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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 20 July 2011
Attorney-General
Departmental Contracts
Mr Denham: To ask the Attorney-General what the annual value is of the Law Officers Department’s current contracts in each sector in which contracts are held. [66631]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has contracts and framework agreements in place across all major sectors of expenditure in respect of goods and services. It is estimated that over 90% of the Department's expenditure on goods and services is committed via these agreements. The remaining expenditure is made through ad hoc contracts and purchases made via high street and online retailers.
The total expenditure in each sector during 2010-11 was:
|
|
£ |
The value of the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) expenditure by major category is disclosed each year in HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Resource Accounts. These figures also include expenditure by the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. The Department's best estimate is that 85-90% of its expenditure is under contract.
The departmental administration expenditure figures for 2010-11 are shown at page 60 in the 2010-11 Resource Accounts HC 967 a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The main items, excluding property leases, are:
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| Sector | Expenditure (£000) |
Additionally TSol makes payments of disbursements, including counsel fees, under contract. The Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure (page 48 of 2010-11 Resource Accounts) shows 2010-11 disbursement costs as £32.2 million. Disbursement costs incurred on behalf of clients are recovered from clients.
The Serious Fraud Office has framework agreements and contracts in place for all major sectors of expenditure in respect of goods and services. Over 90% of expenditure is committed via these contracts. The remaining expenditure is made via ad hoc contracts and one-off ‘spot’ purchases via high street and online retailers at all times seeking to deliver the best value of money. The total expenditure by the Serious Fraud Office in each sector during 2010-11 is outlined in the following table:
| Sector | Expenditure (£) |
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Scotland
Departmental Responsibilities
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings he has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010. [67158]
Michael Moore: I have met many hon. Members from a range of political parties since May 2010 in my role as Secretary of State for Scotland. The information provided only relates to formal meetings with MPs and does not include the regular informal discussions I have with hon. Members from all political parties:
|
|
Number |
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party. [67181]
Michael Moore: I regularly meet hon. Members from a range of political parties both formally and informally. The Scotland Office does not keep a record of declined meetings and has no plans to do so.
Wales
Departmental Lost Property
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what property has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost of replacement was. [66568]
Treasury
Commodity Markets
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the (a) costs and (b) benefits to the financial services sector of (i) exchange trading of commodity derivatives and (ii) position limits for non-commercial participants in commodity derivatives markets. [67603]
Mr Hoban:
The Government have no plans to assess costs and benefits to the financial services sector of exchange trading of commodities. However the Government believe that trading in commodities markets plays an important role in providing liquidity (the volume of trades being made in a market) in these markets and that liquidity is essential to the effective functioning of these markets. Against the backdrop of climate change, and the possibility that international agricultural prices
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may become more volatile over time, the role of agricultural futures and options markets, and the liquidity they rely on, become more important.
The recent advice given by the Committee of European Securities Regulators (now European Securities and Markets Authority) to the European Commission in October 2010 provides a thorough assessment of the costs and benefits of position limits as part of the regulatory framework for commodity derivatives. This advice can be found here:
http://www.esma.europa.eu/index.php?page=document_ details&from_title=Documents&id=7279
Consistent with this advice, the Government believe that the authority to set position limits would appropriately be a part of a position management regime, though not the leading element. Position limits by their nature are inflexible tools, and the Government are sceptical that such measures would be effective in reducing the presence of a particular participant type in the market, or would be an effective tool to address price volatility.
Corporation Tax: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of devolving powers relating to the setting of rates of corporation tax on the allocation of funding to the Scottish Parliament through the block grant. [59642]
Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will (a) estimate and (b) set out the methodology for estimating the effect on the revenue of the Scottish Executive of introducing a corporation tax rate in Scotland matching the rate in the Republic of Ireland. [62939]
Mr Gauke: A copy of this analysis has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the underlying figures and calculations on corporation tax raised in Scotland referred to in the press release issued by the Secretary of State for Scotland on 23 June 2011. [65631]
Mr Gauke: I have written to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested. A copy has also been deposited in the Library of the House.
