Discretionary Learner Support Fund
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2011, Official Report, column 1139W, on the Discretionary Learner Support Fund, how much funding he has allocated to (a) transitional support for students currently in receipt of education maintenance allowance and (b) the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund in the next four academic years. [56219]
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Mr Gibb [holding answer 23 May 2011]:The following table shows the funding allocated to transitional support for those currently in receipt of the education maintenance allowance, and the funding that will be allocated direct to schools, colleges and training providers for them to award 16-19 bursaries, in each of the next four academic years:
| £ million | ||||
| Academic year | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 |
In each academic year the total value of the 16-19 Bursary Fund is £180 million. In 2011/12, which is a transitional year, the majority of young people in their second or third year of study who might be expected to apply for a bursary will be supported via the national administration arrangements. As a result, the amount that will be allocated directly to schools, colleges and training providers is less than the full value of the 16-19 Bursary Fund. The allocation has been calculated so as to enable schools, colleges and training providers to pay guaranteed bursaries to all young people in vulnerable groups, discretionary bursaries to young people in their first year of post-16 study, and ‘top up' weekly payments to those who are currently in receipt of EMA should they consider it appropriate to do so.
Education: Basic Skills
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many hours of teaching in basic learning skills are required at each key stage; what other requirements his Department places on schools in relation to teaching of basic learning skills; and if he will make a statement. [62442]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 27 June 2011]: There are no requirements placed on the number of hours that schools must devote to the teaching of basic learning skills. Schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, which may include such skills, but they are free to use their professional judgment on how this is organised and delivered. Building on the statutory curriculum, which comprises the basic school curriculum and National Curriculum, we believe it should be for individual schools to determine a curriculum structure that best meets the needs of their pupils.
English Baccalaureate
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the potential for school staff redundancies in subjects not included in the English baccalaureate. [60160]
Mr Gibb: The English baccalaureate is an option that we think should be open to all who have the ability to benefit from it although it may not be suitable for all pupils. Individual schools will take decisions on the subjects they offer based on the needs and choices of their pupils. There is also considerable scope to take other subjects alongside the English baccalaureate.
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The Department's assessment of the number of new teachers required to be trained annually will continue to take account of a number of factors including teacher turnover. The number of teachers that schools employ in future years will, as now, be a matter for them to decide, according to local needs and subject to statutory requirements on class sizes where appropriate.
Free Schools: Bradford
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of establishing the King's Science Academy free school in Bradford. [62532]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 27 June 2011]: We intend to publish business cases, Funding Agreements, and financial information for approved Free Schools when their final costs have been agreed. As is the case for all Free School projects, we are working to ensure that Bradford Science Academy (formerly known as King's Science Academy) represents a value for money investment of public funds. Publishing financial information before negotiations are finalised could make it more difficult to save taxpayers' money.
National Curriculum Review
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had on the National Curriculum Review with (a) officials in his Department and (b) external organisations. [63025]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and I have had a number of discussions with officials within the Department of Education about the progress of the national curriculum review since it was launched earlier this year. In addition, he and I have, both separately and jointly, held a number of meetings and discussions with external organisations, such as teacher unions, subject associations and learned bodies, to discuss the review and the reform of the national curriculum.
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what timetable his Department has established for the completion of the national curriculum review; [63026]
(2) when his Department plans to publish its response to the evidence received in the course of the call for evidence phase of the national curriculum review; [63027]
(3) when recent assessment he has made of progress on the national curriculum review. [63028]
Mr Gibb:
Full details of the review of the national curriculum, including its timetable, are available to view on the Department’s website. We intend to publish new programmes of study for English, mathematics, science and physical education in autumn 2012, with first teaching in schools from September 2013. New programmes of study for any other subjects that are to form part of the new national curriculum will be made available to schools by September 2013, with teaching in maintained schools
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from September 2014. Beyond this, the review will also advise on matters relating to the implementation of the new national curriculum as described in its remit.
The call for evidence for phase 1 of the review closed on 14 April and we are currently analysing responses. The call for evidence summary report will be published in due course.
The review is continuing its work to analyse curricular design in the most successful international education jurisdictions, and is feeding that analysis into the development of new programmes of study for English, mathematics, science and physical education. At the same time it is also considering which other subjects should continue to feature in the national curriculum. It is our intention to publish our proposals early next year, in line with the published timetable.
Nurseries: Complaints
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many and what proportion of complaints made against childcare or day nursery businesses in 2010-11 were found to be (a) unfounded and (b) malicious; and what proportion were referred to the police for further investigation; [62130]
(2) how many and what proportion of complaints made against childcare or day nursery businesses in the (a) Metropolitan borough of Barnsley and (b) city of Sheffield in 2010-11 were found to be (i) unfounded and (ii) malicious; and what proportion were referred to the police for further investigation. [62131]
Sarah Teather: 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 23 June 2011:
Your recent parliamentary questions have been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for response.
As the regulator for childcare in England, Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, receives a significant number of concerns or complaints about people running childcare or day nursery businesses.
Ofsted’s role as a regulator is not to prove or disprove the information provided by complainants. Instead, our responsibility is to consider, in the light of that information, whether the provider is failing to meet, or failed to meet at the time of any incident, the requirements and conditions of their registration. We investigate all concerns raised with us in order to determine whether the provider has breached requirements, and we take action where we find this to be the case. For these reasons we do not hold data that specifically addresses the queries raised. We do not record complaints as founded or unfounded, and neither do we know whether or not a complaint was made maliciously.
Some additional background may be helpful. Between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, Ofsted looked into 8,750 concerns or complaints received against registered (and unregistered) childcare providers in England.
In 4,997 cases we found that the provider was meeting all the requirements for continued registration and it was not necessary for us to take any further action. 1,638 cases were referred to other agencies, including the local authority and the Police. The most common type of referral in such cases was to Local Authority Designated Officers (LADOs) to ensure that appropriate safeguarding action could be taken. Various degrees of enforcement action were taken in the other cases.
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A copy of this reply has been sent to Sarah Teather MP, Minister of State for Children and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Parents: Ethnic Groups
Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the number of black and ethnic minority parents and carers participating in parents forums in each local authority area. [63183]
Sarah Teather: The Department for Education does not collect data about individuals participating in parents' forums for parents of disabled children.
The Department has recently undertaken provided funding to three regional groups of parents' forums to find ways to better engage with parents and carers from black and ethnic minority groups. We will publish more details of the findings from those pilots over the summer.
