EU Law
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what European directives in force on 1 April 2010 his Department is responsible; and what European directives for which his Department is responsible have come into force since 1 April 2010. [60686]
Robert Neill: The directives in force on 1 April 2010 for which this Department is responsible, as lead Department are:
Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (85/337/EEC)
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2002/91/EC)
Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (2001/42/EC).
This Department is also responsible for implementing parts of the following directives, but is not the lead Department on them:
Public Participation Directive (2003/3 5/EC)
Professional Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC)
Framework Directive (89/391/EEC)
Workplace Directive (89/654/EEC)
Chemical Agents Directive (98/24/EC)
Explosive Atmospheres Directive (99/92/EC).
For the last four directives on the list, the Department's responsibility is confined to the general fire safety precautions at work aspects of the directives.
There are no directives that have come into force since 1 April 2010 for which this Department is responsible.
Fire Services
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the Government to publish its response to the consultation on the FiReControl Project. [62536]
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Robert Neill: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 16 June 2011, Official Report, column 927W, to the hon. Member for Derby North (Chris Williamson).
Fire Services: Pensions
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the reform of fire service pension schemes. [60594]
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with Ministers in HM Treasury on proposed reforms to fire service pension schemes. [62293]
Robert Neill: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from Her Majesty's Treasury to discuss a range of matters.
Fire Services: Public Finance
Mr Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if he will
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assess the effects of the timing of his announcement of the formula grant funding to be made available to fire and rescue services in 2014-15 on the ability of such services to make provision for continuity of service; and if he will make a statement; [62777]
(2) whether he has issued guidance to the fire and rescue service on changes to service delivery resulting from the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement. [62778]
Robert Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 January 2011, Official Report, column 305W. I also refer him to my letter to fire and rescue authorities on the spending review of 20 October 2010, a copy of which is already in the Library of the House.
Fire Services: West Midlands
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many rescues from fires the fire service carried out in the West Midlands in each of the last five years. [62775]
Robert Neill: The numbers of people rescued from fires by firefighters in the West Midlands in each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
| Rescues from fires by firefighters in the West Midlands, 2006-07 to 2010-11 (1) | |||||
|
|
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 (1) |
| (1) Provisional. (2) Numbers of rescues are not held centrally for most Fire and Rescue Services prior to April 2009. Source: Fire and Rescue Incident Databases, DCLG | |||||
Hartlepool Borough Council
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's policy is on allowing Hartlepool borough council to change its model of local authority governance from elected mayor to (a) leader and cabinet and (b) councillor committee structure; and if he will make a statement. [61952]
Robert Neill: The people of Hartlepool voted in a referendum to have an elected mayor. It is open to the people to vote in a referendum to change this governance model, statute providing that any such referendum can be held only after 10 years from the initial referendum.
Homelessness: Sunderland
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in Sunderland Central constituency were classed as homeless in the last 12 months. [61991]
Grant Shapps: Homelessness data are not collected at constituency level.
Information about local authorities' discharge of their duties under homelessness legislation is collected on quarterly P1E returns. Summary information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library of the House and via the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to ensure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available and this information is also collected.
Local authority level tables giving this information for 2010-11 are published in live table 784 at the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1918724.xls
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Information is also collected on rough sleeping. Since 1998, only councils in areas with a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem were required to conduct an official rough sleeper count—which meant that only 70 councils submitted information to central Government. Figures published in July 2010 showed that under this previous method, on any given night there were 440 rough sleepers in England. However, the coalition Government wanted a more complete measure of rough sleeping and when the remaining 256 councils provided estimates of the scale of the problem in their areas, this added a further estimated 807 rough sleepers—taking the national total to 1,247 rough sleepers on any given night.
Rough sleeping figures are published by the Department on the DCLG website and are given by local authority in the table 2 at the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1845849.xls
Under new guidance all councils across England will now provide information on rough sleeping. This move follows consultation with homelessness charities and councils and is aimed at getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem in each area so more targeted support can be provided to some of the most vulnerable in society.
Housing: Thames Gateway
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 19 March 2008, Official Report, column 1206W, on housing: Thames Gateway, how many new additional dwellings were provided throughout the entire Thames Gateway in each year between 2001-02 and 2009-10. [62229]
Grant Shapps: The number of additional homes provided in the Thames Gateway in each of the years from 2001-02 to 2009-10 is as follows:
|
|
Number |
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he proposes that local enterprise partnerships should hold their board meetings in public. [62155]
Robert Neill
[holding answer 27 June 2011]: Local enterprise partnerships are locally led partnerships of business and civic leaders, coming together to provide clear vision and strategic leadership to drive sustainable economic growth. The constitution and legal status of each partnership will be a matter for the partners,
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informed by the activities that they wish to pursue. We expect partnerships to be fully open and transparent but it is for local areas to decide what reporting mechanisms are appropriate. Governance structures will need to be sufficiently robust and clear to ensure proper accountability for delivery.