Economic Situation: Belgium
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the risk of a downgrading of the credit rating of bonds issued by the (a) private and (b) public sector in Belgium. [67018]
Mr Hoban: It is not for the Government to speculate on what the credit ratings agencies may or may not do. The UK authorities are keeping the situation in the euro area under close review, including its potential impact on UK institutions and financial stability. Contingency planning is in place for a wide variety of outcomes.
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Economic Situation: Republic of Ireland
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the potential effects of the downgrading of Ireland's credit rating on (a) UK GDP, (b) the UK manufacturing industry and (c) agriculture in the UK. [67404]
Danny Alexander: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts. The OBR made a full assessment of UK economic prospects in their “Economic and Fiscal Outlook”, published alongside Budget 2011, which can be found online at:
http://budgetresponsbility.independent.gov.uk
The autumn Economic and Fiscal Outlook will provide an updated assessment that reflects relevant developments, including in Ireland.
Financial Services: Taxation
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of tax receipts from financial services institutions in 2011-12; and how much tax revenue was received from such institutions in each year since 1997. [66729]
Mr Gauke: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published a forecast for corporation tax receipts from financial companies alongside their March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook. These figures are in table 2.5 of the fiscal supplementary tables, available on the internet at:
http://86.54.44.148/wordpress/docs/obr_fiscal_supplementary_tables1.xls
The OBR published their first fiscal sustainability report on 13 July. This report additionally includes a projection of PAYE receipts for the financial sector for 2011-12 and up to 2015-16. However, the PAYE projection is a stylised extrapolation rather than a formal forecast. This information is available in the spreadsheet containing the data for the main charts and tables from the report, available at the following link, at box 4.1 (chart B). The figures for PAYE receipts are on a national accounts basis. A formal PAYE forecast for the financial sector is not produced.
http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/pubs/July-2011-FSR-main-report-charts-and-tables.xls
No such forecast or projection is available for any other taxes.
For past years, HM Revenue and Customs has produced a breakdown by broad industrial sector for corporation tax, PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs) and value added tax (VAT).
National Statistics for corporation tax receipts paid by several broadly-defined business sectors can be found in table 11.1 on the HMRC National Statistics website available at the following internet address. This table includes a sectoral breakdown of receipts for financial years from 2000-01. The sectors are defined by HMRC’s summary trade classifications. There are some slight methodological differences between these figures and those published by the OBR, which mean that they are not fully comparable.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11_1.pdf
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Total PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs received by HMRC in respect of employee and employer liabilities combined are shown, split by sector in the accompanying table back to 1999-2000. These figures are for financial years (amounts received by HMRC between April and March). This differs slightly to the national accounts basis underlying the PAYE figures published by the OBR and referred to above (amounts received by HMRC between May and April).
The sectors are defined by the Office for National Statistics’ Standard Industrial Classification 2003.
| Total receipts for PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs in respect of employee and employer liabilities combined from financial intermediation, 1999-2000 to 2010-11 | |
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|
Receipts (£ billion) |
Declared VAT is published by trade group in table 23 of HMRC’s latest VAT factsheet. This can be accessed at the following location on the internet and provides estimates back to 2004.
https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=factvat
Archived factsheets provide figures for earlier years, available at:
https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task= factarchive&factcategory=8
National Insurance Contributions
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has any plans to review the availability of the national insurance holiday scheme to regions not currently within the scheme; [66965]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2011, Official Report, columns 817-18, on national insurance contributions, what steps he is taking to increase take-up of the national insurance holiday scheme. [66966]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 18 July 2011]: The information is as follows:
(1) The Government have considered the case for extending the NICs holiday to regions not currently within the scheme. We believe, however, that the best use of public funds is to target the NICs holiday at supporting new businesses in their first year, reducing the cost of hiring staff and improving the likelihood of business survival.
(2) From the date of the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), new employers calling HMRC’s new employer helpline have heard a recorded message about the holiday. From 6 September 2010, all new employers registering for a PAYE scheme with HMRC
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have received a flyer promoting the scheme, directing them to the Business Link site which has promoted the holiday and provided guidance in support of the application process from the outset. This guidance was updated in May 2011 to widen the scope of those entitled to apply for the holiday to include authorised agents.
