Free Schools
Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what requirements there are for public consultation on the location of free schools. [48368]
Mr Gibb: The duty to consult on the establishment of a Free School is set out under Section 10 of the Academies Act 2010.
Free Schools: Admissions
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether free schools will be obliged to adopt fair admissions criteria which place emphasis on increasing access to high quality education for children from all backgrounds. [49578]
Mr Gibb: All Free Schools are required, through their funding agreements, to follow the Admissions Code which aims to ensure that all school places are allocated and offered in an open and fair way.
The law requires that Free Schools provide places for children of all abilities who are mainly from the area in which the school is situated.
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Free Schools: Wellingborough
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications to establish a free school in (a) Wellingborough constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England his Department has received since May 2010. [47655]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 18 March 2011]: As at 23 March 2011, a total of 323 free school proposals have been received from groups and individuals in England. Of these, three proposals are from Northamptonshire but none from the Wellingborough constituency.
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GCSE
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) all pupils, (b) pupils eligible for free school meals and (c) pupils not eligible for free school meals achieved A* to C grades at GCSE in (i) English language, (ii) mathematics, (iii) two sciences, (iv) a language, (v) a humanity and (vi) all five of these subjects in each year since 1997. [38000]
Mr Gibb: The available information is given in the following table.
| Number of pupils (1) achieving A*-CGCSE grades by free school meal eligibility years: 2009 (final data) to 2010 (amended data), coverage: England, maintained schools (including Academies and CTCs) | ||||||
| Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Pupils not eligible for free school meals | All pupils (2) | ||||
|
|
2009 | 2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (2) Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. (3) Pupils who achieved A*-C at Double award Science GCSE, in both (Core Science or Single Science) and Additional Science GCSEs or in at least two of the following subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biological Science. (4) Pupils who achieved A*-C at GCSE in History, Geography or both subjects. There is no set definition of ‘Humanities', this definition is in line with the proposed English Baccalaureate. (5) Pupils who achieved A'-C at GCSE in at least one of the following subjects: French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Urdu, Persian. Source: National Pupil Database | ||||||
The additional data are not currently available, the Department will be conducting new analysis to prepare the data from 2003 and will place a copy in the House Libraries once it has been completed and write to the hon. Member. However, pupil level characteristics data are not available before 2002.
Industrial Health and Safety
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress his Department has made in reviewing the health and safety regulations for which it is responsible since his appointment. [36975]
Tim Loughton:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for Health and Safety regulations within the UK and it is their responsibility to review their regulations. HSE has not announced a significant change in the regulations. There are no health and safety regulations which are aimed specifically at the education system. Where health and safety regulations
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have an impact upon the education system or working environment the Department for Education continues to have an active dialogue with the HSE to ensure that the regulations that apply have good guidance and are applied proportionately.
Marriage Guidance: Finance
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to (a) put funding for relationship support on a stable, long-term footing and (b) encourage couples to access existing relationship support. [36783]
Tim Loughton: In his speech on 10 December, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will dedicate £7.5 million a year over each of the next four years to supporting relationships. This will put funding for relationship support on a stable footing. (Through “Improving outcomes for children, young people and families: a National Prospectus” my Department has invited organisations to apply for grants for relationship support, including “work to encourage couples to take up preventative support to develop and sustain their relationship” as one of its priorities for this dedicated funding.)
Public Bodies: Reform Programme
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the powers of those bodies that are proposed for abolition in the Education Bill will be transferred to the Secretary of State following the closure of those bodies. [38699]
Tim Loughton: In all cases the Secretary of State will be taking on some of the powers, apart from the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, where he is taking on none.
The new delivery model will also produce tangible benefits for schools, governors, teachers, parents, children and the public, by allowing more resource to be directed at the front line, where it matters most. The greater coherence and accountability of the system will enable our customers to see more clearly who is accountable for what, and to speak more directly to Government about their concerns. Instead of having several, sometimes conflicting, voices from official agencies giving different versions of the Government’s policy, there will be a single clear message coming direct from Government. The abolition of several ALBs signals an end to centralised control over aspects of education where there is no need for the government to be involved, and supports greater devolution to localities and the front line, enabling more decisions to be taken by schools themselves, rather than by intermediate bodies The creation of executive agencies, rather than simply bringing the delivery functions into the Department, is also aimed at safeguarding independence in areas where this is important.