Local Government Finance
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on regional differences in the application of formula grants in the (a) most and (b) least deprived areas; and if he will make a statement. [62776]
Robert Neill: The Local Government Finance settlement for 2011-2012 was approved by the House of Commons on 9 February 2011. A large number of representations were received covering all aspects of the settlement, including funding for deprived areas.
The Government recognise that some areas of the country are much more reliant on central Government grant than others and that these tend to be more deprived communities. The settlement therefore ensures that the weight given to levels of need in the formula has been increased, so that more money follows socio-economic indicators, and Transition Grant funding. Some £96 million in 2011-12, is going to the most dependent areas.
Non-domestic Rates
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the likely effects of extending the eligibility criteria for Small Business Rate Relief. [61644]
Robert Neill: Small Business Rate Relief is funded by a supplement on the rate bills of larger businesses. It is therefore important to strike a fair balance between the interests of ratepayers receiving the relief and ratepayers funding the relief. We believe that the scheme does that and therefore have no plans to extend the eligibility criteria.
We have, however, doubled the level of Small Business Rate Relief for two years, until 30 September 2012. Eligible ratepayers with rateable values below £6,000 will pay no rates at all for that period, while ratepayers with rateable values between £6,000 and £12,000 will receive tapered relief from 100% to 0%. The Government are fully funding the extra costs of the relief.
Planning Permission
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many expressions of interest in establishing a neighbourhood plan his Department has received from each local authority area. [61745]
Robert Neill: Through the Neighbourhood Planning Front Runners scheme, we have invited all local planning authorities to apply for grants of up to £20,000 to prepare a neighbourhood-level plan in close collaboration with the local community. The number of project proposals so far received by the Department from each local planning authority is set out in the following table:
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| Local authority | Number of applications |
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Planning Permission: St Albans
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning appeals were submitted because of non-determination by St Albans District Council in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [61651]
Robert Neill: The following table shows the number of planning appeals submitted because of non-determination by St Albans District Council in each of the last five years.
|
|
Number |
Shops: Empty Property
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assistance his Department has provided to towns with high rates of empty shops in each of the last three years. [60342]
Robert Neill: The coalition Government are taking action to support our town centres in recognition of their significant economic, social, and tourism benefits. We are determined to strengthen the ability for local communities to decide what development they want in their area and recognise that town centres are at the heart of our communities and neighbourhoods.
We have introduced additional small business rate relief for two years from October 2010 which will help small firms and small shops, and reflect the fact that business rates are often the third biggest outgoing after staff and rent.
We are consulting on changes to the use class order, which would include allowing empty commercial premises to be converted into residential use.
We are committed to retain a ‘town centre first' planning policy, which recognises the importance of achieving a broad range of retailer representation, both small and large, and asks local authorities to plan for a strong retail mix so that the quality of retail on offer meets the needs of the local area. This will continue to be strongly expressed through the forthcoming national planning policy framework which is due to be published later this summer.
Mary Portas has been asked by Government to lead an independent review into the future of the high street. It will identify what Government, local authorities and businesses can do to promote the development of more prosperous and diverse high streets, recognising that town centre vacancy rates have doubled over the last two years, and will be reporting later in the year.
Information on the policy decisions of the last administration can be found on the National Archives web archive, including a press release dated 14 April 2009.
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Social Services: Finance
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the potential implications for local authority funding of the forthcoming Dilnot Commission report. [62436]
Robert Neill [holding answer 27 June 2011]: The report by the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support, chaired by Andrew Dilnot, will be published on 4 July. The Government will consider the implications of the report, including the costs of proposed reforms, once the final recommendations have been received.
Sonae Factory: Fires
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on which dates the Fire Service has been called to the Sonae factory in Kirkby in the last 10 years; what the estimated cost to the Fire Service of each such callout was; and whether Fire Service personnel sustained any injuries during each such callout. [61236]
Robert Neill: The Department holds records of all individual incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services since the introduction of the Incident Recording System, which Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service implemented on 1 April 2008. These records show that incidents were attended on 18 October 2009, 8 July 2010, 13 October 2010 and 7 December 2010.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has advised that it has attended a total of 28 incidents at the Sonae factory in Kirkby since February 2000, that some minor injuries to Fire and Rescue Service staff were sustained at these, and that estimates of the cost of attendance have not been made.