Physical Education
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make emergency life support skills part of the physical education syllabus; and if he will make a statement. [62914]
Mr Gibb: The Government have no plans to make emergency life support skills a part of the physical education syllabus. The non-statutory programmes of study for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education currently provide a context for schools to teach pupils how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, including ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, how to find sources of emergency help and how to use basic and emergency first aid. Pupils learn to develop the skills to cope with emergency situations that require basic first aid procedures, including, at key stage 4 (ages 15 to 16), resuscitation techniques.
Primary Education: Chess
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that children are taught chess during their primary school education. [60945]
Mr Gibb: By reducing the requirements of the national curriculum and by other measures which will reduce bureaucratic burdens on schools, the Government are giving schools the space and resources to provide a truly rounded education for all pupils.
Religion: Education
Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of excluding religious education (RE) from the English baccalaureate on the number of student teachers specialising in RE. [61289]
Mr Gibb:
Religious education does not count towards the humanities element of the English baccalaureate because it is already a compulsory subject. The teaching of religious education remains compulsory throughout a pupil's schooling. One of the intentions of the English
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baccalaureate is to encourage wider take up of geography and history in addition to, rather than instead of, compulsory religious education. There is considerable scope to take other subjects alongside the English baccalaureate.
The initial teacher training (ITT) targets for 2011/12 were announced on 31 January 2011 and published as part of the Statistical First Release on School Workforce (SFR11/2010). The ITT target for religious education for courses starting in 2011/12 is 460. The ITT targets beyond this, including religious education, have not yet been assessed but will continue to take account of a number of factors including decreasing secondary pupil numbers. The number of teachers that schools employ in future years will, as now, be a matter for them to decide, according to local needs and subject to statutory requirements on class sizes where appropriate.
Religion: English Baccalaureate
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education on the exclusion of religious education from the English Baccalaureate; and if he will make a statement. [63677]
Mr Gibb: Officials have held a number of meetings with NATRE, who have submitted information about the impact that they anticipate the English Baccalaureate will have on RE teaching in future. We do not currently collect systematic data on detailed subject option choices offered by schools or the choices pupils make on their GCSE subjects. However, the Department has work underway to assess whether and how the English Baccalaureate has influenced GCSE choices made in schools from September 2011. We will use this, together with a range of other information sources, to inform future policy development.
Religion: Secondary Education
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education on the effects of the English Baccalaureate proposals on religious education in secondary schools. [63245]
Mr Gibb: Officials have held a number of meetings with NATRE, who have submitted information about the impact that they anticipate the English Baccalaureate will have on RE teaching in future. We do not currently collect systematic data on detailed subject option choices offered by schools or the choices pupils make on their GCSE subjects. However, the Department has work underway to assess whether and how the English Baccalaureate has influenced GCSE choices made in schools from September 2011. We will use this, together with a range of other information sources, to inform future policy development.
Schools: Assessments
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) on what dates he met representatives of school examination boards between 16 May and 22 June 2011; [62352]
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(2) when he was first informed of errors in school examination papers for use in 2011; and on what subsequent occasions he has been informed of errors in such papers; [62353]
(3) on what date he directed that all school examination papers should be rechecked; and on what date he received the report of that exercise; [62575]
(4) whether he plans to ensure that no student affected by an error in an A-level examination paper is refused a place at the university of their choice as a result of any effect of the error on the final examination grade. [62576]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 27 June 2011]:As the regulator of the awarding bodies and qualifications, Ofqual is taking swift and robust action to hold awarding bodies to account for these unacceptable errors. Since the Secretary of State was first made aware of an error in examination papers taken in schools during the summer 2011 series on 3 June, he has been informed as each additional error has been identified and has repeatedly spoken with Ofqual's chief executive and asked to be updated on their intended course of action.
Ofqual met the chief executives of the awarding bodies responsible for GCE and GCSE examinations between 16 May and 22 June, and it was Ofqual's decision, which the Secretary of State supports, to write to the chief executives of all awarding bodies responsible for GCE and GCSE examinations on 7 June. In her letter, the chief executive of Ofqual required the awarding bodies concerned to give their written assurance that they had implemented additional checks on the question papers for examinations that remained to be taken, to ensure that there were no further errors that had been missed by earlier quality assurance processes. Each awarding organisation provided Ofqual with written assurances by 13 June that such additional quality checks had been or would be made before papers were sat.
Ofqual will also be checking the awarding organisations' arrangements for securing redress, to ensure they are fair both to the candidates who were directly affected, and those who were not.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) on what date the OCR A-level physics paper of 21 June 2011 was rechecked for errors; on what date the error in the examination was first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the OCR have taken in consequence; [62551]
(2) on what date the OCR GCSE Latin paper of 20 June 2011 was rechecked for errors; on what date the error in the examination was first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the OCR have taken in consequence; [62552]
(3) on what date the errors in the AQA business studies paper of 24 May 2011 were first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the AQA have taken in consequence; [62553]
(4) on what date the AQA GCSE mathematics paper of 14 June 2011 was rechecked for errors; on what date the error in the examination was first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the AQA have taken in consequence; [62554]
(5) on what date the AQA AS-level computing paper of 14 June 2011 was rechecked for errors; on what date the error in the diagram was first identified; by whom;
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and what steps
(a)
he and
(b)
the AQA have taken in consequence; [62555]
(6) on what date the errors in the AQA AS-level geography paper of 24 May 2011 were first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the AQA have taken in consequence; [62556]
(7) when Ofqual completed its additional checks on examination papers; [62561]
(8) on what date he was first informed of errors in examination questions in the Edexcel biology paper of 16 May 2011; what information Edexcel provided to him (a) at that point and (b) subsequently; what steps the examination board have taken in consequence; what estimate has been made of the number of students affected by the error; and whether any estimate has been made of the number of students whose future educational opportunities will be adversely affected; [62562]
(9) what information he has received from Edexcel on the steps it plans to take to quantify the potential effect on examination results of the error in the biology examination of 16 May 2011; [62563]
(10) what steps Edexcel has proposed to take to remedy issues arising from errors in its examination papers in 2011; and on what date he was notified of such proposals; [62564]
(11) how many GCSE, AS and A-level exam papers were sat between 9 and 22 June 2011; how many such papers (a) were and (b) were not double-checked for errors; and in respect of how many which had been double-checked errors were discovered while students were sitting the examinations; [62565]