Pupils: Bullying
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) for what reasons no mention was made of transphobic bullying in sections 3.6, 3.19 and 3.20 of the Schools White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”; and if he will make a statement; [49367]
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(2) if he will ensure that information on where to seek guidance on how to deal with transphobic bullying will be included in the proposed new anti-bullying in schools guidance; and if he will make a statement. [49368]
Mr Gibb: The Government are committed to tackling all forms of bullying particularly those motivated by prejudice. We want every school to have a strong ethos on good behaviour which includes a culture of respect and acceptance among pupils, staff and the rest of the school community. The Schools White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, is a wide-ranging document which sets out the Government’s overall approach to different aspects of education, one being behaviour. In that chapter, we made it very clear that schools should not tolerate any form of prejudice-based bullying, regardless of motivation.
Homophobic bullying was cited as an example of bullying which is prevalent and often not tackled effectively. However in developing anti-bullying strategies, school staff should assess the particular motivations behind bullying in their schools including, where appropriate, any transphobic bullying, and incorporate those issues accordingly.
Our proposed new short advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying will highlight transphobic bullying as one of the types of prejudice-based bullying schools should address. This advice will also signpost schools to further resources from external organisations who are experts in transgender issues. Officials have been working with a range of organisations in developing this advice.
School Sport Partnerships
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the likely effects on levels of youth crime of ending the funding for the School Sport Partnership prior to taking his decision to do so. [27590]
Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Home Office about the likely effects on levels of youth crime of the changes to school sports funding. However, this Department works closely with other Departments with an interest in taking forward the new approach to school sport.
Funding of £47 million has been paid to school sport partnerships to fund their work up until the end of the summer term 2011. Ring-fenced funding for partnerships will not continue beyond then. Instead, the Department is making available £65 million of new funding for schools to enable them to provide more opportunities for competitive sport. The funding will cover the school years 2011/12 and 2012/13, and will pay for one day a week of a secondary PE teacher's time to be spent out of the classroom, encouraging greater take up of competitive sport in primary schools and securing a fixture network for schools to increase the amount of intra- and inter-school competition.
In addition, at the Sports Colleges Conference in February, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport announced outline plans for a network of School Games Organisers from September 2011. These organisers will be funded by the Department of Health and Sport England for three days a week to help
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schools sign up for the nationwide school games. Further details on the funding for these organiser posts and their precise roles will be announced shortly.
School Sports
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much of his Department's budget for funding for school buildings and facilities he expects to be spent on sports facilities; and if he will make a statement. [27400]
Tim Loughton: Decisions on the amount of capital funding to be spent on school sports facilities are for schools and local authorities. The Secretary of State would expect them to take into account the need for sufficient and adequate facilities for physical education and sport when making these decisions.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the likely number of redundancies arising from his Department’s reduction in expenditure on school sport in the school year 2011-12. [36871]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 31 January 2011]:Staff who make up the previous Administration’s PE and sport strategy are employed by a mixture of schools, local authorities and others, and the Department does not collect redundancy information from these bodies.
Science: Secondary Education
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of prospects for the future of science teaching in schools at (a) Key Stage 3, (b) GCSE and (c) A-level. [17233]
Mr Gibb: Our White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”, and subsequent announcements have set out the Government’s plans for comprehensive reform of school curriculum, qualifications and teacher supply. These reforms will lay the foundations for improving teaching at all stages, including Key Stage 3, GCSE and A levels, and ensure that standards in science, and those for other subjects, match those of the best performing countries.
In addition, the White Paper confirmed that we will provide targeted support specifically to tackle long-standing problems in science and mathematics education. We will support programmes to improve the supply of specialist science teachers and ensure that they can develop their subject knowledge and teaching skills during their careers. We will also support schools in improving the take-up, teaching and achievement in the most demanding and rigorous science options such as GCSE Triple Science, and A level Physics and Further
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Mathematics. We will be announcing in due course our detailed polices, programmes and funding to secure these objectives.
Special Educational Needs
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Green Paper on special educational needs, when he plans to publish the national special educational needs and disabilities voluntary and community sector prospectus. [47286]
Sarah Teather [holding answer 18 March 2011]: “Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability” signals a significant involvement for the voluntary and community and social enterprise sector (VCS) in taking forward proposed reforms.
