Living Fund was set out in the written ministerial statement issued on 13 December 2010, Official Report, column 85WS.
This made clear that the Independent Living Fund will remain closed permanently to new applications and we will safeguard the position of existing recipients by carrying out a formal consultation on future support for existing ILF users while continuing to administer their awards throughout this Parliament. This consultation will take place following the publication of the report by the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support.
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I have met with a number of disability organisations and other bodies to discuss the future of the Independent Living Fund. These include the Chair of Equality 2025, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Disability, and the Disability Charities Consortium and the Disabled Peoples Organisations Group.
It is important to remember that local authorities have primary responsibility for the care of disabled people. Payments from the Independent Living Fund are discretionary awards, not statutory benefits, and do not take precedence over the responsibility of the local authority to make an assessment of a user's needs.
Social Security Benefits: Payments
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to advertise information on the routes people can take if they wish to request not to have (a) winter fuel payment and (b) other universal benefits paid to them; and what mechanisms exists for the voluntary return of such payments already received. [48820]
Steve Webb: We have no plans to advertise information on the way in which requests not to receive future benefit payments should be made.
People have always been able to return their winter fuel payment, or any other benefit, if they wish to.
If people wish to return their payment they can do so by sending it to the address on the letter that came with their payment, or to the office that pays their benefit, with a covering letter indicating whether or not they wish to receive the payment in the future.
We ask people who want to return their payment to do so manually so that it can be dealt with securely under existing departmental financial processes and recorded against their benefit account.
Social Security Benefits: Strokes
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission research into the economic consequences for individuals of stroke and any subsequent effect on the benefits system. [48827]
Maria Miller: The Department has not previously commissioned, not has any current plans for, any specific research into the economic consequences for an individual of stroke. While any evidence on specific conditions is of interest, previous and current work has focused primarily on the overall economic costs of working age ill-health covering all health conditions which can affect an individual's ability to work.
From a benefit perspective, for both employment support allowance and disability living allowance the premise is that eligibility is based not on someone's condition or impairment but rather their functional capability or the care and mobility needs associated with their disability.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer questions 32883, 32884, 32885 and 32886 tabled on 21 December 2010 for answer on 10 January 2011. [40644]
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Maria Miller: I replied to the hon. Member's questions on 15 February 2011; Official Report columns 679-80W.
Education
Academies
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2011, Official Report, column 1224W, on academies, what authority will be responsible for (a) ensuring each academy's compliance with its funding agreement, (b) providing day-to-day advice to academies on operational matters and (c) management of the performance of academies after 2012. [48003]
Mr Gibb: In reply to the hon. Member's previous question, the Government replied that these functions are currently the responsibility of the Young People's Learning Agency. It is the Government's intention that subject to the successful passage of the Education Bill, currently before Parliament, a new Education Funding Agency will be set up from 2012. The Education Funding Agency is intended to be an executive agency within the Department for Education. The Government are considering the precise split of responsibilities between the agency and the rest of the Department, including the responsibilities which the hon. Member asked about and will make decisions in due course.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the proposal for Outwood Grange academy to run Valley and Portland secondary schools. [48852]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education has received expressions of interest from Outwood Grange Academy Trust to develop plans to replace both Valley and Portland secondary schools with two sponsored academies. These expressions of interest have been approved by the Minister with responsibility for schools. He is writing to the hon. Member formally notifying him of this decision.
Academies: Capital Investment
John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the level of capital resources committed by his Department to academies. [40867]
Mr Gibb: The capital budgets for the academies programme in 2010-11 consist of:
a proportion of the budget of £2,241 million which Partnerships for Schools has for meeting the costs of the Building Schools for the Future programme (including academy building projects procured by local authorities under this programme, where the resources committed to academies are determined locally within the funding envelope), academy projects procured separately and the co-location programme
a proportion of the budget of £232 million which the YPLA has for academies’ devolved formula capital allocations and two other programmes to facilitate the participation of 14 to 19-year-olds in education
a Department for Education budget for other academy building costs—£265 million.
Academies’ programme budgets for 2011-12 and future years have not yet been finalised.