(12) what estimate his Department has made of the (a) potential maximum and (b) average difference to a mark issued for an examination paper in which there was a live error once the examination board has taken steps to account for the error; [62566]
(13) which examination papers set in the examination period of May and June 2011 contained live errors; and in respect of which such papers erratum notices were issued; [62567]
(14) on what date errors on the OCR mathematics paper of 26 May 2011 were first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the examination board have taken in consequence; [62568]
(15) on what date errors in the Edexcel Economics Unit 2 AS Macro paper of 27 May 2011 were first identified; by whom; and what steps (a) he and (b) the examination board have taken in consequence; [62569]
(16) on what date errors in the OCR AS-level ICT Coursework mark scheme were first identified; by whom; what steps OCR have taken in consequence; and what consideration was given to issuing an erratum notice in respect of the errors; [62570]
(17) how many errata notices were issued by examination boards (a) in each year since 2007 and (b) in 2011 to date; [62571]
(18) what (a) the policy and (b) practice of (i) Ofqual and (ii) its predecessor has been on the collection of information on live examination errors; [62572]
(19) how many examination papers (a) had and (b) had not been checked by examination boards following the reports made by Ofqual as at 21 June 2011; [62573]
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(20) how many errors in examination papers set by (a) AQA, (b) EdExcel and (c) OCR were found as a result of the reports by Ofqual of 9 June 2011 before examinations were sat; and what steps were taken in cases where errors were found. [62574]
Mr Gibb: The errors that have come to light in GCSEs and A Levels are extremely serious and are unacceptable. As the regulator of awarding organisations and the qualifications they offer, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) have taken swift and robust action to hold awarding organisations to account for these mistakes, and to check that any mistakes in as yet untaken exams are identified and put right. Ofqual will also be checking the awarding organisations' arrangements for securing redress, to ensure they are fair both to the candidates who were directly affected, and those who were not. The Secretary of State for Education has had regular updates from the chief executive of Ofqual, Glenys Stacey, on Ofqual's current action. He has also asked to be kept informed about further steps they will be taking to ensure that awarding organisations do not repeat these mistakes. Fiona Pethick, Director of Regulation at Ofqual has written to the hon. Member providing further details and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Fiona Pethick, dated 28 June 2011:
I am responding to your parliamentary questions on behalf of Glenys Stacey, the Chief Executive of the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). Ofqual is the independent regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England and of vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland.
You will be aware that a number of your parliamentary questions relating to errors in this summer's examination papers have been passed from the Secretary of State to Ofqual to answer as they fall within our regulatory remit. These errors in examination papers are unacceptable and Ofqual is taking action to understand the root cause, ensure candidates affected get as fair a result as possible, and to consider what changes may be needed in future to awarding organisation processes and procedures. Later this week we will be publishing details of our inquiry into these errors.
There are three particular areas where Ofqual is not in a position to answer your questions. First, we do not hold information
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about which specific individual or centre identified the error. Secondly, we do not hold information about the dates on which checks on examination papers were made, nor do we hold information about the numbers of papers that were or were not re-checked. (Both, ref PQ nos: 62551, 62553, 62552, 62554, 62555, 62556, 62563, 62568,). Thirdly it is not possible to estimate the maximum and average difference to a mark issued as each situation is different. (Ref PQ: 62566).
Where we are in a position to answer your questions, I have grouped our responses below by theme.
Action Ofqual has taken
(Ref PQ no: 62561)
On 7 June Ofqual wrote to all GCSE and A level awarding organisations to require them to carry out additional quality checks on examinations that had yet to be taken. Each awarding organisation provided Ofqual with written assurances by 13 June that such additional quality checks had been made or would be made before papers were taken.
When it became apparent that further, avoidable, errors had occurred, I visited OCR to discuss these errors. Glenys Stacey and I also met with the Chief Executive Officers of the Awarding Organisations delivering GCSEs and GCEs last week.
We have published two statements on our website - one specifically aimed at candidates and another setting out the action we are taking. Ofqual has also published a detailed list of the specific examination papers that have been affected so that candidates can know whether or not they are affected and to know which awarding organisation to contact if they wish for further information.
We have announced that we will publish, this week, information about our inquiry into the errors this summer to establish all the facts, identify the root causes and make recommendations for action to help ensure, so far as possible, that such avoidable errors do not happen in future.
Live errors
(Ref PQ nos: 62565, 62567)
The published examination timetables show that between 9 and 22 June this year, 438 GCSE and 345 GCE papers were scheduled.
The following papers taken by candidates in England had errors in them which were not identified and corrected before the paper was taken. The notification dates are also included.
(Ref PQ nos: 62553, 62555, 62556. 62554, 62563, 62552, 62568, 62551)
Of these errors, three came to light after the additional checks had been made.
You also asked a series of questions about Edexcel Biology. We understand that 17,003 candidates sat this particular paper. Only one mark is affected for this particular AS unit so it is unlikely to have a significant impact on students' future education opportunities. (Ref PQ no; 62562)
Complaints
Ofqual has received complaints in relation to two papers that are mentioned in your Parliamentary Questions. These are:
OCR GCE AS level ICT coursework. Ofqual received a complaint about this paper on 16 June 2011. We have requested a detailed response from OCR to ascertain the number of candidates potentially affected by this complaint, the timeline, the rationale for not re-issuing a corrected mark scheme and the specific instructions given to moderators. (Ref PQ no: 62570)
Edexcel GCE AS Economics paper. Ofqual received a number of complaints about this paper and Edexcel have confirmed that although the paper does not contain an error it does contain a
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question which could be answered in more than one way. Guidance has been issued to the marking team highlighting the two acceptable answers. (Ref PQ no: 62569)
Redress and actions that awarding organisations have taken
(Ref PQ no: 62551, 62552, 62553, 62554, 62555, 62556, 62563, 62564, 62568)
Ofqual has written to all relevant awarding organisations highlighting the importance of taking effective steps to limit the impact on students' marks and grades. The appropriate mechanisms for redress will differ depending on the context and we have confirmed that the following options could be considered:
Adjustments of the marking scheme to omit the question concerned or to give all students credit for the question concerned,
Taking account of all available evidence in awarding grades, including:
statistical analyses to understand any potential impact on students performance on questions that followed the error, and
statistical analyses comparing students' performance on the affected units with their performance on other units.
Allowing applications for special consideration, where appropriate,
Providing a no fee re-sit at the next opportunity, and
Providing an additional no fee re-sit before the end of the summer 2011 series.
Each awarding organisation has .been required to provide Ofqual with a detailed report for each affected question paper which details the actions planned, informed by the analysis, together with the rationale for those actions. These will be received in the coming weeks once marking is completed.
In all cases awarding organisations have sent a letter of apology to schools and colleges (known as centres) where an error in an examination paper has come to light.
For the AQA GCSE Mathematics paper where the issue was a printing error, AQA have instigated an investigation with the printer of this paper.