Third Sector
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hours Ministers in his Department spent volunteering in the last 12 months as part of the Government's big society initiative. [61224]
Robert Neill: Charitable giving is a personal matter for individuals, although it is encouraged by Government. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), and his ministerial team, like all Government Ministers, have pledged to undertake a "one day challenge" with a charity or community group of their choice. This is a clear and public commitment by Ministers to give their time to help others. The pledge aims to inspire others to consider how they might be able to support their communities to benefit themselves, as well as their chosen organisations.
As an example of how Ministers are contributing to the wider giving agenda, the Government are strongly supporting initiatives that help to raise aspirations in schools. These include the "Speakers for Schools" initiative, which aims to get inspirational high profile people from a range of backgrounds to speak for free in state schools. The scheme is non-political and has significant cross-party support.
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A list of the charities and voluntary groups that Ministers are closely involved with can also be found in the Cabinet Office's List of Ministers' Interests, at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/ministers-interests.pdf
International Development
Departmental Allowances
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expenses were claimed by (a) paid and (b) unpaid special advisers working in his Department in the last 12 months. [62072]
Mr Duncan: The special advisers at the Department for International Development (DFID) have claimed no expenses in the last 12 months.
DFID has no unpaid special advisers.
Developing Countries: Food
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department plans to contribute to the World Bank's food price stability fund for the developing world. [62159]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development has not provided any funding to the World Bank's Group's Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP), other than indirectly through our core contributions to the World Bank's International Development Association which co-funds the GFRP.
Developing Countries: Health
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effects on public health in developing countries of provision of frontline nurses, midwives and doctors funded by development aid. [62082]
Mr O'Brien: According to the World Health Organisation, there is a global shortage of 3.5 million health workers worldwide. Africa alone needs 1.5 million. The UK recognises that a strong health work force is essential for well functioning health systems in developing countries. I attended and spoke at a Save the Children UK Midwives and Development Supporters event on 1 April 2010.
The UK will continue to help countries to develop their own health care systems in a way that suits their needs and contexts, including support to country efforts to build and maintain health worker capacity.
Fire Services
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will bring forward proposals to increase the grant given by his Department to those fire and rescue services who participate in the United Kingdom Fire Service International Search and Rescue Team; and if he will make a statement. [62779]
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Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) pays for the deployment of UK fire and rescue service personnel to disasters overseas. DFID also makes a regular payment to enable the UK fire and rescue service to maintain readiness for international search and rescue. Although this facility draws on the services of several UK brigades, this payment is handled on behalf of those brigades by the Lincolnshire fire and rescue service, through which DFID pays £241,230 for the period 2009 to 2012. DFID and the UK fire and rescue service keep this amount under review jointly. At present both DFID and the UK fire and rescue service find it sufficient and therefore have no immediate plans to increase it.
India: Climate Change
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the objectives are of his Department's Climate Change and Energy Unit in India. [62095]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK's approach to climate change in India is a joint unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO), the Department for International Development (DFID), the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). It works with the Government of India and other partners to promote a credible, fair and ambitious global agreement for climate change mitigation and adaptation; rapid investment in low-carbon growth; and increased resilience of the poor to the impact of climate change.
India: Overseas Aid
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of aid to India delivered through the private sector he plans to provide in the form of (a) grants, (b) concessional loans and (c) other loans up to 2015. [62096]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are still discussing the details of our proposed support through the private sector including the financing mechanisms, with the Government of India.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of aid allocated by his Department to India he plans to spend in (a) Orissa, (b) Madhya Pradhesh, (c) Bihar and (d) West Bengal in the period up to 2015. [62133]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Our plans are still under discussion with the Government of India, but I envisage that about two-thirds of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) work in India between now and 2015 will support three of India's poorest states—Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
Sudan: Overseas Aid
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his priorities are for the outcomes of aid provided by his Department to North Sudan. [61926]
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Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) will deliver assistance to both Sudan and South Sudan, after the latter's independence on 9 July 2011. In Sudan, over the next four years UK assistance intends to deliver: (i) nutrition support for 6 million people; (ii) sustainable access to clean water and sanitation for 800,000 people; and (iii) access to justice services such as legal aid for 250,000 people. Further results will be announced in DFID's operational plan for Sudan which will be published in July.