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Better Communication Action Plan
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for implementation of the Better Communication Action Plan; and if he will make a statement. [49233]
Sarah Teather: The Government have taken forward the recommendations in ‘The Better Communication Action Plan’ including the appointment of a Communication Champion and the establishment of a Communications Council made up of key voluntary and community sector organisations, health and local authority services and others; a programme of research carried out through The Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR), university of Warwick; a programme of grants to support the alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) sector; a programme from which tools and guidance have been developed to help commissioners across the country improve the way they commission services for children with speech, language and communication needs; and support for the voluntary sector led National Year of Speech, Language and Communication in 2011.
In addition the Government have provided support for the establishment of The Michael Palin Centre in London for children who stammer and a similar centre in the north of England and funded the development of a DVD training resource for teachers.
Children: Deviance and Behaviour Disorders
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate has been made of the proportion of (a) males and (b) females aged 15 to 16 in each region who have been recorded as experiencing (i) emotional and (ii) behavioural difficulties in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [48243]
Sarah Teather: The Department collects information on the number of pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN), or at school action plus, by type of need. Behaviour, emotional and social difficulties are one type of need. Information on type of need is not collected for pupils at School Action.
Information on the number and percentage of males and females aged 15 as at 31 August with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties as their primary type of need has been placed in the House Libraries. Information is provided for 2008 to 2010 by local authority.
The latest available information on the primary need of pupils with special educational needs can be found in the ‘Special Educational Needs in England’ Statistical First Release—in Table 11:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000939/index.shtml
Children's Centres
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has withdrawn any previously allocated Sure Start funding in (a) Brighton Pavilion constituency, (b) the Brighton and Hove area and (c) England for (i) 2010-11 and (ii) the next four financial years. [49369]
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Sarah Teather: Up to the end of the 2010-11 financial year funding for Sure Start Children’s Centres has been made through the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG). The base allocations for Sure Start Children’s Centres for the financial year 2010-11 remain as announced at the start of the 2008-11 comprehensive spending review period. For Brighton and Hove city council and England those figures are as follows:
| £ | ||
| 2010-11 | Brighton and Hove | England |
The Department does not allocate funding at constituency level. It is for local authorities to determine how best to allocate available funding within their areas. The allocations for all local authorities can be found on the Department’s website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a0071055/sure-start-early-years-and-childcare-grant-and-aiming-high-for-disabled-children-ahdc-grant-la-funding-allocations-for-2010-11
Published allocations for Sure Start Children’s Centres are not individually ring-fenced within the main revenue block of the SSEYCG and therefore are notional. Local authorities have the freedom to spend the available funding flexibly within that block to best meet local objectives and priorities, subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Memorandum of Grant letter.
In addition to the capital base allocation the Department had been able to offer some carry-forward of unspent SSEYCG capital funding from prior years. Given the unprecedented fiscal deficit the Department restricted carry-forward of SSEYCG capital (which includes Sure Start Children’s Centres) to cases where funding was required for the completion of the children’s centres programme, or where there was evidence of a contractual commitment either with a building contractor or for goods.
The Department’s calculations of carry-forward are predicated on levels of expenditure from prior years. We are awaiting audited financial returns from a number of local authorities, at which point carry-forward for all local authorities will be finalised.
From 1 April 2011, funding for Sure Start Children’s Centres will be within the Early Intervention Grant. This is a new un-ring-fenced and un-hypothecated funding stream which will give local authorities greater flexibility to target resources strategically and intervene early to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. The Government have ensured there is enough money within the Early Intervention Grant to maintain the network of Sure Start Children’s Centres, accessible to all but identifying and supporting families in greatest need. To date only the EIG funding for the financial years 2011-12 and 2012-13 has been announced and is only available by local authority-the figures for Brighton and Hove city council and all other local authorities in England are available at:
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/e/early%20intervention%20grant%20-%20final%20allocations%20methodology.xls
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Dance and Drama Awards Scheme
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future of the Dance and Drama Awards scheme. [48967]
Mr Gibb: The Dance and Drama Award scheme will continue in 2011/12. All young people and adults currently in receipt of the Dance and Drama Awards, who started on a two or three year course prior to the academic year 2011/12, will be funded to the end of their courses. Students starting courses in September 2011 will also be able to apply for an award.
From September 2012 onwards, support from the Department for Education to enable students to access specialist dance and drama provision will be focused on young people aged 16-19. We intend to work with the schools currently offering Dance and Drama Awards to consider how best to make such support available. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will be considering plans for supporting students aged over 19.