Errata and re-prints
(Ref PQ no: 62571, 62572)
It is established policy and practice, both by Ofqual and its predecessor organisation, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), to require awarding organisations to provide timely notification of incidents that pose a threat to the integrity of the qualifications system. In the context of examination errors, we require awarding organisations to notify the regulators where an error is found that may threaten the validity of the assessment, An element of professional judgement has always been required about the nature and impact of an error.
Where an error is found before an examination paper is taken, either the paper is replaced or an erratum is issued. We routinely collect information at the end of each examination, series about the number of errata issued. We can confirm that in 2010 there were 34 erratum notices, in 2009 there were 34 erratum notices, in 2008 there were 18 erratum notices and in 2007 there were 27 erratum notices. For the 2011 examination series we will receive final information about errata that were issued prior to 7 June 2011 once all the examinations have been taken. However, we do know that there were 15 erratum notices which were issued as a result of the additional checks that we required.
For each of the following awarding organisations we can confirm that the following errors were identified and rectified as a result of the checks. (Ref PQ nos: 62573, 62574)
|
|
Number of errors | Erratum | Clarification notice | Replaced |
Please be assured that Ofqual takes the issue of errors in examinations very seriously and we will continue to oversee the actions of the awarding organisations to make sure that candidates are not unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged.
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I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these issues and to hear your views on the regulation of awarding organisations. My office will be in touch to offer dates.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how much time he has spent on the matter of examination question errors since 16 May 2011; whom he has met, and on what date, in the course of his work on this issue; and if he will publish the minutes of each such meeting; [62558]
(2) what information his Department holds on the (a) names of schools and (b) proportion of schools with candidates in the Edexcel biology paper of 16 May 2011 which added time on to the examination period; [62559]
(3) how many errors in examination questions have been notified to his Department since 9 June 2011; [62560]
(4) what discussions he has had with representatives of Edexcel on the provision of means of redress to students who sat its A-level biology examination on 16 May 2011 and were affected by errors in the examination questions. [62646]
Mr Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has held no meetings with third parties outside Government on this issue. The Secretary of State spoke to Glenys Stacey, the chief executive of Ofqual on Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th June on this matter. The Secretary of State's office does not provide minutes of such meetings, which are based on the provision on private advice to Ministers. I met Andrew Hall, chief executive of AQA informally at a conference organised by Reform on Tuesday 28 June.
The Department does not collect information on the individual examination papers chosen by schools, or on their conduct of examinations.
Since 9 June, two examination question errors have been reported to the Department. In addition one printing error, which had implications for the majority of questions on a GCSE mathematics paper, has been reported.
The errors that have been identified are unacceptable, and the examination awarding bodies concerned must take full responsibility for measures to ensure that candidates are not unfairly disadvantaged by the errors, and to ensure that it does not happen again. In doing so they must satisfy Ofqual that they are taking appropriate action to mitigate the impact of these errors.
To date, Ofqual is concentrating its efforts on the steps awarding organisations need to take now to ensure there are no further mistakes in this summer's series and make sure that awarding bodies are putting in place arrangements for securing redress, to ensure they are fair both to the candidates who were directly affected, and those who were not. It is extremely important that effective steps are taken to limit the impact on students' marks and grades, and maintain standards overall. Such redress aims to make good so far as is possible. Wider redress measures are broadly a matter for awarding organisations and they have been encouraged by Ofqual to be transparent with candidates about these.
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Schools: Inspections
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools achieved a rating of outstanding in their Ofsted inspection in (a) Kent and (b) Dartford constituency in each of the last five years. [61937]
Mr Gibb: 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 24 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 below shows the number of maintained schools judged to be outstanding for overall effectiveness at their section 5
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inspection during the academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10 inclusive in Kent local authority and Dartford constituency. Equivalent data have also been provided for England for context, and the table 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 as an aid to scheduling the inspection of good and outstanding schools. We 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. The sample of schools inspected is therefore skewed and means that comparisons between years should be treated with caution as some differences are due to the very 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 were released 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.
Schools: Libraries
Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what recent assessment he has made of the state of school library services; and if he will make a statement; [61893]
(2) whether he has made an estimate of the likely number of school library closures in the next academic year; and if he will make a statement; [62202]
(3) whether he has made an estimate of the likely number of redundancies among school librarians in the next academic year; and if he will make a statement. [62210]
Mr Gibb: A good school library is a very valuable resource for pupils and teachers.
As we said in our response to the commission set up by the National Literacy Trust and Museums, Libraries and Archives "School Libraries: A Plan for Improvement", school libraries are not compulsory, but good school libraries and schools library services make a positive contribution to children's literacy.
Our aim is to put as much money as possible directly into schools' budgets, allowing schools to target resources appropriately and to make their own choices about their school library provision and book resourcing.
The Department has made no estimate of the likely number of schools library closures or any assessment of the likely number of redundancies in the next academic year. However, through the School Workforce Survey the Department collects data on the number of librarians in maintained schools in England and on the number of schools with librarians. The most recent data collected are as follows:
| Headcount number of librarians in service in publicly-funded schools, by phase of education, November 2010, England | |
|
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Number |
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| Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Workforce Census. |
| Number of schools with librarians in service in publicly-funded schools, by phase of education, November 2010, England | |
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Number |
| (1) Centrally employed librarians shows the number of local authorities that employ librarians to visit various schools. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Workforce Census. | |
Schools: Vocational Guidance
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that schools comply with their statutory duty to provide independent advice and guidance for year 11 pupils in an impartial manner; and what steps he plans to take to monitor the quality of the advice and guidance given. [62408]
Mr Gibb: Schools should be accountable to the pupils, parents and communities they serve. The evidence of whether schools are succeeding will be demonstrated both through pupil achievement and, crucially, through the destinations measure we plan to publish. If pupils are achieving and progressing then we should assume the school is providing effective support to inform the decisions that pupils make about their future education and career.
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 this.
Students: Compensation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether he has assessed the merits of paying compensation to students who failed to gain a place at the university of their choice as a result of being awarded a lower grade arising from errors in examination questions; [62662]
(2) at what time and on what day (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department (i) first and (ii) subsequently spoke to Ofqual on live errors in examination papers in May and June 2011. [62593]
Mr Gibb
[holding answer 28 June 2011]: To date, Ofqual is concentrating its efforts on the steps awarding organisations need to take now to ensure there are no further mistakes in this summer's exams and make sure that awarding bodies are putting in place arrangements for securing redress, to ensure they are fair both to the
4 July 2011 : Column 994W
candidates who were directly affected, and those who were not. It is extremely important that effective steps are taken to limit the impact on students' marks and grades, and to maintain standards overall.