In addition, HMRC has been working with employer representatives to raise the profile of the scheme and is exploring further opportunities to promote it wherever possible.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for the national insurance holiday scheme had been (a) received and (b) approved in each region as at 30 June 2011. [67042]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 18 July 2011]:Up to 30 June 2011, HMRC had received (a) 4,919 successful and (b)158 unsuccessful applications for the NICs holiday from new businesses. The regional breakdown is as follows:
|
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Successful | Unsuccessful |
Private Finance Initiative
Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to review the guidance issued on the calculation of the value of estimated tax receipts for all public sector economic assessments of all private finance initiative projects. [67676]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 19 July 2011]:The existing guidance on how to evaluate taxation differences which arise when considering the use of the private finance initiative (PFI) is available as supplementary guidance to the Green Book at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_greenbook_supguidance.htm
The guidance outlines how to estimate the differential tax rate, which is used to uplift the Public Sector Comparator cost used in Value for Money assessments to ensure the decision is taken net of tax take.
We will continue to use this method when considering differential tax take in the value for money assessment for projects involving private finance.
Public Sector: Pensions
Katy Clark:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has assessed the potential effect of implementation of the proposals contained in
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the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission's Final Report on the average life expectancy of
(a)
teachers,
(b)
NHS workers,
(c)
local government workers and
(d)
civil servants. [64194]
Danny Alexander: The Independent Public Service Pensions Commission found that in the context of uncertain and increasing longevity current scheme designs are not sufficiently robust to ensure the sustainability of public service pensions. The package of reforms recommended by the Commission is a balanced deal that will deliver fair outcomes for public service workers and for taxpayers and build trust and confidence in the system.
HM Treasury does not make estimates of life expectancy, but instead uses figures produced by the Office for National Statistics. The latest life expectancy data are available on the ONS webpage at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15098&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=272
Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of public sector pensions in each year since 1997. [66721]
Danny Alexander: Expenditure on unfunded central and local government pensions since 1997 has been published in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis. This covers expenditure in the central unfunded public service schemes, but not the locally administered police and firefighters' pension schemes or the funded Local Government Pension Scheme. This information is shown in nominal terms in the following table:
|
|
Expenditure (£ million) |
PESA.2011 is available online at the following address:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pespub_pesa_July11_natstats.htm
Estimates of expenditure on a national accounts basis are also published by the Office for National Statistics in the Blue Book and by the Office for Budget Responsibility in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Employer contributions paid into for the funded Local Government Pension Scheme in England since 1999 are presented in chapter 7 of the Local Government Financial Statistics England 2010. These are shown in nominal terms in the following table and the full document is available online at the following address:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/financialstatistics202010
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|
|
Employer contributions (£ million) |
Revenue and Customs: Technology
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on freight detection technology in each year since 2007. [67738]
Damian Green: I have been asked to reply.
During the period, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and UK Border Agency (UKBA) spent the following amounts on the purchase of high energy cargo scanning systems:
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|
£ |
State Retirement Pensions: Females
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on transitional arrangements for women born in 1953 and 1954 when implementing a new statutory retirement age; and if he will make a statement. [61917]
Mr Hoban: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), regularly discusses a range of social security and employment related matters with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith).
Education
Children and Families Ministerial Taskforce
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what work has been undertaken by the Childhood and Families Taskforce to date; and what meetings the Taskforce has convened since it was established; [66272]
(2) who the (a) members of and (b) contributors to the Childhood and Families Taskforce are. [66289]
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Sarah Teather: The Prime Minister set up the Childhood and Families Task Force to ensure policies across different departments come together to tackle some of the major obstacles to a happy childhood and a successful family life.
The Childhood and Families Task Force is chaired by the Prime Minister and comprises: the Deputy Prime Minister; the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Duncan Smith); the Minister of State, Department for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather); the Minister for Universities and Science (Mr Willetts); the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening); and the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton).
Since the Childhood and Families Task Force was established, there have been regular ministerial meetings and it has overseen a range of activities led by the Departments that are members of the group, including: Reg Bailey's review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of children; the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Mr Allen)’s review of early intervention; the modern workplaces consultation; the £30 million dedicated fund for relationship support; the Family Justice Review; and action to meet the ambition to turn around the lives of families with multiple problems.