Departmental Local Government Finance
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each local authority received from each (a) revenue and (b) capital funding stream from his Department in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how much funding his Department allocated from each such stream in each year; and what the change was in the level of funding in each such stream between those years in (A) cash and (B) real terms. [49259]
Mr Gibb: Details of the revenue and capital grants paid by this Department to local authorities in 2010-11 and 2011-12 listed as revenue and capital spreadsheets have been placed in the House Libraries.
From 2011-12 the Department has rationalised all their revenue funding streams to local authorities. There will now be just three national funding streams to local authorities, namely the Dedicated Schools Grant and Pupil Premium which are used to fund education services, and the Early Intervention Grant.
The overall amount of the Dedicated Schools Grant and the Pupil Premium for 2011-12 will be based on the number and characteristics of pupils in schools in January 2011. That information is provided to local authorities by schools and will not be available to the Department until June 2011 so it is not possible to do a comparison at this stage between the funding that authorities receive in 2010-11 and 2011-12. However overall funding per pupil will be maintained in cash terms and on top of this schools receive a pupil premium for the most disadvantaged pupils.
The Early Intervention Grant (EIG) is a new grant from 1 April 2011. The grant includes funding streams previously paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government so is not comparable to the funding streams previously paid by the Department to local authorities.
From 2011-12 the Department has also rationalised capital funding streams to local authorities. On 13 December 2010, Official Report, columns 65-70WS, the Secretary of State announced details of allocation of over £2 billion of capital funding for 2011-12 to schools and local authorities.
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The announcement included details of allocation of:
£800 million of basic need funding to local authorities to provide school places where needed in their area, in all categories of taxpayer-funded schools
£858 million of maintenance capital to local authorities to support the needs of the schools that they maintain and for the Sure Start children's centres in their area
£196 million of locally-coordinated VA programme capital to support the maintenance capital needs of voluntary-aided schools
£185 million of devolved formula capital for schools.
The calculation of the change between years is only possible for the capital programmes that have been announced for 2011-12.
For the calculation of the change in real terms we have followed the Treasury's established method. The 2010-11 Devolved Schools Programmes figures have been increased by 2.5% to bring them to forecast 2011-12 prices using HM Treasury's published GDP deflators. The 2.5% deflator is derived from HM Treasury forecasts for GDP deflator increases at the June Budget Report 2010. This is not a measure of the change in construction tender prices during that period and it is not a reliable indicator of the change in local authorities' ability to procure construction works for school buildings.
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible spent on press cuttings services in each of the last 12 months. [25492]
Tim Loughton: Figures for the Department’s spend on national and regional press cuttings services for the last 12 months are outlined in the following table.
| £ | ||
|
|
Department | ALBs |
Public Bodies Reform Programme
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the abolition of the Young People’s Learning Agency. [48626]
Mr Gibb:
The Department is committed to the Government’s drive to reform public bodies, improve transparency and accountability, streamline services and reduce costs. It is not yet possible to provide a specific estimate of the savings that will be achieved by closing the Young People’s Learning Agency. However, the
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savings that do accrue will contribute to the overall departmental savings of up to £673 million anticipated over the period of the spending review.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the abolition of the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency. [48631]
Mr Gibb: The Department is committed to the Government's ambitions to reform public bodies, improve transparency and accountability, streamline services and reduce costs. It is too soon to be specific or to provide a detailed breakdown of the savings that will be achieved by closing the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA). Across the spending review period, the savings from closing the QCDA will contribute to the overall anticipated departmental savings of up to £673 million.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the abolition of the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group. [48633]
Sarah Teather: The cost of supporting the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group (TPIAG) in 2010-2011 was £51,547. This included the Chair's and members' fees and expenses in connection with attending TPIAG's quarterly meetings and the cost of publications that they produced including their annual report.
The group was set up in 2000 to monitor and advise Ministers on the previous Administration's 10-year teenage pregnancy strategy with a remit to end in 2010. The Secretary of State for Education and I agreed in June 2010 that they could continue until the end of their term in December 2010 but the group's work would not be extended beyond that point. I am satisfied that ministerial colleagues and I can access expert advice on teenage pregnancy through the Department of Health's new Sexual Health Forum.
Education: Ofsted
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions Ofsted has used powers under Schedule 5 to the Education Act 2005 to highlight where a school sixth form is failing or underperforming since the entering into force of the Act; and if he will make a statement. [44554]
Mr Gibb: Schedule 5 of the Education Act 2005 now only applies to maintained schools in Wales due to amendments made to it by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (Consequential Amendments) (England and Wales) Order 2010.