The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), spoke to Glenys Stacey, the chief executive of Ofqual on Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th June on this matter.
Teachers: Academies
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements are made for the protection of the terms and conditions of teachers, teaching assistants and support staff of schools which become Academies. [62620]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 28 June 2011]: When a school converts to Academy status all staff who choose to move to the new Academy from the predecessor school transfer on their existing terms and conditions of service under the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) regulations (TUPE).
The existing employer—either the local authority for community and voluntary controlled schools or the school governing body for foundation and voluntary aided schools—must consult with staff if it envisages that it will take measures related to the transfer which will affect employees, such as dealing with restructuring or changing terms to ensure that the views of all affected staff are taken into account.
Vocational Education
Mr Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on steps to revive junior technical provision; [62806]
(2) what assessment he has made of the steps which would be required to revive junior technical provision; [62807]
(3) what his Department's policy is on implementation of the recommendations of Alison Wolf's report on vocational learning on the revival of junior technical provision. [62808]
Mr Gibb: In her report on vocational education, Professor Wolf highlighted the role that colleges can play in providing vocational options for 14 to 16-year-olds and suggested that if colleges enrol students under 16 then they can revive junior technical provision. She recommended that the Government make explicit the legal right of colleges to enrol students under 16 and ensure that funding procedures make this possible.
In response to Professor Wolf’s recommendations, all of which were accepted by Government, we made a commitment to communicate to all schools and colleges that more young people should be offered the opportunity to enrol in college pre-16. We also made a commitment to work with colleges in the autumn to investigate the barriers to pre-16 enrolment in colleges and consider the next steps.
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International Development
Departmental Official Cars
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to his Department was of the provision of ministerial cars in each financial year between 2000-01 and 2010-11; how many (a) cars for the exclusive use of Ministers and (b) ministerial car journeys were paid for by his Department in each such year; what the average cost to his Department of a ministerial car journey was in each such year; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce the cost of ministerial cars since his appointment. [62997]
Mr Duncan: Details of the number and cost of ministerial cars from 2005-06 to 2009-10 have been published annually by written statement and are available in the Library of the House. Details for 2010-11 are being compiled and will be released during July 2011. Information prior to 2005 is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
On taking up office all three Department for International Development (DFID) Ministers were given the use of a dedicated Government Car Service (GCS) car and driver. Following the publication of the 2010 Ministerial Code in May, Ministers agreed that only the Secretary of State would have use of his own car, and that all other DFID Minsters should use cars from the GCS pool. DFID immediately took steps to terminate our existing GCS contract, which contained a three-month notice period, and has tendered commercially through the Official Journal of the European Community our requirement for these services to ensure that we obtain best value for money.
From 4 September 2010 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I have used cars from the GCS pool and have made 545 journeys to 31 March 2011. The number of journeys made by the Secretary of State since September 2010 and information relating to individual ministerial car journeys prior to September 2010 is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Libya: Armed Conflict
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2011, Official Report, column 27W, on Libya: armed conflict, what the Civil Service grade is of the most senior official of his Department working on post-conflict planning. [63084]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The director general for the middle east and north Africa leads the Libya post-conflict planning work of the Department for International Development (DFID). The permanent secretary is also regularly engaged in this work.
DFID has set up a Libya Crisis Unit headed by a deputy director (grade 5). She is supported by two deputy heads (grade A1), who lead teams covering (a) Stabilisation and Transition Policy and (b) Humanitarian and Ministerial Engagement.
Mr Douglas Alexander:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether officials of his Department involved in post-conflict planning in Libya
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have discussed the task with officials involved in post-conflict planning after the invasion of
(a)
Afghanistan in 2001 and
(b)
Iraq in 2003. [63087]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: A number of Department for International Development officials in the Libya Crisis Unit have personal experience of post-conflict planning for Afghanistan and Iraq. They have also worked closely with the International Stabilisation Response Team which includes people with post-conflict planning experience from across Government and more widely.
The UK Government's tri-departmental Stabilisation Unit was formed in 2004 as a response to the challenges faced in Iraq and Afghanistan. It provides expertise to the Whitehall teams working on Libya post-conflict planning based on practical lessons from previous work in conflict states (including Iraq and Afghanistan).
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff of his Department work in its Libya Unit; and what the budget of that unit for 2011-12 is. [63088]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: There are currently 15 people working full time in the DFID London Libya Crisis Unit, which also receives part-time support from a conflict adviser (50%) and a conflict, humanitarian and security (CHASE) humanitarian response manager (25%).
The UK has set aside £20.6 million to support post conflict stabilisation activities for Libya. This includes £8.5 million from the tri-departmental conflict pool and £12 million from DFID funds for Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible activities.
Any future humanitarian response will be needs based with a very clear focus on delivering results and adding value to the international response.
Pakistan: Overseas Aid
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. [63019]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Pakistan faces an education emergency. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa around half the population is illiterate; for females aged nine to 39, this rises to almost three quarters. As part of the UK Government's commitment to get up to 4 million children into school in Pakistan by 2015, our support to implement the Education Sector Plan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will get more than 600,000 boys and girls into primary school, and more than 200,000 boys and girls into secondary school. We will also get more than 20,000 women enrolled in literacy programmes, build 3,840 new classrooms and literacy centres, with upgraded facilities in a further 1,260 schools (e.g. girls lavatories and boundary walls). Our support will also help to increase the number of girls attending school.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department allocated to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan in real terms in each financial year since 2001. [63020]
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Mr Andrew Mitchell: It is not possible to disaggregate the total amount of aid allocated to any one province in Pakistan without incurring disproportionate cost.
The Department for International Development does provide substantial support for programmes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This includes support to implement the province's Education Sector Plan, which will get more than 600,000 boys and girls into primary school, and more than 200,000 boys and girls into secondary school by 2015. Our support for health services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will see 110,000 more children fully immunised, and significantly improve family planning services across the province by 2015.
Yemen: Overseas Aid
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the aid allocated by his Department to Yemen between February and June 2011 has been spent; and on what. [63102]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) spent £14.77 million on aid to Yemen between February and June 2011.
Of this, £9.88 million was spent on humanitarian assistance (a further £6.36 million of approved funds are still to be disbursed); £3.23 million on improving education; £1.21 million on strengthening the Yemeni state's ability to deliver basic services, including policing and justice, and management of the economy; £0.41 million on improving access to basic services for poor and vulnerable Yemenis, and £0.04 million on Yemen policy research.