Children in Care
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who is legally responsible for the actions of children taken into care and placed with foster parents; and if he will make a statement. [66163]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 14 July 2011]: Legal responsibility for the actions of a child placed with foster carers will depend on the legal status of the child and what the actions concerned are. A child above the age of criminal responsibility could be legally responsible for his or her criminal actions. Broadly speaking the child's foster carer is responsible for the child's day-to-day behaviour by, for example, ensuring that they go to school.
In the case of a voluntarily accommodated child the parent(s) will have parental responsibility. If the child is subject to a care order the local authority will also have parental responsibility.
As corporate parents, we expect local authorities to act as the best possible parent for each child they look after and to advocate on his or her behalf to secure the best possible outcomes. The child's social worker will maintain regular contact with the child and carer to ensure that the child is being appropriately supported.
Children in Care: Adoption
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to increase the likelihood of children in care being adopted into stable families. [67357]
Tim Loughton
[holding answer 19 July 2011]: I am determined to see more children in care adopted, where this is in their best interests and the best possible support given to adoptive families to help ensure the success and permanence of adoptions. I want to see more children considered for adoption who in the past may have been overlooked—children who are older or
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have disabilities or very complex needs. I particularly want local authorities to consider carefully their matching and placement practice in respect of black and minority ethnic children who often wait much longer than others.
That is why I have recently appointed Martin Narey, former chief executive of Barnardo's, as Ministerial Adviser on Adoption. He will visit individual local authorities to identify and share good practice, and challenge poorer practices, especially for those children who are often overlooked for adoption—older children, disabled children—or who can face significant delay, such as black children. I have published his full remit on the Department for Education website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/adoption/a00192226/martin-narey-appointed-as-ministerial-adviser-on-adoption
I set up last year a ministerial advisory group on adoption to help steer my wider programme of reform. In November I wrote to directors of children's services and lead members emphasising the importance of adoption and of reducing delays in the adoption process. I subsequently published revised statutory adoption guidance, and an Adoption Data Pack which highlights the variations between local authorities. I have also hosted a number of roundtable events with adoptive parents, adopted children, judges, directors of children's services and adoption panels to take their views about where change is needed.
The Department also provides grant funding to the British Association for Adoption and Fostering to promote adoption, including through National Adoption Week and National Exchange Days, and to the Coram Foundation and Barnardo's to support local authorities in improving their adoption outcomes. I have also approved funding to extend the Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care programme (an evidence-based intervention programme for children in care) to adopted children and families.
All of this is within the wider context of the work the Government are undertaking to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families. This includes action following the Munro Review of Child Protection and the work of the Family Justice Review.
Conditions of Employment
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings officials of his Department have had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Government's employment law review since May 2011. [67221]
Mr Gibb: The review of employment-related laws being co-ordinated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is a cross-Government initiative.
All Departments with an interest or responsibility for employment-related law are engaged in the process, and relevant officials are in contact with BIS on a regular basis in taking forward the review.
CSE
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) entered for and (b) passed each CSE subject in each year since 1981. [65076]
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Mr Gibb: The information requested is not available.
Apprentices
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has a policy on requirements for the provision of (a) apprenticeships and (b) other training by (i) his Department’s prime contractors and (ii) suppliers in the supply chain of such contractors. [66606]
Tim Loughton: It is the Department’s policy to include a condition in any appropriate contract that contractors employ apprentices during the delivery of that contract. There is no similar obligation on suppliers in the supply chain.
Contractors are encouraged to provide relevant skills training to their staff.
Departmental Buildings
Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the address is of each office property occupied by his 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. [61175]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education occupies three office properties outside of Greater London, the details of which are listed in the following table:
| Property name | Address | Value (£) |
The Mowden Hall site in Darlington and the Castle View House site in Runcorn are freehold properties owned by the Department. The St Paul's Place building in Sheffield is also owned by the Department, but the ground lease is not and the Department pays a ‘peppercorn' rent, which runs until September 2259. Both the Mowden Hall site and the St Paul's Place facility are fully occupied. The Castle View House site is currently 73% utilised with the remaining space being actively marketed to the public and private sector both commercially and through the Government Property Unit.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the carbon dioxide emissions from his Department in (a) June 2010 and (b) June 2011. [66759]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education’s carbon emission were as follows:
(a) In June 2010, the Department emitted 694 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
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(b) In June 2011, the Department emitted 576 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
These data comprise energy use from the Department’s four headquarter buildings and business travel data. Travel data for June 2011 have been estimated based on 2010 emission levels.