Schedule 7 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 was amended by schedule 5 of the Education Act 2005. This required that where a school was removed from special measures, but the Chief Inspector was of the opinion that the sixth form provision of the school required significant improvement, the report must state this.
There were two occasions between 1 September 2005 and 31 March 2010 (the period when schedule 5 applied to maintained schools in England) where a school was
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removed from special measures and judged to be satisfactory for its overall effectiveness, where this judgment did not extend to its sixth form provision. In both cases the inspection reports stated that the sixth form provision was inadequate. One school has since closed; the sixth form provision has closed in the other school.
Over the same period 71 schools were removed from special measures and deemed to require significant improvement, and were issued with a notice to improve. Some 20 of these schools had sixth form provision, five of which received an inadequate grade for their sixth form provision.
Family Breakdown
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to reduce the incidence of family breakdown since his appointment. [48124]
Sarah Teather: Our programme for government made clear our commitment to putting funding for relationship support on a stable, long-term footing and making sure couples are given greater encouragement to use existing relationship support.
The Prime Minister announced in December 2010 that the Department for Education would provide £30 million for relationship support over the spending review period. This is a significant increase on current funding levels and shows our commitment to this area of work.
The Department invited voluntary and community sector organisations to bid for a share of this resource, and successful bidders were announced on 25 February 2011 and will begin delivering services from April. The services will include: supporting the training of staff and volunteers who work with families in relationship distress; making sure relationship support is easily available to the families who need it most, including the most disadvantaged; building the evidence base so that we can develop a clear view of what works in this key area; and working with employers and others to encourage families to take up support when they need it.
The Department is also working closely with the Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions with the aim of joining up support to separating and separated parents so they receive the help they need to work together and make post-separation arrangements that are in their children's best interests.
Family and Relationship Services
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons the contracting process for family and relationship services has been suspended; what the (a) timescale and (b) process is for contracting such services; and what steps he plans to take to ensure the provision of specialist parenting helplines after 1 April 2011. [43552]
Sarah Teather: The procurement process for new family and relationship online and telephone support services for parents and families in England was delayed while we considered the full implications for the family sector of the Department for Education’s spending review settlement.
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I am pleased to inform the hon. Member that departmental officials contacted organisations on 25 February 2011 about the outcome of their applications to the first stage of the procurement process. At the same time, officials provided full details of the tender and a revised procurement timetable to those organisations invited to submit full bids in the second stage of the process. The process for procurement remains unchanged and is fully in line with best practice set by the EU procurement directives and Government procurement rules.
On 25 February officials also contacted those organisations currently in receipt of telephone helpline service grants under the Department’s Family Information Direct programme offering extensions of their grant funding for up to three months from 1 April 2011.
I will write to the hon. Member to let him know the outcome of the procurement process when it is completed.
Free Schools
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the treatment of the (a) property and (b) other assets of free schools in circumstances where the body which has established the school no longer wishes to operate it. [21621]
Mr Gibb: Where property and other assets owned by a free school have been acquired from public sources or using public money, or had their value enhanced by capital funding from the Department, we will ensure—through the funding agreement between the Secretary of State and the academy trust responsible for the free school—that the Secretary of State's interests are protected, and that as many of these assets as possible are made available for continuing use in the public education sector. Where this is not possible or desirable, the funding agreement will also make sure that the free school secures the maximum value from any disposal of the asset. In so far as this relates to school buildings and land, this approach accords with the legislation governing the disposal of publicly funded maintained school sites.
The current Education Bill includes additional provisions to protect publicly funded land held by academy trusts so that such land remains available for public use or the public investment can be recouped. Any solely privately owned assets will be governed by the arrangements drawn up between the owner and the academy trust.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the budget is of his Department’s free schools group. [24756]
Mr Gibb: £54 million has been set aside in the financial year 2010-11 to meet the capital needs and start-up costs of free schools.
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department (a) has provided and (b) committed to provide to free school projects for which the business case has been approved; what proportion of such provision has been for (i) capital costs, (ii) project development, (iii) start-up costs and (iv) grants for insurance costs; and how much his Department spent in total on the free schools programme was in the period between 12 May 2010 and 1 March 2011. [48932]
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Mr Gibb: Every free school is different and the costs will vary between projects. Many of these costs are yet to be determined and paid, so it is not possible to provide detailed figures at this stage. Full details of the support costs of free school projects will be made available shortly after a free school opens, when a total figure is known.