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether financial receipts from the New Homes Bonus are required to be spent in the local area of the development to which they relate. [62913]
Grant Shapps: The New Homes Bonus is not ring-fenced. The first £200 million was allocated to local authorities in April and authorities will be looking at how best to spend this funding to meet local needs. The priorities of local communities and barriers to growth are different across the country and the Government will not dictate where the Bonus should be spent.
However, local authorities and local councillors need to consider carefully how to respond to local wishes and ensure that the benefits of growth are transparent in the communities where growth takes place—for example, improving play areas, transport improvements or town centre regeneration.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated to each local authority for the new homes bonus scheme. [62967]
Grant Shapps:
The new homes bonus will match fund the additional council tax raised—using the national average in each band—for new homes and long-term empty properties brought back into use, with a premium
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for affordable homes for the following six years. Year 1 (2011-12) allocations for English local authorities were announced on 4 April and paid on 15 April. A full list of year 1 allocations has been placed in the Library of the House.
Full details of the calculation for the bonus for each local authority can be found in the online calculator, available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/newhomesbonus
Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment: Fires
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2010, Official Report, column 180W, on Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment fires, what assessment he has made of the information on the August 2010 fires submitted to his Department; what recent discussions he has had with the Ministry of Defence fire service on emergency response co-ordination; and if he will make it his policy to strengthen the formal links between Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service and the Ministry of Defence fire service. [63360]
Robert Neill: The fire at Aldermaston AWE took place on 3 August 2010. The Ministry of Defence's fire and rescue service investigated the operational response to the incident and produced a report. This identified areas where improvements could be made, including arrangements with the Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service. This review has been completed and I understand the findings have been acted upon by the respective authorities. Officials in my Department liaise closely with the Ministry of Defence's fire and rescue service on a regular basis, and on a range of issues.
Anti-Semitism
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 156W, on anti-Semitism, for what reasons the UK Government uses the Macpherson definition of a racist incident; when the decision was taken to use this definition; who took the decision; whether representatives of the Jewish community were consulted on the definition to be used; and if he will make a statement. [63112]
Andrew Stunell: Sir William Macpherson's definition of a racist incident was developed during the Inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which reported in 1999. The Secretary of State for the Home Department's Action Plan in that same year accepted the definition.
A cross Government hate crime programme was established by Mr Justice Fulford following on from the Macpherson report. During 2007 the programme established a universal definition of hate crime adopted by all criminal justice agencies and Government Departments. This common definition built on the principles of the Macpherson definition and was developed with the oversight of the standing Independent Advisory Group, which includes representation from Jewish Community groups.
The full definition of ‘Monitored Hate Crime’ can be viewed on the police owned website True Vision at:
http://www.report-it.org.uk/hate_crime_data1
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Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 156W, on anti-Semitism, which agencies use the working definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights; and if he will make a statement. [R] [63113]
Andrew Stunell: We do not keep central records on which agencies use the working definition. Criminal justice agencies adopted the common definition of ‘Monitored Hate Crime’ in 2007 and the Association of Chief Police Officers intend to include the working definition in the their Hate Crime Manual.
The full definition of ‘Monitored Hate Crime’ can be viewed on the police owned website, True Vision, at:
http://www.report-it.org.uk/hate_crime_data1
Departmental Official Visits
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2011, Official Report, column 447W, on departmental official visits, and with reference to paragraph 74 of the Third Report of the Procedure Committee, Session 2008-09, on Written Parliamentary Questions, HC 952, if he will disclose the information requested on Ministerial visits that would have been disclosed had a request for the information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 been submitted to his Department. [61038]
Robert Neill: In this instance, the Department no longer holds the information requested.
EU Grants and Loans: West Midlands
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much European regional development fund funding was allocated to the West Midlands in each of the last five years. [63548]
Robert Neill: European regional development fund is allocated in seven year blocks. For the 2000-06 fund programme, €691 million was spent in the West Midlands programme. For the 2007-13 Fund programme, €399.9 million was allocated to the West Midlands programme.
Fire Services
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he is taking steps to provide support for fire and rescue services for the cost of maintaining fire hydrants. [63062]
Robert Neill: Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant. This means that authorities are free to spend it on any service provided they meet their statutory obligations. Spending decisions must be a matter for the local authority, taking into account local priorities.
In new developments the water authorities often add on the cost of hydrant provision to the developer for the site.
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Homelessness: Social Rented Housing
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many homeless households were offered accommodation by local authorities under Section 192(3) of the Housing Act 1996 in each of the last five years; [63335]
(2) what assistance his Department provides for homeless households who are found to be intentionally homeless and not in priority need; [63336]
(3) what steps his Department has taken to encourage local authorities to use their powers under Section 192(3) of the Housing Act 1996 to offer accommodation to homeless households who are found to be not in priority need; and what assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of health, education and policing services arising from local authorities not using such powers. [63337]
Grant Shapps: In 2009/2010, 100,800 households were assisted to obtain alternative accommodation through Local Authorities' prevention/relief activities under section 192(3) of the Housing Act 1996. A further 64,400 households were able to remain in their existing home.
Figures relating to local authorities' prevention/relief activities in 2009-10 were published last August at the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/homelessnessprevention200910
Figures prior to 2009-10 are not available on a comparable basis.
It is for local authorities to decide how best they use their powers to determine whether a homeless household is found to be intentionally homeless and not in priority need.
This Government takes homelessness very seriously, and that is why we are maintaining investment in homelessness grant at £100 million a year for each of the next four years to support local authorities and the voluntary sector in their work to tackle homelessness. This includes £10 million over the next two years for Crisis to help single people access and sustain private rented sector accommodation.
In addition, I established a cross-Government Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness to address the complex causes of homelessness and improve support for homeless people.
This Department has not taken any specific steps to encourage local authorities to use their powers under Section 192(3) of the Housing Act 1996 to offer accommodation to homeless households who are found to be not in priority need; and has not made any assessment of the cost to the public purse of health, education and policing services arising from local authorities not using such powers.
King Edward's Memorial Park
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if his Department will issue a temporary measure under the green areas designation initiative for King Edward's Memorial Park in Shadwell. [62713]
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Robert Neill: The Natural Environment White Paper published on 7 June said we will consult later this year on proposals for a new green areas designation for use in local and neighbourhood plans.
Local Government Finance
Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to provide funding to local authorities for the purposes of enabling a council tax freeze for the (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15 financial years. [61739]
Robert Neill: We have provided additional funding to local councils to freeze council tax for a year from April 2011, saving a typical family up to £72 on a band D home. The funding for the one-year freeze will continue over the spending review period to prevent council tax from shooting up next year, keeping down council tax and locking in that yearly saving for families over the period.