The Department has exceeded the Prime Minister’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 10%, achieving a reduction of 21.5%, and is now focused on Government’s further agenda to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2015.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 978W, on departmental carbon emissions, whether the sources of low-carbon energy generation on its estate were manufactured in the UK. [67933]
Tim Loughton: On 4 July 2011 the Department confirmed the installation of solar panels at its Sheffield site. The specification, procurement and installation of the panels were undertaken as part of the pre-tenancy ‘fit-out’ work, managed by a third party contractor, prior to the occupation of the building by the Department. As a result, the Department does not hold the information requested.
Departmental e-mail
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has issued to officials of his Department on the use of e-mail accounts not supported by his Government's IT system to communicate with (a) schools considering academy status and (b) individuals, groups, charities, businesses and other bodies applying to establish free schools. [67694]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 19 July 2011]:The guidance issued to staff in the Department for Education on the use of personal, non-DFE e-mail accounts for communications relating to their official duties (irrespective of the individual or organisation being communicated with) is as follows:
‘Never use non-DfE email services (such as your own personal internet email account on Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, MobileMe, etc.) to carry out Departmental business.'
A more detailed extract from this guidance for DFE staff, covering the salient points, is as follows:
Essential steps to protect information in DFE
Use only official DFE ICT systems, services and devices to access or store DFE information
Official DFE ICT (Information and Communications Technology), computing and telephony services, systems and devices, have been configured, risk assessed, and tested to ensure they are secure enough for Departmental business. Official DFE mobile devices (Laptops and BlackBerry's) have HM Government approved strong encryption enabled.
You should therefore:
Never use non-DFE devices (such as your own laptop, PC, Mac, PDA or memory stick) to access or store DFE Information.
Never use non-DFE e-mail services (such as your own personal internet e-mail account on Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, MobileMe, etc.) to carry out departmental business.
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Never set your ‘Out of Office' message or e-mail forwarding rules to direct official e-mail to your personal internet e-mail account.
If you have a compelling requirement to conduct DFE business when away from the office, but do not already have the appropriate DFE remote working tools to support this, talk to your line manager about making the business case.
Why is this so important?
The loss or compromise of personal or otherwise sensitive information that has not been adequately protected can have serious consequences including:
Financial loss, disruption to the work of the Department, or distress to citizens or staff;
Damage to DFE's reputation which could in turn lead to loss of public confidence in the services of our Department or of Government as a whole;
Breach of the Data Protection Act, which could lead to public censure of the Department by the Information Commissioner, whose statutory powers also include the right to impose fines on the Department of up to £500,000.
Use of unapproved ICT systems, services and devices could also put in jeopardy the Department's continued right to use the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) which we rely on for secure intra-government e-mail and data sharing.
As well as breaching security rules the use of unapproved ICT systems, services and devices to conduct Government business also creates Information Management issues. For example: information not held on DFE ICT systems would not be searched when responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request.
Departmental Lost Property
Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what property has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost of replacement was. [66576]
Tim Loughton: A breakdown of reported lost or stolen property from the Department for Education in the last 12 month period 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 is as follows:
|
|
Lost (a) | Stolen (b) | Total | Total estimated cost of replacement (£) |
| (1) Not replaced | ||||
Departmental Procurement
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many procurement contracts his Department has awarded to small businesses since May 2010. [67249]
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Tim Loughton: The information on how many procurement contracts were awarded by the Department for Education to small and medium-sized enterprises since May 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I can tell my hon. Friend that under the transparency agenda, since January 2011, the Department for Education has reported 43 separate contracts awarded, 27 of which were to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since the website's inception. [67250]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not maintain a central record of those contracts that have not been advertised, for example contracts that have been let following a call off from a framework agreement. To include those contracts in the calculation of the proportion of contracts advertised on Contracts Finder could be done only at disproportionate costs.