£50 million has been set aside in the financial year 2010-11 to meet the capital needs of free schools. Beyond that, provision forms part of the overall spending review settlement for schools.
Free Schools: Admissions
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on admissions policies for free schools. [49123]
Mr Gibb: Like academies, free schools will be expected to have inclusive admission arrangements. Groups proposing to set up free schools set out their proposed admissions arrangements in their business case and plan. The Secretary of State considers this information when taking a final decision on whether to enter into a funding agreement with the free school academy trust.
Where a free school academy trust has determined the admission arrangements for the free school, any persons or bodies who have been consulted on the arrangements can object by making representations to the Secretary of State. No recent representations have been received on admissions policies for free schools.
Further Education Colleges and Schools: VAT
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an assessment of the effects of changes in the rate of value added tax on (a) further education colleges and (b) schools. [39519]
Mr Gibb: Colleges are independent providers responsible for the management of their own estates and the delivery of their own programmes and services. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Skills Funding Agency do not collect information about the value added tax paid by further education colleges and have not made any assessment of how the change of rate will affect them.
Schools also have to bear their input VAT. However, as maintained schools are regarded as part of local government for this purpose and local authorities are able to recover schools’ input VAT under section 33 of the VAT Act 1994, schools are able to do likewise.
Further Education: Schools
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2011, Official Report, column 951W, on further education: student numbers, whether it is his policy to increase the number of 14 and 15-year-olds spending part of their week studying in a further education college; and if he will make a statement. [49734]
Mr Gibb: The Wolf report was published on 3 March 2011 and recommended that Government should:
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“make explicit the legal right of colleges to enrol students under 16 and ensure that funding procedures make this practically possible. Colleges enrolling students in this age group should be required to offer them a full KS4 programme, either alone or in collaboration with schools, and be subject to the same performance monitoring regime (including performance indicators) as schools.”
We intend to publish a Government response to the review shortly.
GCSE
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has plans to set a GCSE floor target for secondary schools for (a) 2012, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020; and if he will make a statement. [49438]
Mr Gibb: The Schools White Paper; “The Importance of Teaching” published in November 2010 set out floor standards against which the performance of primary and secondary schools would be judged. The White Paper also made clear that, given our expectation that school performance will improve year on year, we intend in future to make the secondary standard more demanding by continuing to raise the level of the floor standard over time. As the current floor standards have just been introduced, no specific plans or time scales for any changes have yet been agreed.
Literacy: Teaching Methods
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department made of the evidence cited in footnote 32, paragraph 2.20 of the Schools White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, on the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics; and whether officials of his Department have discussed the research findings cited with the authors. [49272]
Mr Gibb: Officials have assessed the research findings referred to in footnote 32 to paragraph 2.20 of the White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ but have not discussed these findings with the authors.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed Year 1 phonics screening test. [49305]
Mr Gibb: We intend to pilot the Year 1 phonics screening check in approximately 300 schools this June. The cost of the pilot is currently estimated at £250,000 excluding the cost of print and distribution, and monitoring and evaluation, where procurement is not yet complete. We will publish further information on the funding of the pilot once procurement is complete and detailed costs are finalised.
We will continue to gather evidence and take advice from schools about the check during the pilot stage before finalising the arrangements, and confirming the costs, for the introduction of the check as a statutory assessment in 2012.
Members: Correspondence
Mr Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick)
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of 17 and 25 November and 12 December 2010, on the abolition of education maintenance allowance. [34842]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 20 January 2011]: A single response to the letters to the Secretary of State of 17 and 25 November 2010, signed by Lord Hill, was sent to the hon. Member on 25 January 2011. The Department has no record of receipt of a letter from the hon. Member dated 12 December 2010, but will be happy to reply if he wishes to send the letter again.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much additional funding for schools in Nuneaton constituency he expects to be provided through the proposed pupil premium. [31940]
Mr Gibb: The 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 (FSM) 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 the Young People’s Learning Agency 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.