Thanks to this funding, households will benefit from lower council tax bills than would otherwise be the case in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Mayors: Referendums
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how long on average he expects a local authority to take to transfer from a leader and executive model to the shadow mayor model under the provisions of the Localism Bill; [62828]
(2) for what period of time a shadow mayor will be required to be in post before a confirmatory referendum is held under provisions in the Localism Bill; and if he will make a statement; [62855]
(3) whether his Department has made an estimate of the likely average salary of a mayor who assumes chief executive functions within a local council; and if he will make a statement; [62857]
(4) what information will be made available to local authorities on changing local governance arrangements in advance of their required move to the shadow mayor model. [62868]
Robert Neill: The committee considering the Localism Bill in the other place has agreed amendments, supported by the Government, which remove all provisions for shadow mayors and mayoral management arrangements.
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the effects of adoption of the elected mayor model on levels of public (a) recognition, (b) satisfaction and (c) engagement in (i) Hartlepool, (ii) Middlesbrough, (iii) Bedford and (iv) Doncaster; and if he will make a statement. [62829]
Robert Neill: The Department's research paper, ‘The New Council Constitutions—The Outcomes and Impact of the Local Government Act 2000’, published in October 2007, includes an assessment of the effects of the adoption of the elected mayor model on the levels of public recognition, satisfaction and engagement.
Numerous other non-governmental reports have also been published on these matters.
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Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what steps he plans to take to ensure that areas choosing a leader and executive governance model have access to similar powers and freedoms as areas choosing an elected mayor; [62856]
(2) what criteria he will use to determine whether an elected mayor outside the 12 largest cities in England will be granted the powers and freedoms granted to mayors of those cities; and if he will make a statement; [62858]
(3) with reference to the Localism Bill: creating executive mayors in the 12 largest English cities: impact assessment, when his Department expects to complete its consideration of the powers and freedoms to be granted to elected mayors; and when the second impact assessment on shadow mayors will be published; [62859]
(4) what application process elected mayors outside the 12 largest English cities who wish to be granted additional powers and freedoms will be required to follow; and if he will make a statement. [62869]
Robert Neill: The Institute for Government and Centre for Cities' report suggests mayors, particularly in our major cities, should have greater powers to promote economic growth including over issues such as transport and strategic planning. We are looking to each of the major cities to tell us the type of powers they would expect their mayor to have, and in our Structural Reform Plan we are committed to consult in September this year on mayoral powers. Our consideration of possible mayoral powers will include looking at their potential impact on the areas concerned, and at whether any such power might appropriately be given to other elected mayors outside the major cities, having regard to the circumstances of their local authority.
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when his Department expects to publish a draft recall mechanism for elected mayors; and if he will make a statement. [62860]
Robert Neill: The Government are committed to bringing forward legislation to introduce a power to recall Members of Parliament where they have engaged in serious wrongdoing. We are currently considering what would be the fairest, most appropriate and robust procedure and we intend to make a statement soon setting out our plans to establish a recall mechanism.
Once a recall system is introduced for Members of Parliament, we intend to consider possible recall mechanisms for other elected offices, including local authority elected mayors.
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings his Department has held with other Government departments to discuss the powers of elected mayors under the provisions of the Localism Bill; and if he will make a statement. [62861]
Robert Neill: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters.
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Mobile Homes
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made on his Department’s consultation on steps to protect park home owners. [63688]
Grant Shapps: On 10 February 2011, I announced a proposal to consult on a range of measures to improve the licensing regime which applies to park home and caravan sites so local authorities are better equipped and resourced to tackle problems of poor management in the sector and so better protect the health and safety of residents. I also announced that I plan to consult on improvements to the buying and selling process of park homes to prevent the unacceptable practice of the blocking of lawful sales by unscrupulous site owners and to provide an effective means of redress for residents where this happens. In May, myself and officials met key industry and resident partners, and officials met separately with local authority partners and representatives of holiday caravan owners, to help inform the consultation and gain a better understanding of the expectations and aspirations of our partners in this sector of the housing market. The Department plans to publish the consultation shortly.
Non-Domestic Rates: Third Sector
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the future level of funding for local authorities to provide (a) mandatory and (b) discretionary business rate relief for (i) community amateur sports clubs and (ii) charitable community organisations. [62981]
Robert Neill: Central Government fully fund mandatory relief and part funds discretionary relief for Community Amateur Sports Clubs and charities. The Government support and value the role of mandatory and discretionary rate relief.
Quarrying: Kent
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to make a decision on the proposed westerly extension to Hermitage Quarry, Aylesford, Kent, reference TM10/2029, in Maidstone and The Weald constituency. [63259]
Robert Neill: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), is currently considering whether to call-in this planning application for his own consideration or to leave the decision with Kent county council. He hopes to make his decision by the end of July.
Social Services: Finance
Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has met the Secretary of State for Health to discuss implications for local authorities of the forthcoming Dilnot Commission report. [62800]
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Robert Neill: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from the Department for Health to discuss a range of matters.
Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will discuss with local authorities the allocation of additional funding provided for social care. [63121]
Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply.
Officials and Ministers from the Department of Health have regular discussions with local authorities and representatives from local government on the spending review settlement for social care, and will continue to do so.
Home Department
Departmental Buildings
Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the address is of each office property occupied by her Department outside Greater London which it (a) owns and (b) rents; what the level of utilisation is of each such property; what the capital value is of each such property it owns; and what the (i) annual rental cost and (ii) length of lease agreement is of each rented property. [61179]
Damian Green: The Department is taking steps to reduce the size of its office estate to meet its future business needs and reduced staffing levels. Measures to deliver this include consolidation of accommodation across the Home Office group. Estate consolidations are under way in London, Croydon and Liverpool. In Croydon for instance buildings totalling 26,000 square metres were surrendered last December.
Utilisation rates change regularly and are monitored by estates managers directly as part of estate rationalisation planning, rather than being centrally recorded. The disclosable details of the Department's estate outside Greater London taken from the estate database are provided in a table which has been placed in the House Library. The table provides the name of the building or function within its main town or nearest main town. This may comprise some individually leased or multiple spaces.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has any plans to generate low-carbon energy from its estate. [63323]
Damian Green: In the last financial year 45% of purchased electricity on the Home Office estate came from low or zero carbon renewable sources. We have no current plans to generate low carbon energy but, with our facilities managers, we are constantly reviewing the latest technologies against the potential of our assets to install such technologies.