However, of the 23 contracts that have been advertised since 1 January 2011, 11 or 48% have been advertised on Contracts Finder.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Access to Education Advocate on (a) the abolition of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) and (b) the new 16 to 19 Bursary Fund; and whether any such discussions took place prior to the announcement of the abolition of the EMA. [67880]
Mr Gibb: Between the date of his appointment, in December 2010, and the announcement of the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund in March 2011, the Advocate for Access to Education met regularly Department for Education officials and Ministers to discuss financial support for young people. We took account of his work in designing the new 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, which schools and colleges will be able to use to support those students who most need financial assistance to continue in education or training post-16.
Equality Act 2010
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to enable schools to meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010. [66814]
Sarah Teather: The Equality Act 2010 simplifies and consolidates the protections and duties which existed under previous equality legislation. Where the law has changed or protection has been extended to cover new protected groups, schools that were already complying with previous equality legislation and with education law more broadly should not experience any significant difference or difficulty with what they now need to do to comply.
To help schools meet their obligations under the Act, the Department for Education has produced web-based advice which explains what the law requires and provides examples of action that could constitute unlawful
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discrimination. This advice will be updated shortly to include an explanation of what the new public sector equality specific duties will mean for schools once they come into force.
The Department is also working with the education sector, including teaching unions, to ensure that schools have available to them resources and case studies giving them a framework of examples of what they may do to comply.
Early Years Provision
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what timetable he has set for the review of the code of practice for local authorities on delivery of free early years provision for children aged three and four; [65822]
(2) what criteria he plans to use in undertaking the review of the code of practice for local authorities on delivery of free early years provision for children aged three and four. [65823]
Sarah Teather: We will be consulting in the autumn on streamlining the code of practice for local authorities on delivery of free early years provision for three and four-year-olds. The aim of the review will be to ensure that the code is clearly understood by local authorities enabling them to set out a clear offer to parents and their children and to providers; does all it can to promote children's access to their entitlement; and reduces national prescription and so helps to free up local authorities (and in turn providers) from unnecessary and often burdensome red tape.
The consultation will be published on the Department's website and will run for 12 weeks. The consultation will conform to the seven criteria set out in the Government's Code of Practice on Consultation which can be found on the Department's website at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations
The intention is that revised statutory guidance will come into force in September 2012. It will follow the Department's new approach to advice and guidance which is explained on the website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice
Further Education: Access
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) staff in his Department have had with the Access to Education Advocate on further education for those aged 16 to 19 years. [67882]
Mr Gibb: The right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) was appointed as Advocate for Access to Education to work with the Government to ensure that their goal of increasing participation in higher education by those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds is met. During the course of his work, he has met Department for Education Ministers and officials to discuss matters relating to further education for those aged 16 to 19 years.
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Further Education: Finance
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been allocated for 16 to 19 bursaries in each local authority area for 2011-12. [66836]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 18 July 2011 ]: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck) with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 18 July 2011:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Questions PQ66836 and PQ66837 that ask:
“How much has been allocated for the education maintenance allowance replacement bursaries in each local authority area for 2011-12.” PQ66836
“How much has been allocated from the education maintenance allowance replacement bursary fund to each school and college in London for 2011-12.” PQ66837
We are still finalising the bursary allocations for the academic year 2011/12 for individual schools, colleges and other education and training providers and we are therefore not yet able to provide the information you have requested. We intend to publish the bursary allocations shortly and I will write to you with the details asked for as soon as possible.
Further Education: Transport
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to review local authority transport statements for young people aged 16 to 18 years for 2011-12. [66177]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 18 July 2011]: Legislation requires local authorities to publish a transport policy statement by the end of May each year. The statement should set out the arrangements that the local authority will make in the following academic year to help students of sixth-form age access education and training. The Department for Education is in the process of establishing whether all local authorities have published their 2011 transport statements.