Local authorities will also attract the looked after child pupil premium for 2011-12 which will be allocated to local authorities for pupils who at some point in the year to 31 March 2010 were looked after continuously for at least six months, and who were aged four to 15 on 31 August 2009 as recorded on the April 2010 local authority return. Each pupil will attract £430 of funding which will go to the responsible local authority who will pass it to maintained schools for pupils who have been in care for six months or more in the year to 31 March 2011.
The January 2010 school censuses allow an estimate of the number of pupils known to be eligible for FSM to be made. In the Nuneaton constituency in January 2010 there were 2,031 pupils known to be eligible, which would give rise to a pupil premium of £873,330. In addition to this there were 17 pupils known to be eligible for the service child premium, paid at a lower rate of £200 per pupil, which would give rise to a further £3,400. However, these are estimates only and are not necessarily indicative of how the pupil premium will be distributed. It is not possible to determine the number of parliamentary constituency pupils recorded on the Alternative Provision census or recorded as looked after as they are both local authority, rather than establishment level, returns.
Tables that contain these estimates, disaggregated by local authority, region and constituency can be found in the House Libraries.
Schools
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of schools in each region are participating in his Department's extended schools programme. [48255]
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Sarah Teather: The Department does not collect data on the number or proportion of schools in each region that are offering extended services.
Schools: Finance
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will align the publication of information about the budgets of maintained schools and academy schools. [37957]
Mr Gibb: Maintained schools spending data is based on consistent financial reporting (CFR) data submitted by schools to the Department. This information was published on 12 January 2011 on the Department’s website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/b0072409/background
Academies, including schools which have recently converted to academy status, are not required to submit CFR data. However, they are required to publish financial information in other formats.
The Department for Education is considering whether there should be changes to the way in which academies report financial information, taking account of the current reporting requirements for maintained schools and the wider transparency agenda across Government, while at the same time considering the need not to impose unnecessary burdens on academies.
School Sports
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average amount of time spent by (a) primary and (b) secondary school children on organised sport or physical activity in each year from 2005 to 2009. [26788]
Tim Loughton: This information is not collected in the format requested. However, the annual PE and sport survey collected data on the percentage of pupils taking part in at least two hours of high quality PE and sport each week, as follows:
| Percentage of 5 to 16-year-olds taking part in at least two hours high quality PE and sport each week | |
|
|
Percentage |
In 2008/09 and 2009/10, the survey collected data on the percentage of pupils taking part in at least three hours high quality PE and sport each week, as follows:
| Percentage of 5 to 16-year-olds taking part in at least three hours high quality PE and sport each week | |
|
|
Percentage |
While this shows an increase on the amount of time pupils have spent doing PE and sport, the proportion of pupils doing competitive sport regularly has remained disappointingly low. Only around two in every five
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pupils (39%) play competitive sport regularly within their own school, and only around one in five (21%) plays competitive sport regularly against other schools.
Teachers: Qualifications
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals he has for the (a) requirements of and (b) standards to be met by teachers in (i) free schools and (ii) academies. [49148]
Mr Gibb: The Schools White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, set out our commitment to raising the prestige and esteem of the teaching profession and driving up standards across the board. An independent review of teaching standards is currently under way to establish clear and unequivocal standards which all schools can use to promote the highest quality of teaching in all classrooms
Academies are required, through their funding agreement, to employ teachers who hold Qualified Teacher Status or are otherwise eligible to do specified work under the Education Regulations 2003 and will therefore be subject to the outcomes of the review.
Innovation and diversity are at the heart of free school policy and in this spirit we will not be setting overly prescriptive requirements in relation to qualifications of staff. But proposers will have to make clear how teaching standards will be maintained in their applications. We expect, however, that free schools will find the revised standards a helpful tool for performance management and staff development and will be free to adopt them if they wish.
Teacher Training
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on the provision of financial incentives for teacher training in shortage subjects. [49127]
Mr Gibb: As announced in the Schools White Paper 2010—The Importance of Teaching, the Department will shortly publish a discussion document on the funding of initial teacher training, including financial incentives for trainees in priority subjects, from academic year 2012/13. The document will provide the opportunity for those who have an interest in, or are directly involved with, the training of teachers to provide comments on our proposals.
In the meantime, we hold regular discussions with key representatives of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) community and other subject associations which help inform policy development. The Secretary of State for Education wrote to the Training and Development Agency for Schools on 31 January 2011 with details of the training bursary arrangements for graduates who will undertake initial teacher training in academic year 2011/12. Raising the number of specialist science, mathematics and modern language teachers in schools is a high priority for the Government and we have confirmed that trainees in all of these subjects will be offered bursaries at the same levels as 2010/11.