We have already implemented a programme of measures to reduce CO2 emissions as part of the Prime Minister's target to cut energy use by 10% across central Government
4 July 2011 : Column 1005W
in 12 months, including introducing a payment by results mechanism as an incentive for one of our facilities managers' suppliers to deliver energy and carbon savings.
Firearms: Licensing
Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to discussing changes of fees for firearm and shotgun certificates with organisations representing firearms users and the gun trade. [63077]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office has sought and received some information from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on police costs in granting and renewing certificates which has been discussed with organisations representing firearms users and the gun trade. Further information is being sought and when this has been received the data will be analysed and we will hold discussions with all interested parties on the proposed new fee levels.
Metropolitan Police
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many positions in the Metropolitan Police Service are designated as police staff roles; [63192]
(2) how many police staff roles in the Metropolitan Police Service are occupied by police officers. [63193]
Nick Herbert: The requested information is not collected centrally in this form. Latest available figures published by the Home Office show that there were 32,900 police officers, 14,047 police staff and 4,387 police community support officers employed by the Metropolitan Police Service on 30 September 2010.
These figures are on a full-time equivalent basis and exclude designated officers (section 38) and traffic wardens.
Metropolitan Police: Disability
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in the Metropolitan Police Service are (a) disabled and (b) placed on restricted duties. [63194]
Nick Herbert: Of the police officers in post in the Metropolitan Police Service on 31 March 2010, 184 were designated as disabled and 1,122 were placed on restricted duties.
Disability is self-declared following the definition used in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. This figure quoted is a full-time equivalent figure that has been rounded to the nearest whole number.
Restricted duties are duties or conditions approved, other than for recuperative purposes, for fixed periods totalling more than 28 consecutive days (including rest days) for any officer who is unable for a specific reason to carry out one or more aspects of full operational duty. This figure quoted is a headcount figure.
Data are unverified and provided on a provisional basis only.
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Metropolitan Police: Manpower
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilian staff are employed to assist the Metropolitan Police Service in the investigation of crimes. [63404]
Nick Herbert: Figures are not collected to show the total number of police staff employed in this role. Latest available data show the number of designated investigation officers (section 38) in post in the Metropolitan Police Service on 31 March 2010 was zero.
Designated investigation officers are persons employed by the police authority who have been chosen by chief officers to exercise specified powers which would otherwise only be available to police officers. These and their designated police staff were introduced as part of the Police Reform Act 2002. Sections 38 and 39 of the Act enables the appropriate designation of skilled police staff to one or more of four roles: police community support officer, investigation officer, detention officer and escort officer.
Police: Accountability
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a police and crime commissioner will be authorised to appoint a civilian to the position of chief constable from May 2012; and if she will make a statement. [46798]
Nick Herbert: The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill currently restricts eligibility for appointment to the position of chief constable to persons already holding the office of constable. The Government have brought forward amendments to the Bill for consideration by the House of Lords on Report in that House. These amendments would extend the eligibility criteria by allowing a person who has previously held the office of constable to be appointed. This would mean, for example, that a retired chief constable would be eligible. A person who has not previously been a member of a police force (and therefore not held the office of constable) will continue to be ineligible.
Cabinet Office
Cancer
Tim Farron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the incidence of cancer was in each (a) constituency, (b) primary care trust area, (c) hospital trust area, (d) region and (e) social demographic group in the most recent period for which figures are available. [63353]
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 June 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the incidence of cancer was in each (a) constituency, (b) primary care trust area, (c) hospital trust area, (d) region and (e) social demographic group in the most recent period for which figures are available. [63353]
4 July 2011 : Column 1007W
The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2008. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
The tables provide the number of newly diagnosed cases of cancer in each parliamentary constituency (Table 1), primary care organisation (Table 2) and region in England for the year 2008.
Copies of Tables 1 and 2 have been placed in the House of Commons library. Table 3 is included in this answer.
ONS does not publish figures on cancer incidence by hospital trust area or social demographic group. NHS hospital trusts are commissioned by primary care organisations to provide health services. Whilst primary care organisations have geographical boundaries, hospital trusts do not. Information on cancer incidence by social demographic group is not available, as this information is not routinely recorded on individual cancer registrations.
The latest published figures on the incidence of cancer in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/mb1-39/mb1-no39-2008.pdf
| Table 3. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of cancer, persons, regions of England, 2008 (1, 2, 3) | |
| Region | Cancer registrations |
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| (1) Cancer incidence is defined using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 excluding code C44, non-melanoma skin cancer (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Newly diagnosed cases registered in 2008. | |
Charity Commission: Manpower
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the level of staff turnover was in the Charity Commission office in (a) London and (b) Liverpool in each of the last 10 years. [63839]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission for England and Wales. I have asked the Commission to reply.
Letter from Sam Younger, dated 4 July 2011:
As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question on what the level of staff turnover was in the Charity Commission office in (a) London and (b) Liverpool in each of the last 10 years. [63839]
The figures are shown in the table below.
The Charity Commission has not made anyone compulsorily redundant in the last 10 years. A number of people have left voluntarily via exit schemes under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. These are shown in the right-hand column and are a subset of the voluntary leavers.
|
|
|
Staff in post at start | All leavers | % turnover | Voluntary compensated exits | % turnover |
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4 July 2011 : Column 1010W
I hope this information is helpful.
Civil Servants: Pensions
Steve Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much each Government Department contributed to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme in respect of (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [62597]
Mr Maude: The employer contributions received by the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme are in the following table.
| £ | ||
| Name | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department has any plans to generate low-carbon energy from its estate. [63255]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office currently has no plans to generate low-carbon energy from its estate.
Jobseeker’s Allowance: Bexley
Mr Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency who work less than 16 hours a week are receiving jobseeker’s allowance. [63531]
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, date d July 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 Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency who work less than 16 hours a week are receiving jobseeker’s allowance. (063531)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics on claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) from Jobcentre Plus administrative data, however this source does not provide information on the employment status of claimants.
An alternative source of information for JSA claimants for local areas is the Annual Population Survey (APS), however this source does not have sufficient sample to provide estimates for working claimants in parliamentary constituencies.
Ministerial Policy Advisers: Social Media
Dr Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department provides guidance to special advisers on the use of Twitter and other social media for the purposes of engaging in debate on matters of national controversy related to matters for which their Minister (a) has and (b) does not have responsibility. [63689]
Mr Maude: Standards of conduct set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code apply to all forms of official communication.
Copies are available in the Library of the House and can be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/special-advisers-code-of-conduct.pdf
and the civil service website at:
www.civilservice.gov.uk