Education
Academies
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of academies were operating under the 2003 national agreement on raising standards and tackling workload in the latest period for which figures are available. [61580]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 23 June 2011]: The Department does not collect data of this nature from academies or from maintained schools prior to acquiring academy status. Academies are not subject to the statutory pay and conditions arrangements for teachers as laid out in the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document, including any subsequent changes that were made to the document resulting from the national agreement. They are, however, free to adopt their provisions if they wish to do so.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received (a) in support of and (b) against the expansion of the academies scheme since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [61689]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 27 June 2011]: The academies programme is enormously popular. 1,244 schools have applied to be an academy since June 2010 and 430 have converted already and opened as academies. Research findings are clear that increasing autonomy is linked to raising standards and the latest GCSE results show that standards in academies continue to improve faster than the national average. There remain, of course, those who are opposed to the expansion of the academies programme, but the Government are clear about its benefits and I am delighted that so many schools governors and head teachers also recognise this and are applying for their schools to become academies.
Vulnerable Children
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the reasons were for the transfer to his Department of all responsibilities relating to services for vulnerable children; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that transfer on children. [60480]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 17 June 2011]: Decisions about ministerial responsibilities and machinery of government are for the Prime Minister of the day. Areas of policy relating to vulnerable children were transferred to predecessors of the Department for Education by the previous Administration in line with the policy approach set out in the Green Paper ‘Every Child Matters’. No evaluation has been made of the impact of the transfer.
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Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what the caseload of each Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service region was on the most recent date for which figures are available; [61492]
(2) how many cases were unallocated in each Children and Family Court Advisory and Support
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Service region on the most recent date for which figures are available. [61493]
Tim Loughton: At the end of May 2011 there were 13 unallocated public law care cases out of a total caseload of 12,779, and 268 unallocated private law cases out of a total caseload of 26,881. The following table shows the size of caseload and the number of unallocated cases for each CAFCASS operational area.
| Public law care | Private law | |||
| CAFCASS operational area | Unallocated cases | Total caseload | Unallocated cases | Total caseload |
Data are taken from the CAFCASS management system as a snapshot on 31 May 2011.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to the recommendations of the Family Justice Review in respect of the future of the function of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service within his Department. [61494]
Tim Loughton: The Family Justice Review panel's recommendations on the future of court social work services form part of its interim proposals, published in March 2011. The panel is conducting a wide-ranging consultation on these proposals before presenting its final report in the autumn. The Government will consider these final recommendations before deciding how to implement reforms to the family justice system.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the budget for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service will be for 2011-12. [61491]
Tim Loughton: The budget for Children and Family Court Advisory Service in 2011-12 is £128 million.
Children: Private Care
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statutory responsibilities county councils have for children in private care. [60966]
Tim Loughton: The Children Act 1989 and the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 set out the responsibilities of local authorities for children in private fostering arrangements. This includes requirements for regular visits to the child and carer(s) and assessments of the arrangement. Additionally, it outlines the authority's obligation to raise awareness of private fostering locally and the need for carers, parents and other persons involved to notify the authority of arrangements as well as monitoring their own practice.
Children: Social Services
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for future recruitment of children's social workers; and if he will make a statement. [60161]
Tim Loughton: Since the introduction of the social work degree in 2003 there have been steady increases in the numbers enrolling in social work education to the current level of approximately 5,500 per annum.
The Social Work Reform Board—facilitated by DfE, DH and BIS —is working to improve the quality of social work education and to ensure that the best entrants are attracted to and selected for the degree. They are also developing a tool to help monitor the supply and demand of social workers which will enable better work force planning by employers and higher education institutions.
Other steps we are taking to ensure a supply of high calibre children and families social workers include the Step Up to Social Work scheme which provides employer-led social work training for career changers, and the Return to Social Work scheme to support those who have spent some time away from the profession to return to practice.
In her recent report on child protection Professor Munro also made recommendations on improving the quality of social work training to ensure that social work students are prepared for the challenges of child protection work. We are currently considering her recommendations and will publish our response by the summer.
Classroom Assistants: Training
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of people entering teaching assistant training courses in each year since 2005. [60948]
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Mr Gibb [holding answer 20 June 2011]: The available information relates to the number of candidates who have achieved standards to be awarded the HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) status.
28 Jun 2011 : Column 752W
The following table provides this information for the years 2005/06 to 2009/10, as well as provisional figures for 2010/11.
|
|
2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 (1) |
| (1) Provisional. Notes: 1. Includes candidates who have achieved standards to be awarded the HLTA status, and not the total number as registered as looking for assessment to standard. 2. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts as numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: TDA's HLTA database | ||||||
Employment Law
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with (a) officials in his Department, (b) the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and (c) outside organisations on the potential effects of changes arising from the review of employment law on matters within his Department's responsibilities. [60709]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has taken a keen interest in the review of employment law, particularly in the areas that are of most relevance to the Department. In support of this officials from the Department are in touch with their counterparts in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to make sure that the work force reforms of both Departments are coherent and consistent.