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Third Sector
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and its predecessors have provided to each charity it funds in each of the last five years; and how much he has allocated for funding to each such charity in each of the next five years. [48290]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not monitor the amount we provide to charities, and to find this information from historical records could be achieved only at disproportionate cost. However, individual payments over £25,000 made by the Department since 1 April 2010 are available for public scrutiny at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/b0065427/departmental-and-alb-spend-over-25000/
The Department does not budget at a level of detail that enables us to forecast the amount to be paid to charities.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to answer question 35419, on public appointments, tabled on 18 January 2011. [47133]
Tim Loughton: A response to the hon. Member's question was issued on 29 March 2011, Official Report, column 288W.
Young People: Local Government Finance
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the outcome of the spending review on local authority funding for children and young people’s services. [19268]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 25 October 2010]: Details of the funding made available to local authorities for children and young people’s services were announced on 13 December 2010 as part of the local government finance settlement; and were laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government as a statutory report relating to Local Government Finance in England 2011-12 on 31 January 2011. The settlement confirmed the protection for schools and services for vulnerable children as announced in the comprehensive spending review.
Youth Services: Finance
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what Sefton Council’s Early Intervention Grant Allocation was in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11; and what provision for early intervention has been made in the local government settlement for Sefton Council for 2011-12. [38885]
Sarah Teather
[holding answer 7 February 2011]:The new Early Intervention Grant (EIG) brings together funding for universal as well as specialist services in recognition that both have an important role to play in identifying and supporting families who need extra help before problems escalate, and helping them get more
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intensive support if needed. It will be introduced from 2011-12 and will be un-ring-fenced. The EIG rationalises a range of centrally directed programmes to ensure local authorities have greater flexibility and freedom.
Although there were centrally directed predecessor grants to the EIG, there was no direct equivalent to it in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Sefton’s indicative allocation under the EIG in 2011-12 is £11.3 million.
Attorney-General
Crown Prosecution Service
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many pre-charge decisions the Crown Prosecution Service has made in 2010-11 to date. [49800]
The Attorney-General: Between the period of 1 April 2010 and 28 February 2011, the Crown Prosecution Service has made 430,172 pre-charge decisions.
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases in (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown Courts the Crown Prosecution Service has presented in 2010-11 to date; and what proportion did not result in a conviction. [49801]
The Attorney-General: Between the period 1 April 2010 and 28 February 2011, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted 767,018 cases in magistrates courts, of which 103,748 (13.5%) did not result in a conviction. In the Crown Court, the CPS prosecuted 106,777 defendant cases, of which 21,740 (20.4%) did not result in a conviction.
Domestic Violence: Prosecutions
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions there have been for cases involving allegations of (a) domestic violence, (b) rape and (c) other sexual offences in 2010-11 to date; and what proportion of such cases have resulted in a conviction. [49854]
The Attorney-General:
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for compiling the official crime statistics. Data for the period 2010-11 to date are not yet available.
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However, according to administrative data held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the number of prosecutions finalised between 1 April 2010 and 28 February 2011, and the proportion resulting in convictions are as follows:
| CPS—domestic violence prosecutions | |||
| Convictions | |||
|
|
Number | Percentage | Total prosecutions |
| Crown Prosecution Service—rape prosecutions | |||
| Convictions | |||
|
|
Number | Percentage | Total prosecutions |
| Crown Prosecution Service—sexual offences excluding rape prosecutions | |||
| Convictions | |||
|
|
Number | Percentage | Total prosecutions |
While every effort is made to ensure that recorded data are complete and reliable, figures are subject to possible errors in data entry and processing, as with every large scale recording system.
Where a defendant charged with rape is recorded as having been convicted, this may include a conviction for a charge other than rape, including a lesser charge.
Magistrates Courts: Convictions
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of cases presented in magistrates courts by the Crown Prosecution Service (a) resulted in a conviction and (b) have been discontinued in 2010-11 to date. [49799]
The Attorney-General: Between the period 1 April 2010 and 28 February 2011, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted 767,018 cases in magistrates courts, of which 663,270 (86.5%) resulted in a conviction. Of the 103,748 unsuccessful outcomes, 29,707 cases were discontinued equating to 3.9% of total prosecutions in the magistrates court.