“Support and aspiration” explains our intent shortly to issue an SEN and Disability prospectus which will set out the key areas in which we will make funding available and guidance for organisations that wish to bid for grants or contracts.
We have already provided £6.5 million to SEN and Disability VCS organisations for projects which will start in April 2011 following an earlier exercise which began in November 2010.
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of school pupils with each type of special educational need in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England. [48411]
Sarah Teather: Pupils with special educational needs comprise those at School Action, School Action Plus or with statements of special educational needs.
School Action is where extra or different help is given from that provided as part of the school's usual curriculum. School Action Plus is where the class teacher and the SEN coordinator receive advice or support from outside specialists (the specialist teacher, an educational psychologist, a speech and language therapist or other health professionals). A pupil has a statement of special educational needs when a formal assessment has been made. A document setting out the child's needs and the extra help they should receive is in place.
The information requested is shown in the following table for pupils at School Action Plus or with statements of special educational needs. Information on type of need for pupils at School Action is not collected.
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
| Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools (1,2,3) : Number and percentage of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) by type of need (4,5 ) January 2010—Ashfield parliamentary constituency, Nottinghamshire local authority and England | ||||||
| Pupils with SEN at School Action Plus | ||||||
| Ashfield parliamentary constituency | Nottinghamshire local authority | England | ||||
|
|
Number | % (6) | Number | % (6) | Number | % (6) |
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| Pupils with statements of SEN | ||||||
| Ashfield parliamentary constituency | Nottinghamshire local authority | England | ||||
|
|
Number | % (6) | Number | % (6) | Number | % (6) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Excludes dually registered pupils. (5) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with a statement of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is given here. (6) Number of pupils by their primary need expressed as a percentage of all pupils at School Action Plus or with a statement of SEN. (7) Fewer than five pupils or a rate based on fewer than five pupils. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census. | ||||||
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of school children diagnosed with each type of special educational need resident in (a) Bolton South East constituency, (b) Bolton, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) England. [49596]
Mr Gibb: The Department holds information on the number and proportion of school children diagnosed with each type of special educational need. This information can also be broken down by the type of school, and that information, along with information for all schools, has been provided in the following table:
| All schools (1,2,3) , maintained primary (1) , state-funded secondary (1,2) and special schools (3) : Number and percentage of pupils by type of special educational need (4,5) —January 2010 final, England | ||||||||
| Pupils with SEN by their primary type of need (1,2) | ||||||||
| Bolton South East parliamentary constituency | Bolton local authority district | Greater Manchester | England (6) | |||||
|
|
No. | % (7) | No. | % (7) | No. | % (7) | No. | % (7) |
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| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Pupils with SEN status of School Action Plus and those with pupils with statements of SEN who provided information on their primary, and if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is supplied in this table. (5 )Excludes dually registered pupils. (6) Includes pupils with missing or invalid postcodes. (7) Number of pupils by their main need expressed as a percentage of all pupils with SEN status of School Action Plus or with statements of SEN. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. | ||||||||
Special Educational Needs: Training
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions his Department has had with Teach First on future levels of training for special educational needs teachers. [49941]
Mr Gibb: Following the publication of the SALT Review (Independent Review of Teacher Supply for Pupils with Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (SLD and PMLS)), called for by the previous administration, officials had informal conversations with a range of organisations including Teach First.
The Training and Development Agency (TDA) for schools is now taking forward special educational needs training as part of ITT training courses.
Special Schools
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many special schools he has visited since May 2010. [39249]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 8 February 2011]:The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove), has visited a number of schools since May 2010 but has not so far visited a special school. In January, the Secretary of State together with the Minister of State (Sarah Teather) and the Under-Secretary of State (Lord Hill of Oareford) hosted 52 special school head teachers at a Breakfast Briefing.
Sure Start: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has provided to Sure Start in each year since its inception; and how much he has allocated to the programme in each of the next five years. [48252]
Sarah Teather: The funding allocated to local authorities for Sure Start since its inception is shown in Table 1:
| Table 1 | |||
| £ million | |||
|
|
Revenue | Capital | Total |
| (1) In 2004 to 2006 local authorities received a two year allocation | |||
The first Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) were set up in 1999-2000. Prior to 2003-04 SSLP revenue funding was provided to local programmes not to local authorities and is therefore excluded from the table above. From 2003-04 it was paid to local authorities and is included in the table above. The most reliable data for the period prior to 2003 are for expenditure rather than allocation.