Departmental Procurement
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress his Department has made in encouraging small businesses to bid for Government contracts. [60190]
Tim Loughton: The Department is currently implementing the package of support to open up Government procurement to help small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations announced by the Cabinet Office in February 2011.
This includes streamlining the procurement process to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and waste, improving the transparency of public procurement opportunities and ensuring the timely payment by contractors to sub-contractors.
The Department already advertises all relevant contracts on Contracts Finder, flags up any contract advert placed in the Official Journal of the European Union if there may be sub-contracting opportunities for SMEs, uses simplified contractual documentation, encourages innovation through output based specifications, splitting requirements into smaller lots, encourages the use of consortia, publicises issued tender documents and contracts on Contracts Finder and supports new businesses through flexibility on qualifying documentation, e.g. financial accounts,
Our SME Action Plan is available on the Department's website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/policiesandprocedures/procurement/a0077623/small-and-medium-enterprise-sme-procurement-action-plan
Our records for the year ending March 2010 show that the value of contracts awarded to SMEs was 26% of total procurement spend which exceeds the Government's target of 25% and we expect that percentage to increase during 2011/12 as a result of the action we are taking.
Departmental Regulation
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what regulations his Department introduced between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011; and what the estimated costs of implementation for those affected were in each case. [60337]
Tim Loughton: In the period 1 March 2011 to 31 May 2011 the Department for Education made 20 statutory instruments. In addition, one statutory instrument came into force in that period although it was made before it. The statutory instruments are set out in the following tables.
In relation to the majority of those statutory instruments, it was envisaged that there would be little or no impact upon business, charities, voluntary bodies or the public sector as explained in the Explanatory Memorandum for each.
In the case of the two statutory instruments listed, impact assessments were carried out which identified the likely costs implications associated with their implementation. These impact assessments can be viewed using the links provided.
The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2010/9780111503850/pdfs/ukdsiem_9780111503850_en.pdf
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The Visits to Former Looked After Children in Detention (England) Regulations 2010
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2797/pdfs/uksiem_20102797_en.pdf
28 Jun 2011 : Column 754W
The following statutory instruments were made and came into force between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011:
The following statutory instruments were made between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011 but will come into force after 31 May 2011:
The following statutory instrument was made before 1 March 2011 but came into force between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011:
| Title | Made | Laid | In force |
|
The Visits to Former Looked After Children in Detention (England) Regulations 2010 |
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the name is of each regulatory measure revoked by his Department between 1 March and 31 May 2011; and what estimate he has made of the potential annual saving to those affected by each revocation. [60497]
Tim Loughton: In the period 1 March 2011 to 31 May 2011, the Department for Education made two revoking statutory instruments. These are as follows:
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The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Revocation) Regulations 2011
These regulations revoke the following regulations in full:
The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) Regulations 2004;
The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2005;
The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2006;
The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007;
The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008; and
The Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2009.
They also revoke Regulation 3 of the Education (Local Authority and School Performance Targets) (Revocation and Amendment) (England) Regulations 2010.
The main effect of the regulations is to revoke the Education (School Performance Targets) (England) Regulations 2004, releasing schools from the bureaucratic burden of setting annual education performance targets and submitting these to the local authority for approval. Local authorities are also no longer required to provide school targets information to the Secretary of State. However, the saving associated with removing this bureaucratic burden has not been quantified.
The Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (Independent Schools) (England) (No. 2) Order 2011
This order revokes the Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (Independent Schools) (England) Order 2011. It designates specified independent schools as having a religious character. As such they are permitted to take account of certain religious or denominational considerations in making specified employment decisions which relate to teaching staff (such as decisions on appointment or promotion). No annual saving will be brought about by the revocation of this order.
Education: Finance
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding he expects to allocate in respect of new 16 to 19 bursaries in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and whether plans to raise the education participation age to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015 were taken into consideration as part of these calculations. [54090]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 12 May 2011]: The following table shows the funding allocated to the 16 to 19 bursary fund—including transitional support for those currently in receipt of the education maintenance allowance—in each financial year of the current spending review period:
| £ million | ||||
|
|
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
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We will keep the mechanism for allocating these funds under consideration as the raising of the participation age takes effect in order to make sure that that the funding continues to reach and support those students with the greatest need.
Education: ICT
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to utilise mobile application technologies in the delivery of education services to the public. [60881]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 21 June 2011]: The Department for Education does not currently have any specific programmes using mobile applications to deliver education. The Government believe that effective use of technology can help raise educational standards, but that those working in the sector are best placed to make decisions about how to use the resources available to them—including technology. There is a vibrant market for educational software and content in the UK, including mobile applications and many schools and families take advantage of them. The Department's procurement frameworks for ICT in schools allow for flexibility and innovation in the delivery of content and resources to students, including the support of mobile devices.