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GCE A-level
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in (a) comprehensive schools, (b) selective schools, (c) modern schools, (d) independent schools, (e) sixth form colleges, (f) other further education sector colleges and (g) in total gained grades (i) A*, (ii) A, (iii) B, (iv) C, (v) D, (vi) E and (vii) U for A-levels in (A) mathematics, (B) further mathematics, (C) English, (D) physics, (E) chemistry, (F) biology, (G) geography, (H) history, (I) a classical language and (J) a modern language in the most recent academic year for which figures are available. [65496]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 11 July 2011]: The requested information has been placed in the House Libraries.
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many and what proportion of pupils in (a) comprehensive schools, (b) selective schools, (c) modern schools, (d) independent schools, (e) sixth form colleges, (f) other further education sector colleges and (g) in total gained at least three A-levels at grade AAB or above of which two or more were from the following subjects (i) mathematics, (ii) further mathematics, (iii) English, (iv) physics, (v) chemistry, (vi) biology, (vii) geography, (viii) history, (ix) a classical language and (x) a modern language in the most recent academic year for which figures are available; [65497]
(2) how many and what proportion of pupils in (a) comprehensive schools, (b) selective schools, (c) modern schools, (d) independent schools, (e) sixth form colleges, (f) other further education sector colleges and (g) in total gained at least three A-levels at grade AAB or above from the following combination (i) mathematics, (ii) further mathematics, (iii) English, (iv) physics, (v) chemistry, (vi) biology, (vii) geography, (viii) history, (ix) a classical language and (x) a modern language in the most recent academic year for which figures are available. [65498]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 11 July 2011]: The requested information for 2010 is shown in the following table.
| School type | Number of students taking GCE A levels | Number of students who gained at least three GCE A levels at grade AAB or above | Number of students who gained at least three GCE A levels at grade AAB or above of which two or more were from the subjects listed above | Number of students who gained at least three GCE A levels at grade AAB or above from the subjects listed above | Percentage of students who gained at least three GCE A levels at grade AAB or above | Percentage of students who gained at least three GCE A levels at grade AAB or above of which two or more were from the subjects listed above | Percentage of students who gained at least three GCE A levels at grade AAB or above from the subjects listed above |
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| Notes: 1. Students get counted once (at their highest grade) if they have been entered for more than one A level in any subject category. 2. The figures in this answer are derived from data collected for the Performance tables. | |||||||
GCE O-level
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) entered for and (b) passed each GCE O-level subject in each year since 1981. [65075]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is not available.
GCSE
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) entered for and (b) passed each GCSE subject in each year since 1997. [65074]
Mr Gibb: The requested information from 1997 to 2010 has been placed in the House Libraries.
GCE A-level: History
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils were entered for history A-level in (a) comprehensive schools, (b) maintained selective schools and (c) independent schools in 2010; and how many and what proportion of pupils obtained a grade C or above in history A-level in (i) comprehensive schools, (ii) maintained selective schools and (iii) independent schools in 2010. [65363]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 19 July 2011]:The information requested is in the following table.
| Institution type | Number of students taking A-levels in 2010 | Number of students who were entered for History A-level in 2010 | Percentage of students who were entered for History A-level in 2010 | Number of students who achieved a grade C or above in History A-level in 2010 | Percentage of students who achieved a grade C or above in History A-level in 2010 (1) |
| (1) Number of students achieving a grade C or above in history A-level as a percentage of the number of students entered for A-level history. Source: School and College Performance Tables | |||||
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils were entered for history A-level in each local authority area in 2010; and how many and what proportion of pupils entered for history A-level obtained a grade C or above in each local authority area in 2010. [65367]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 19 July 2011]: The requested information is shown in the following table:
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| GCE A-level History entries and achievements by local authority, 2010 | |||||
| Local authority | Number of A level students in each local authority | Number of students who were entered for History A level in 2010 | Percentage of students who were entered for History A level in 2010 | Number of students who achieved a grade C or above in History A level in 2010 | Percentage of students who achieved a grade C or above in History A level in 2010 (1) |
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| (1) Number of students achieving a grade C or above in History A-level as a percentage of the number of students entered for A-level History. Notes: 1. The figures in this answer are derived from data collected for the Performance tables. 2. The figures provided cover students aged 16-18 in maintained schools and further education colleges. | |||||