The SSLP revenue expenditure for 1999-2003 is shown in Table 2:
| Table 2 | ||||
| £ million | ||||
|
|
1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 |
The SSLPs received a single capital allocation for the period 1999 to 2006 of £479,638,144.
From April 2011, Sure Start children's centres funding will be provided to local authorities via the Early Intervention Grant which is an un-ring-fenced and un- hypothecated grant for early intervention and preventative
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services that will total £2,222,555,697 in 2011-12 and £2,307,196,996 in 2012-13. Allocations beyond 2012-13 have not been announced.
Sure Start children's centres are at the heart of the Government's vision for supporting families with young children and intervening early to prevent problems from becoming crises. Through the Early Intervention Grant, the Government have ensured there is enough money to retain a network of Sure Start children's centres, accessible to all but identifying and supporting families in greatest need. The Government have made it clear that it is for local authorities to determine the most effective use of the grant. Local authorities will have greater flexibility, but they remain under statutory duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to consult before opening, closing or significantly changing children's centres and to secure sufficient children's centres provision to meet local need, so far as is reasonably practicable.
For details of final local authority EIG allocations please go to:
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/e/early%20intervention%20grant%20-%20final%20allocations%20methodology.xls
Teachers: Qualifications
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what (a) process and (b) timetable he has put in place for allowing qualified further education lecturers to teach in school classrooms on the same basis as qualified school teachers; and if he will make a statement. [49454]
Mr Gibb: Following her review of vocational education, Professor Wolf recommended that Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status should be recognised in schools for the delivery of vocational education. The Secretary of State for Education immediately accepted this recommendation.
Professor Wolf’s recommendation will be implemented as soon as possible subject to statutory requirements and parliamentary process. We will consult fully on any amendments to the existing regulations.
House of Commons Commission
Wines
Simon Kirby: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the House of Commons Service spent on wine in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [49085]
John Thurso: The House's Catering and Retail Service holds a stock of wine for resale, which is replenished as and when required, but does not generally purchase wine to be laid down for future consumption. The valuation at the end of 2009-10 was £45,717. In 2009-10 purchases for re-sale were £497,403. Some wine is purchased for official receptions, but the cost of wine for these cannot be separately identified.
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Cabinet Office
Alcochol and Drugs: Death
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths in the Medway area were (a) alcohol and (b) drug related and how many of those who died were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years old in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [50049]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking how many deaths in the Medway area were (a) alcohol and (b) drug related and how many of those who died were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years old in each of the last five years for which figures are available. (50049) .
The tables attached provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was (a) alcohol-related (Table 1) and (b) drug poisoning (Table 2), for persons aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years, in Medway unitary authority, for the years 2005 to 2009 (the latest year available).
Figures for alcohol-related deaths in the UK, England and Wales, and government office regions are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14496
Figures for deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales by sex, age, cause and substance involved are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=11695
| Table 1. Number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was alcohol-related, Medway unitary authority, 2005 to 2009 (1,2,3) | |||||
| Deaths (person) | |||||
| Age group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The specific conditions which are included in the National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in Box 1. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |||||
| Box 1 : National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths | |
| Cause of death | ICD-10 codes |
|
Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (excluding Biliary cirrhosis) |
|
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| Table 2. Number of deaths where drug poisoning was the underlying cause of death, Medway unitary authority, 2005 to 2009 (1,2,3) | |||||
| Deaths (persons) | |||||
| Age group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The ICD-10 codes for drug poisoning are shown in Box 2. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |||||
Employment: Horticulture
Nic Dakin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has made an estimate of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are employed in the gardening industry; and whether he has assessed trends in the levels of employment of young people in the gardening industry in the last 10 years. [49766]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has made a estimate of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are employed in the gardening industry; and whether he has assessed trends in the levels of employment of young people in the gardening industry in the last 10 years. 49766
The available information is provided in the attached table. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
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| Number of people aged 16-24 who are employed in the gardening industry (1) , three months ending December, 2000 to 2010, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | |
|
|
Thousand |
| (1) The gardening industry has been defined as: agriculture service activities; landscape gardening; landscape service activities and gardeners employed in private households. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.) Source: Labour Force Survey | |
Government: Assets
Ben Gummer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what action the Cabinet Office is taking to co-ordinate the sale of property assets across the government estate. [49379]
Mr Maude: As announced in Budget 2011, the Government, as part of the programme for the more efficient use and consolidation of their property holdings, continue to look at property disposals. Asset sales may be appropriate where the property is surplus and market conditions are right, and updates will be provided when specific transactions are envisaged.