English Baccalaureate
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration his Department has given to extending the humanities element of the English Baccalaureate to include a choice of two humanities subjects from history, geography and religious studies. [61449]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 22 June 2011]: We are considering a range of propositions that have been made to us over the content of the English Baccalaureate. We will announce the detailed composition of the English Baccalaureate for 2011 along with other details about the 2011 tables before the end of term.
EU Law
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what European directives in force on 1 April 2010 his Department is responsible; and what European directives for which his Department is responsible have come into force since 1 April 2010. [60685]
Mr Gibb: There are no EU directives in force for which the Department for Education has lead responsibility.
Free School Meals: Worcestershire
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils are eligible for free school meals in (a) Worcestershire and (b) Worcester constituency. [60764]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is shown in the table.
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| State-funded primary and secondary schools (1, 2, 3) and special schools (4) : Free school meal eligibility (5, 6) , a s at January 2011 , i n Worcestershire local authority and Worcester parliamentary constituency | |||||||||
| State-funded primary schools (1, 2) | State-funded secondary schools (1, 3) | Special schools (4) | |||||||
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Number on roll (5) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals (5, 6) | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals (5, 6) | Number on roll (5) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals (5, 6) | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals (5, 6) | Number on roll (5) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals (5, 6) | Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals (5, 6) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. (6) Pupils known to be eligible for and claiming tor free school meals who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between 5 and 15. Source: School Census | |||||||||
The latest information, for January 2011, on free school meal eligibility and other school and pupil information can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml
Free Schools: Bristol
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many new primary school places he expects there to be in free schools in Bristol for the academic year beginning in September 2011. [61440]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 22 June 2011]: We do not expect there to be any primary school places in free schools in Bristol in September. Subject to the signing of a funding agreement there will be a secondary free school, the Bristol Free School, which will open with 150 places for year 7 pupils. In addition, subject to the signing of a funding agreement, there will be a new primary academy sponsored by E-ACT which will provide 420 places when full.
Marriage Guidance: Grants
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2011, Official Report, column 497W, on marriage guidance: grants, when he plans to commission the evaluation; what measures of effectiveness he expects to be assessed; and if he will estimate the proportion of funding spent on (a) married couples, (b) co-habiting couples, (c) civil partners, (d) other couples and (e) parents. [61056]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 20 June 2011]: Expressions of interest have already been invited from organisations to undertake the evaluation of relationship support interventions. The invitation to tender will be sent to those successful at the expression of interest stage at the end of this month. I will ensure the hon. Member receives a copy of the documentation.
Maternity Pay
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy for staff is in respect of (a) eligibility criteria and (b) rates of pay for (i) maternity and (ii) adoption leave. [61789]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 23 June 2011]: All staff regardless of the length of service or appointment status are eligible for 28 weeks of maternity or adoption leave on full pay. All staff have the option to follow this with 24 weeks of unpaid maternity or adoption leave.
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps Ofqual plans to take during the summer of 2011 to ensure that students do not fail to achieve their first choice university place due to errors by awarding bodies, including errors in question papers, poor initial marking or delays in processing re-marks; and if he will urge awarding bodies to make redress to students who are required to defer entry until 2012 as a result of such errors. [60442]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 17 June 2011]: This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation and the chief executive, Glenys Stacey has written directly to the hon. Member. A copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 20 June 2011:
I am writing with regard to the parliamentary question you raised on 14 June asking what steps Ofqual will be taking in advance of and during the summer 2011 to ensure that students do not fail to achieve their first choice university place due to errors by awarding bodies in papers or delays.
Ofqual sets regulatory requirements for all awarding organisations including the requirement for awarding organisations to take corrective steps where any errors have occurred. Ofqual's expectation is that awarding organisations should be able to avoid significant errors in question papers and the marking process.
However, in response to six specific errors appearing in question papers being taken by candidates this summer, I wrote to all awarding organisations on 7 June asking them to carry out extra quality assurance checks on all the papers which students were
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still to sit in the summer of 2011. Awarding organisations have confirmed that these checks have taken place.
Ofqual has also received assurance from awarding organisations that any students who have sat one of the question papers that included a mistake can be confident that procedures are in place to make sure, that so far as is possible, no student is disadvantaged or advantaged.
Any actions undertaken by awarding organisations will depend on the exact circumstances of individual cases. We will be monitoring awarding organisations to make sure their proposed approach and rationale is appropriate to the errors that have occurred.
In addition, we are undertaking a daily review of data from GCE and GCSE awards and have planned early August meetings with awarding organisations to-review outcomes.