Public Sector: Manpower
Mr Syms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Poole constituency are employed in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector. [50545]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in Poole constituency are employed in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector. (50545)
31 Mar 2011 : Column 505W
Public sector employment statistics for local areas can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey.
According to APS figures, in the 12 month period October 2009 to September 2010, in Poole constituency 29,000 were employed in the private sector and 10,000 were employed in the public sector.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Unemployment
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of workless households in (a) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (b) Medway Council area and (c) Tonbridge and Malling constituency. [50048]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the number of workless households, in (a) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (b) Medway Council area, and (c) Tonbridge and Malling constituency (50048).
The figures requested come from the Annual Population Survey (APS) household datasets. The latest data currently available is for 2009. The attached table shows estimates for Chatham and Aylesford constituency and Medway. Due to the specific nature of your request it is not possible to provide reliable estimates for Tonbridge and Malling constituency because of small sample sizes.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. This is captured in a confidence interval, defined by lower and upper bounds, such that the interval formed between the bounds would contain the true value for 95% of all possible samples.
| Table 1: Number of workless households (1) in Chatham and Aylesford constituency, and Medway | |||
| Thousand | |||
|
|
Estimate | Lower bound (2) | Upper bound (2) |
| (1) Households containing at least one person aged 16 to 64, where all individuals aged 16 or over are not in employment. (2) 95% confidence interval. Source: APS household dataset | |||
Health
Allergies: Health Services
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is taking steps to increase the number of allergy specialists in the NHS. [50042]
Paul Burstow:
It is for local commissioners to assess the priorities for developing local services to meet the needs of their populations. The Department will then agree with strategic health authorities and NHS Employers
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the number of training posts needed to meet estimated future demand in each specialty. In the case of allergy services, decisions by local commissioners will be informed by the outcomes of a pilot study in NHS North West of the concept of a multi-disciplinary “allergy centre” as advocated in the 2007 report by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.
Care Homes
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the effect of the reduction in funding for local authorities on the cost to patients of placements with independent social care providers; and if he will make a statement. [49785]
Paul Burstow: The spending review recognised the importance of social care in protecting most vulnerable in society. In recognition of the pressures on the social care system in a challenging local government settlement, the coalition Government have allocated an additional £2 billion by 2014-15 to support the delivery of social care. This means, with an ambitious programme of efficiency, that there is enough funding available both to protect people’s access to services and deliver new approaches to improve quality and outcomes.
Local authorities are responsible for decisions on how to allocate their resources, and the contracts that they negotiate with independent care providers. The Department does not collect information on these contracts.
Cataracts: Waiting Lists
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has a target for the treatment of cataract patients within three months of referral. [50250]
Mr Simon Burns: There is no specific target for the treatment of cataract patients. The right to start consultant-led treatment, including consultant-led cataract treatment, within maximum waiting times remains in the NHS Constitution. As set out in the NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12, commissioners should ensure that waiting times performance does not deteriorate and where possible improves during 2011-12.
Departmental Public Opinion
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure has been incurred by his Department on (a) opinion polling, (b) focus groups and (c) other forms of market research in each month since 1 January 2010; what surveys were commissioned; what the purpose was of each survey; and if he will publish the findings. [49839]
Mr Simon Burns: A list of expenditure incurred by Department on opinion polling, focus groups and other forms of market research in each month since 1 January 2010; what surveys were commissioned; and what the purpose was of each survey, could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as the Department does not hold this information centrally.
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Health Services: Walsall
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the change in the number of staff employed by Walsall primary care trust or its successor as a result of implementation of proposed changes to the NHS. [50111]
Mr Simon Burns: The estimated staff redundancy and transfer rates were published in the impact assessment alongside the current Health and Social Care Bill.
The Department has not estimated a local breakdown of these figures, as this will depend on local decisions.
The impact assessment is available at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsLegislation/DH_123583
A copy has already been placed in the Library.