The regulatory requirement for awarding organisations to provide an Enquiry About Results (EAR) process, once results have been published, ensures that there is an avenue for requests for the review of marks where schools or students have concerns. This includes a priority service for students wishing to query an A Level result where a university place is dependent on the outcome. This enables awarding organisations to prioritise and deal with these enquiries quickly as they appreciate the timescales involved in the admissions process to Universities and confirmation of places.
I hope this answers your question, if you would like further discussion on this topic or any other regulatory matter, please do not hesitate to contact my PA.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) which (a) organisations and (b) individuals have made representations to his Department in connection with its internal review of personal social health and economic education; and if he will make a statement; [62058]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2011, Official Report, column 695W, on personal, social, health and economic education, when he expects the remit of his Department's internal review of personal, social, health and economic education to be published; and if he will make a statement. [62061]
Mr Gibb: A range of organisations including subject associations, faith groups, charitable bodies and individuals have contacted us about the internal review of personal social health and economic education.
We expect to publish the remit of the internal review of personal, social, health and economic education shortly.
Primary Education: Worcestershire
Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the likely number of primary school places which will be required in Worcestershire in the next five years. [60920]
Mr Gibb: It is the responsibility of each local authority to manage the supply and demand for primary and secondary school places in their area and secure a place for every child of statutory school age. The Department will continue to provide capital funding and monitor the situation with local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places.
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Pupils: Absenteeism
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parental requests for authorised absence during term time were (a) approved and (b) declined in (i) Hartlepool education authority, (ii) Stockton-on-Tees education authority, (iii) Middlesbrough education authority, (iv) Redcar and Cleveland education authority, (v) Darlington education authority and (vi) England in each of the last five years. [59308]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education does not collect data on the number of parental requests for authorised absence during term time. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 state that head teachers may grant leave of absence during term time. The Department looks to schools themselves to consider each request as they can only be judged on a case-by-case basis taking into account individual circumstances. We would not want to interfere with that process.
The available absence statistics can be found in the “Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2009/10” Statistical First Release at
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000994/index.shtml
The authorised absence rates for Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Darlington local authorities and England for 2009/10 are shown in the table.
| Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools (1, 2, 3) : Pupil absence by type of school 2009/10. In Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Darlington local authorities and England | ||||
| Percentage of sessions missed due to authorised absence (4) : | ||||
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Maintained primary schools (1) | State-funded secondary schools (1, 2) | Special schools (3) | Total |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) The number of sessions missed due to authorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. Source: School Census | ||||
School Meals
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the abolition of school lunch grant; [60104]
(2) if he will assess the effect on Bolton metropolitan borough of the abolition of school lunch grant. [60939]
Mr Gibb:
The funding for schools provided through the school lunch grant has not been abolished, but continues to be available through the Dedicated Schools
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Grant in 2011-12. This will allow schools to make their own decisions about the use of this funding. This is in line with the Government's drive to devolve responsibility for making decisions about the best use of resources to professionals in schools.
Consistent with our philosophy of reducing bureaucracy and increasing the professional autonomy of schools, we have no plans to collect information from individual local authorities on the impact of freeing up resources in this way.
Supplementary Schools
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools on effective safeguarding training in supplementary schools. [61899]
Tim Loughton: Officials in the Department for Education will be meeting representatives of ContinYou, the organisation which manages the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Schools, to discuss issues of safeguarding in relation to supplementary schools. No discussions have been held at ministerial level.
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the requirement in supplementary schools for (a) effective safeguarding and (b) training in behaviour management; and if he will make a statement. [61900]
Tim Loughton: I am clear that effective safeguarding and behaviour management are important in any informal out of school activities, including supplementary schools. No formal assessment has been undertaken at a national level. Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in their areas.
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures are in place to safeguard children attending supplementary schools; and how much his Department has allocated to safeguarding in supplementary schools in 2011-12. [62017]
Tim Loughton: The measures in place to safeguard children in supplementary schools are the same as those for all children in informal, out of school hours, activities and learning.
Where the local authority has reasonable cause to suspect that a child may be at risk of significant harm the local authority must make such enquiries as are necessary to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child's welfare(1).
In addition, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 made it an offence for a barred individual to work closely with children in any setting and, subject to Royal Assent of the Protection of Freedoms Bill, all supplementary schools will need to have performed a barred list check on all unsupervised workers.
In 2006, the Department and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation agreed to provide pump-prime funding to establish a National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education (NRC). In 2009-10 the Department for Education allocated £350,000 of grant funding to the NRC and a further £95,000 was allocated in 2010-11. The funding, which ended in March this year, has
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allowed the NRC to develop an approach to raising the standards of teaching, learning, management and safeguarding in those supplementary schools it works with. No departmental funding is being provided in 2011-12.
(1) Section 47, Children Act 1989, available at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/section/47
Schools: Careers Guidance
Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has for inspecting the quality of new schools' careers advice services. [60512]
Mr Gibb: The revised school inspection framework will have a sharp focus on the quality of teaching, backed by excellent leadership and management, and good discipline and behaviour. Ofsted will consider outcomes such as pupils' achievement and progression rather than inputs such as the type or amount of careers guidance. The introduction of new destination measures will ensure that schools are held to account for the way in which they support their pupils to progress to higher levels of education and training, or into employment.
The Government have also accepted the recommendation of the Careers Profession Task Force to ask Ofsted to carry out a thematic review of careers guidance as a means of identifying excellent provision and establishing a baseline for future policy development. We are considering the most appropriate timing for such a review.
Schools: Food
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the policy of his Department is on the application to schools of Government buying standards on sustainably-sourced fish and seafood. [61604]
Tim Loughton: The Government Buying Standards for food and catering services are mandatory for central Government but do not apply to local authorities or individual schools.
However, schools have to meet the statutory school food standards. The standards do not include requirements to purchase sustainably sourced fish, but this is recommended as good practice in the School Food Trust's ‘A Fresh look at Procurement—efficiency and sustainability’ guidance:
http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/schools/resources/a-fresh-look-at-school-food-procurement-efficiency-and-sustainability
Schools: Legal Action
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have taken legal action against his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [61688]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 27 June 2011]: There have been two sets of legal proceedings issued against the Department by schools in the last 12 months. Both of these were judicial reviews in relation to decisions to remove independent schools from the independent schools register.
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Schools: Reading West
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils at each school in Reading West constituency gained five or more GCSEs at grades of A* to C in each of the last five years. [58993]
Mr Gibb: The information requested has been provided in the following table:
| Number and percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*- C (including equivalents) in selected years | ||||||
| Secondary schools in Reading West constituency |
|
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) These are maintained special schools. (2) Figures for the John Madejski Academy are only available from 2008. (3) Indicates figure has been suppressed due to 10 or fewer students in the institution cohort. | ||||||
School Sport
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of future levels of competitive sport (a) within and (b) between schools; and if he will make a statement. [60228]
Tim Loughton: The Department is reviewing the National Curriculum programme of study for physical education to make clear that competitive sport is an integral part of the rounded education that every child in maintained schools should receive.
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Subject to the outcome of the review and necessary parliamentary approval, this should ensure that all pupils aged five to 16 will play competitive sport, without exception.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), is also creating the new School Games as a further way of encouraging schools to provide more competitive sport. Through a mix of intra-school, inter-school and county-level competitions, every young person will have the chance to take part. To ensure this is possible the Government are creating a number of School Games Organisers who will promote competitions.
Schools: Standards
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools achieved a rating of outstanding in their Ofsted inspections in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Cumbria in each of the last five years. [60755]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 20 June 2011]:This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 17 June 2011:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
Since 2005, maintained school inspections have been carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Ofsted records all judgements made by inspectors in section 5 inspections, including the judgement for overall effectiveness of the school, Maintained schools inspected under section 5 include nursery, primary, secondary (including academies and city technology colleges), special schools and pupil referral units.
Table A as follows shows the number of maintained schools judged to be outstanding for overall effectiveness at their section 5 inspection during the academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10 inclusive in England, the North West government office region and Cumbria local authority. It also shows the total number of inspections in each of these areas in each year.
In September 2009, Ofsted implemented a policy of more proportionate inspection using risk assessment and deliberately set out to inspect a greater proportion of previously satisfactory or inadequate schools each year and a smaller proportion of previously good or outstanding schools. This led to a skew in the sample of schools inspected and means that comparisons between years should be treated with caution as some differences are due to the different sample of schools inspected during the different periods.
Statistics covering the outcomes of all inspections carried out in each academic year since 2005/06 can be found at:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Statistics/Maintained-schools/Inspection-outcomes
The most recent official statistics release, covering the outcomes of maintained school inspections carried out during the autumn and spring terms 2010/11, was made public on 15 June 2011 and can be accessed at the same link.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
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| Table A: Schools judged outstanding for overall effectiveness at the section 5 inspection in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Cumbria in each of the last five years | |||||||||||||||||
| Number of schools judged outstanding for overall effectiveness, and as a percentage of total number of inspections in the area | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |||||||||||||
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No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |||||||
| Total number of inspections in academic year | |||||
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2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |