Prisons: Anaerobic Digestion
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has plans to encourage the production of energy from prison waste through anaerobic digestion. [69229]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does encourage the production of energy from prison waste using a range of available technologies, including anaerobic digestion (AD). For example, an AD plant is in operation at Guys Marsh prison and the resultant bio-energy used to run a generator that supplements the power supply to the prison's kitchen complex and greenhouse. Additionally, the new prison being constructed at Featherstone, Staffordshire, will also incorporate a small-scale AD plant producing energy to supplement normal provision.
The Prison Service has had for some time, robust waste management practices embedded within prisons' day-to-day operations with the primary objective of minimising waste. Therefore, volumes of organic waste generated are, in most cases, insufficient to warrant the considerable capital outlay required for AD plant. Where prisons are identified as having a need for a sustainable solution for organic waste disposal, locally available facilities, such as AD or sealed container composting, are considered within the mix of responsible waste disposal options. For example, the new prison being constructed at Featherstone, Staffordshire, will incorporate a small-scale AD plant producing energy to supplement normal provision.
Prisons: Health Professions
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's minimum standards are for the ratio of (a) general practitioners, (b) registered mental health nurses and (c) registered general nurses to inmates in privately-run prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [68872]
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Mr Blunt: There are no nationally set minimum standards for the ratio of medical work force to prisoners in private prisons. The medical work force deployed is dependant on the establishment's health needs assessment of the prisoners.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the ratio is of health care professionals to inmates in each privately-run prison in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [68873]
Mr Blunt: NOMS does not collect information concerning the number of health care professionals that work in private prisons. It would incur a disproportionate cost in order to collect this information in order to be able to give a ratio of health care professionals to prisoners.
Prisons: Personal Income
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) financial education and (b) assistance with personal finance is provided in prisons; and if he will make a statement. [68944]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) works closely with DWP, the Money Advice Service, Unlock, the Legal Services Commission, CAB and others to ensure that financial management skills feature in a range of courses and other interventions available to prisoners.
On reception into custody, prisoners, including those on remand pending sentence, are helped and encouraged to take action to ensure that their financial affairs are placed in as stable a position as possible while they remain in custody. NOMS is working with Unlock and the major retail banks to make it easier for prisoners to obtain banking facilities. At governors' discretion, offenders in custody are permitted to carry out certain financial transactions to facilitate resettlement on release.
Prisons: Smoking
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to revise his policy on smoking in prisons in line with his duties as an employer under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect prison officers from second-hand smoke. [68772]
Mr Blunt: It is the policy of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) that prisoners over 18 are permitted to smoke in single cells or cells shared with smokers. This is in accordance with the Health Act 2006, which exempts prisoner cells from being smoke-free on the basis that a prisoner's cell is deemed to be their home.
However, NOMS recognises the potential risk to staff from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and has issued guidance to staff on entering cells where a prisoner is, or has been, smoking. The guidance, if properly followed, minimises the risks of exposure to ETS by allowing sufficient ventilation of the cell before staff enter.
NOMS continues to keep this guidance under review, as it does with all health and safety matters, to ensure that the safety and health of staff is maintained and improved wherever possible.
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Prisons: Standards
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 31WS, on prison and probation services (England and Wales), (1) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into ways of reducing reoffending; and if he will make a statement; [68512]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the delivery of programmes by service providers on rehabilitation; and if he will make a statement. [68513]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has commissioned a wide range of research and assessment on reducing reoffending and the delivery of programmes which aim to rehabilitate offenders. Evaluation is conducted on a case-by-case basis.
Recent reports from the Ministry of Justice research programme can be found on the Ministry of Justice website via the following internet link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/index.htm
Remand in Custody: Children
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of children held in custody on remand were subsequently (a) acquitted and (b) given a community sentence in the most recent year for which figures are available. [68527]
Mr Blunt: The number and proportion of children remanded in custody at all courts in England and Wales who were subsequently acquitted or went on to receive a community sentence during 2010 (latest currently available) can be viewed in the following table.
Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring, 2012.
| The estimated number and percentage of juveniles (1) remanded in custody (2) who were subsequently acquitted (3) or received a non-custodial sentence (4) at magistrates courts and the Crown court, England and Wales 2010 | ||
| Final outcome | Juveniles | Percentage of juveniles (6) |
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| (1) Defined as being aged 10 to 17 at the date of appearance in court. (2) Includes those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at magistrates and the Crown court who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings. (3) Acquitted includes proceedings discontinued, discharged, withdrawn and dismissed at magistrates courts and acquitted and not tried at the Crown court. (4) Non-custodial sentences include discharges, fines, community sentences, and a number of other sentences that do not involve incarceration. (5) Magistrates courts figures exclude those committed for trial or sentence at the Crown court and those who failed to appear. (6) Percentages presented here represent the proportions of all juveniles who were remanded in custody, excluding those who failed to appear and where the magistrates court committed the defendant for trial or sentence to the Crown court. Notes: 1. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 2. Some percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice | ||
Reoffenders: South-east England
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for repeat offenders there were in (a) the south-east, (b) Kent and (c) Chatham and Aylesford constituency in each of the last 10 years. [68402]
Mr Blunt: The table presents information on number of sentencing occasions for indictable offences for offenders dealt with by police forces in the south-east and by Kent police force in each year between 2001 and 2010, and the number and proportion of offenders who had at least one previous conviction or caution. The equivalent figures for Chatham and Aylesford constituency are not available as the data source used by the MOJ does not enable us to identify offenders who are resident in this area.
The figures are derived from the data used for chapter 7 of 'Criminal Justice Statistics: Quarterly updated to December 2010' which was published on 26 May 2011. The full report can be found at the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/statistics-and-data/criminal-justice-stats/criminal-stats-quarterly-dec10.pdf
The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
| Number of sentencing occasions for indictable offences for offenders (1) deal t with by police forces in the south-e ast region and in Kent, 2001-10, and the number involving offenders with previous convictions or cautions | ||||||||||
| Sentencing occasions | ||||||||||
|
|
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
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| (1) An offender may be counted more than once if he or she has been sentenced on more than one occasion during the period. The repeat offenders figures are counts of sentencing occasions for offenders who had at least one previous caution or conviction. (2) The figures are counts of sentencing occasions for offences dealt with by police forces in the south-east region and includes some offenders living outside the south-east. (3) The figures are counts of sentencing occasions for offences dealt with by Kent police force and includes some offenders living outside Kent. | ||||||||||
Repossession Orders
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders for the repossession of homes in each ward in Dartford constituency were issued in each year between 1998 and 2010. [67990]
Mr Djanogly: The following tables show the numbers of claims leading to orders being made for the repossession of property in each ward in Dartford constituency by mortgage lenders in each year since 2000 and landlords in each year since 2003. Data for previous years are not available due to the lack of valid postcodes.
These figures represent the numbers of claims leading to orders being made. This is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of homeowners who are subject to court repossession actions.
These figures do not indicate how many properties have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended and if the borrower complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order the property will not be repossessed.
| Table 1: Number of mortgage (1) possession claims which have led to an order being made (2,3,4,5) in the wards of Dartford parliamentary constituency (6,7) , 2000-10 (8) | |||||||||||
|
|
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
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| (1) The mortgage data include all types of lenders. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (3) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (4) The mortgage possession figures do not indicate how many houses have actually been repossessed through the courts. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession. (5) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is mad during the period. 6 The figures from 2000 up until the first quarter of 2010 (January to March) reflect the ward boundaries as of August 2009 and for the reset of 2010 the restructured ward boundaries as of August 2010. (7) When interpreting these statistics please be mindful that the sum of the figures for the wards may be different to the total for Dartford constituency due to rounding and also because the ward boundaries may have been revised after the constituency boundaries have been fixed at the time of each general election. (8) All figures are rounded to the nearest five and those with a value fellow eight are represented as ‘—’. Source: Ministry of Justice | |||||||||||
| Table 2: Number of landlord (1,2 ) possession claims which have led to an order being made (3,4,5,6) in the wards of Dartford parliamentary constituency (7,8) 2003-10 (9) | ||||||||
|
|
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) The landlord data include all types of landlord whether social or private. (2) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enable the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (3) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (4) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (5) The landlord possession figures do not indicate how many houses have actually been repossessed through the courts. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession. (6) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is made during the period. (7) The figures from 2000 up until the first quarter of 2010 (January to March) reflect the ward boundaries as of August 2009 and for the rest of 2010 the restructured ward boundaries as of August 2010. (8) When interpreting these statistics please be mindful that the sum of the figures for the wards may be different to the total for Dartford constituency due to rounding and also because the ward boundaries may have been revised after the constituency boundaries have been fixed at the time of each general election. (9) All figures are rounded to the nearest five and those with a value below eight are represented as ‘—’. Source: Ministry of Justice | ||||||||
Sentencing: Appeals
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many court cases a defendant who pleaded guilty subsequently appealed against the sentence passed in each of the last five years. [68621]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice holds statistical information in relation to the number of appeals received against sentences dealt with in the Crown court and the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. However, the central administrative databases for both courts do not store information concerning the plea of appellants in the original case. To obtain this information would require the manual inspection of court files held locally, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Statistics are published on the number of appeals received and dealt with against sentences in England and Wales, from 2006 to 2010, in the Ministry of Justice's statistical bulletin “Judicial and Court Statistics”, the most recent edition of which was published on 30 June 2011. The number of appeals against sentences dealt with in the Crown court can be
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found in table 4.10 and those dealt with in the Court of Appeal in table 7.6. The report is available on the Ministry's website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/courts-and-sentencing/judicial-annual.htm
Sexual Offences Act 2003
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in each local authority area have been (a) charged and (b) convicted under section (i) 8(1), (ii) 8(2), (iii) 8(3), (iv) 10, (v) 14, (vi) 15, (vii) 48, (viii) 49 and (ix) 50 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each year since the Act came into force. [69490]
Mr Blunt: A table of data showing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts, for offences under sections 8, 10, 14, 15, 48, 49 and 50 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, by police force area, in England and Wales, from 2004 (commencement of the Act) to 2010 (latest available) has been placed in the House Library.
Charging data are not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Prosecutions data are provided instead. Centrally held court proceedings data are not available at local authority area level and hence data have been provided by police force area.
Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring 2012.
Stalking: Harassment
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to give probation trusts a duty to ensure that persons convicted of stalking and harassment are given a treatment programme. [68251]
Mr Blunt: There are no plans. Probation trusts are statutorily responsible for the supervision and management of offenders in the community who are subject to community orders, suspended sentence orders and who are released on licence.
The role of probation trusts includes the provision of accredited offending behaviour programmes and other interventions when included as a requirement of a community order or a licence in appropriate cases, including those convicted of stalking and/or harassment.
Suicide
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the number of websites promoting suicide; what assessment he has made of the trends in the number of such websites in the last five years; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any such research. [69071]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of websites promoting suicide.
Victim Support Schemes: Human Trafficking
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were referred to the Salvation Army's new trafficking victim support scheme; and by whom between 7 and 14 July 2011. [68834]
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Mr Blunt: Between 7 and 14 July, six individuals were referred to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of trafficking, which is run by the Salvation Army. The referrals were made by police, charities and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the nationality was of each of the suspected victims of trafficking referred to in the Salvation Army's new trafficking victim support scheme between 7 and 14 July 2011; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the Salvation Army. [69121]
Mr Blunt: The following table sets out the information requested.
| Nationality | Region | Referring agency |
Young Offenders: Basic Skills
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what schemes his Department has put in place to offer life skills to young offenders. [67612]
Mr Blunt: Legislation in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 made local authorities responsible for securing suitable education and training for young people aged 10-17 in custody. This came into effect on 1 September 2010. The Act also contains duties on “home” local authorities to “take such steps as they consider appropriate to promote the person's fulfilment of his or her learning potential” while they are in custody, and to share information about the young person's education and any special educational needs they may have.
The delivery of youth justice in the community is devolved to local authority youth offending teams. A statutory function of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) is to identify, make known and promote effective practice in youth justice. To this end the YJB published updated key elements of effective practice documents in 2008. These include the following themes: accommodation, planning, interventions and supervision, education, training and employment. Youth justice services are encouraged to make use of these documents in the design and delivery of their interventions.
Learning and skills for prisoners aged over 18 is jointly commissioned by the Skills Funding Agency and the National Offender Management Service—this includes
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social and life skills courses within the public sector secure estate in England for young offenders aged 18 to 20 years of age. The range of accredited courses offered is based upon assessed individual learning need. Some of the courses on offer include Preparation for Work; Assertiveness and Decision Making; Family Relationships; Budgeting and Money Management and Personal Development.
Culture, Media and Sport
Media Ownership
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish the advice received by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the basis of which the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation was referred to Ofcom on plurality grounds only. [68318]
Vince Cable: I have been asked to reply.
The Department has published a significant amount of the advice that I received in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This can be found at the following link:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/site/foi/information-released
However, some of the most sensitive advice was withheld under various exemptions provided for under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and I am satisfied that it should continue to be so.
Education
Sky TV
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on subscriptions to Sky TV since May 2010. [67560]
Tim Loughton: The Department's financial records show that since May 2010 there has been no payments for any subscriptions to Sky TV.
Cultural Education Review
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects the Henley Review of Cultural Education to report. [68281]
Mr Gibb: Darren Henley's Review of Cultural Education is due to report this autumn.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff his Department employed in (a) May 2010 and (b) the latest period for which figures are available. [68234]
Tim Loughton: The headcount for the Department in May 2010 was 2,622 (2,504 full-time equivalent (FTE)). The latest published headcount figure available (as at 31 July) is 2,585 (2,465.4 FTE).
For the Education Family workforce (the Department and its arm’s length bodies) the total headcount has reduced from 9,522 in May 2010 to 8,080 in 30 June 2011 (latest published information).
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Departmental Responsibilities
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many meetings he has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010; [67173]
(2) on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party was refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister in November 2010; [67591]
(3) 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. [67196]
Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), meets hon. Members of different political parties in a variety of forums which go beyond the meetings arranged by the Department for Education. Therefore, to provide the hon. Gentleman with accurate details of the number of meetings he has had with hon. Members of each political party since May 2010 would incur disproportionate cost.
It is always the wish of the Secretary of State for Education, and the rest of his ministerial team, wherever possible, to accept any meeting request from an hon. Member, irrespective of the political party to which they belong. Regrettably, due to diary pressures and business needs, it is not always possible to accommodate all meeting requests. To obtain accurate details of declined meeting requests would also incur disproportionate cost.
As there is no requirement for Departments to hold details of the number of meetings declined, there are no plans to collect this information or be able to release it in the future.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the access to education advocate on abolition of the education maintenance allowance. [67881]
Mr Gibb: Between the date of his appointment, in December 2010, and the announcement of the 16-19 Bursary Fund in March 2011, the Advocate for Access to Education met regularly with Department for Education Ministers and officials to discuss financial support for young people. We took account of his work in designing the new 16-19 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.
Education: Assessments
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what measures are in place to ensure examination boards adhere strictly to Ofqual's code of practice regarding the role of scrutineers in the setting of exams. [68162]
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Mr Gibb: Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's chief executive has written to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of the reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Glenys Stacey, dated 26 August 2011:
I am responding to your parliamentary question raised in respect of measures in place to ensure examinations boards adhere to our Code of Practice regarding the role of scrutineers in the setting of exams. You will be aware that the Secretary of State has asked Ofqual to respond to this question.
I can confirm that Ofqual and the regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland jointly publish the GCSE, GCE, Principal Learning and Project Code of Practice (all of these are available on Ofqual's website for download). The Code states that:
1.11 The scrutineer is responsible for:
i. checking the final drafts of all question papers/tasks without reference to the mark schemes to ensure that the questions can be answered in the time allowed and that there are no errors and omissions;
ii. working through question papers, where appropriate;
iii. checking the mark scheme to ensure that the marks given are identical to those on the question paper;
iv. preparing a report for the awarding organisation officer.
Awarding organisations are responsible for following this Code of Practice. As part of Ofqual's regular monitoring work, various aspects of the Code are checked on the basis of risk, bearing in mind the need for our monitoring work to be proportionate.
Should awarding organisations not follow the Code of Practice, appropriate action in line with our legislative powers is put into place. This could include removal of awarding organisation status or removal of accreditation for the particular qualification. Any action taken is based on evidence and is particular to the issue being considered.
As you will also be aware, Ofqual have been alerted to concerns about examination errors in advance of and during the live examinations this summer. As a result of our concern regarding awarding organisation compliance to the Code of Practice, you will be aware that we have launched our Inquiry into examination errors and we have already invited you to submit evidence to the Inquiry if you wish. The Inquiry will take into account information and views we have already received from sources including candidates, schools and colleges, parents and student representatives and will also be gathering information from a list of interested and concerned stakeholders such as yourself.
It is intended that we will complete the Inquiry and publish our report by the end of the year.
I hope this information answers your query. However, if you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Financial Services: Education
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the level of financial education in schools. [68023]
Mr Gibb: Ofsted’s most recent inspection report on personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, published in July 2010, was based on visits to 165 schools between September 2006 and July 2009. Ofsted found that the economic well-being and financial capability strand (introduced in September 2008) was still in its early stages and that achievement in this area was less strong than in other areas of PSHE. However, they also found that students in schools that were successfully delivering personal finance education showed a good understanding of personal finance, used financial terms correctly and were able to apply their knowledge in making financial decisions.
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http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/personal-social-health-and-economic-education-schools
An internal review of PSHE education was launched on 21 July 2011. Its aim is to determine how to support schools to improve the quality of PSHE teaching, while giving teachers the flexibility to use their judgment about how best to deliver PSHE education. Details can he found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/index. cfm?action=consultationDetails&consultationId=1759& external=no&menu=1
Forced Marriage
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Eighth Report of the Home Affairs Committee, Session 2010-12, on Forced Marriage, HC 880, paragraph 27, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that schools and academies effectively and appropriately respond to young women at risk of forced marriage. [67833]
Tim Loughton: The Government provide considerable support to safeguard children from the risk of forced marriage, which is a serious form of child abuse. The joint Home Office/Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), which was launched in January 2005, provides advice to teachers in schools. The FMU produced statutory guidance on forced marriage in 2008 (revised 2010); revised multi-agency practice guidelines on handling cases of forced marriage in 2009; and supplementary guidelines on handling cases of forced marriage involving persons with learning disabilities in 2010. In addition to these guidance documents which are targeted at frontline practitioners and volunteers, the FMU provide a helpline to support victims and potential victims of forced marriage.
The Government firmly believe that schools are best placed to assess which materials or strategies might be useful to help children who may be vulnerable to forced marriage. All schools have clear responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils. The inter-agency guidance, “Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010)” and guidance to schools and FE colleges, “Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (2006)” set out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
Free School Meals
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on allowing local authorities to provide automatic entitlement to free school meals for eligible pupils without recourse to a separate application; and if he will make a statement. [68015]
Mr Gibb: It is not possible to provide automatic entitlement to free school meals (FSM) for eligible pupils. Until a request for FSM is made, a school or local authority would not know which pupils were from households receiving an eligible benefit, and are therefore entitled to FSM.
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As set out in legislation, eligibility for FSM is reliant on two things: (1) the parent (or child) being in receipt of one of the eligible benefits; and (2) a request for FSM being made by the parent or child.
Without the provision of personal information, either paper proof of receipt of benefits or personal information to enable a check to be made using the Online Free School Meal Eligibility Checking Service (ECS), there would be no way to identify eligible pupils.
The ECS reduces the burdens on schools associated with FSM administration, makes it much easier for parents to apply for FSM and reduces the stigma that can be associated with applying for them.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to increase the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals who take up their entitlement; and if he will make a statement. [68016]
Mr Gibb: The Government are committed to increasing take-up of free school meals (FSM) for those pupils who are entitled to them.
The Department has streamlined the process for applying for free school meals by developing an online eligibility checking system (ECS). This allows local authorities to quickly check data held by other Government Departments (DWP, HMRC and the Home Office) to establish a family's eligibility for free school meals. We are working with local authorities to increase the use of this resource which, as well as reducing bureaucracy and cost for local authorities, is also encouraging more parents to sign up their children for a free school lunch. For those authorities that choose to use it, the ECS has a service which allows parents to check their own eligibility and to apply on line for FSM.
The Government have also commissioned the School Food Trust to carry out further work to improve the take-up of healthy school food, and specifically to increase take-up of free school meals to ensure children from the most deprived families receive at least one good meal a day.
The trust will also continue its ongoing work to provide advice, support and resources to help schools and local authorities increase free school meal registration and take-up. In particular, the trust's free school meal support project will provide support and resources to schools in deprived areas to help increase free school meal registration and take-up. The project will initially target those schools with a significant gap between free school eligibility and take-up, working with them to improve registration; for example, by increasing online free school meal applications.
GCE A-level
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils achieving A-level grades of AAB or higher were from each (a) socio-economic and (b) ethnic group in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [69125]
Mr Gibb:
It is not possible to provide this information without incurring disproportionate cost. These data are not readily available on the National Pupil Database (NPD) in a pre-defined form, and would need to be
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calculated, processed and merged onto the NPD. This analysis and the time needed to quality assure the results could be completed only at a disproportionate cost. Data on socio-economic status are not available.
Higher Education
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the proportion of GDP attributable to (a) graduates and (b) university teaching. [67091]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
We do not have estimates of impact on GDP of either graduates or university teaching specifically.
Universities UK has produced a series of reports on the impact of the higher education (HE) sector as a whole on the UK economy. Its most recent report(1) estimated that in the academic year 2007/08, in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), the HE sector contributed over £31 billion to UK GDP as a result of both direct and indirect effects. This approximates to around 2.5% of GDP at that time.
Other research has looked at the positive impact that graduates can have on a country's growth; for example, a 1996 study found that a 1% increase in tertiary human capital stock growth was estimated to be associated with a 1.1 percentage point increase in GDP growth rates in OECD countries(2).
(1) The Impact of Universities on the UK economy: 4th Report, UUK (2009).
(2 )Gemmell, N. (1996), “Evaluating the impact of human capital stocks and accumulation on economic growth: some new evidence”, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 58, 9-28.
Intellectual Property: Education
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will issue guidance to schools on the teaching of intellectual property law. [67270]
Mr Gibb: We have no plans to issue guidance on intellectual property law to schools. We are currently reviewing the national curriculum in a way that is consistent with our aim of reducing the amount of central Government prescription about what happens in the classroom. Decisions about future guidance to schools relating to the subjects they should teach will be made following that review.
At present, pupils learn about our overarching system of law and justice as part of the citizenship programme of study. Artistic and intellectual copyright is covered in the music curriculum, where it arises in relation to pupils' and others' compositions, and to music piracy.
Languages: Teachers
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of teachers of (a) French, (b) German and (c) Mandarin that will be required by schools by 2015. [67268]
Mr Gibb:
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. For funding
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purposes, the Department has produced overall estimates of teaching posts in state schools and academies in England.
The Government do not produce estimates for the future numbers of teaching posts in particular subjects. Estimates for the proportion of teachers working in secondary schools who will be qualified in different subjects are however produced as part of the Department for Education's teacher supply and demand modelling process.
Estimates for the future number of specialist modern language teachers in state funded secondary schools indicate that there will need to be an increase of about 600 by 2015. This is in the context of an expected decrease in the overall number of secondary teachers as a result of the ongoing decline in secondary pupil numbers.
Separate forecasts have not been made for each type of language teacher. For the purposes of teacher supply modelling, all modern languages are treated as one subject category.
Information on the qualifications and deployment of teachers in the secondary sector was collected in the annual School Workforce Census, which took place in November 2010 for the first time. The number of teachers reported to be teaching modern languages in November 2010 is given in the following table.
| Number (headcount) of modern language teachers (1) in all publicly funded secondary schools. Position in November 2010: Coverage: England | ||
| Subject | Headcount of in-service teachers | Of these, teachers holding a relevant (2) post A-level qualification |
| (1) Teachers were counted once against each subject that they were teaching, regardless of the amount of time they spend teaching the subject. (2) A full list of what was deemed as a 'relevant' qualification subject for each curriculum subject taught can be found on the School Workforce Statistical First Release website. (3) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. Base: 158,004 teachers to years 7-13 (unweighted headcount) Source: School Workforce Census | ||
The number of teachers delivering sessions in Mandarin is not collected centrally. There are currently no initial teacher training courses which specialise in Mandarin only.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps his Department is taking to assist schools to identify and support girls at risk of (a) relationship abuse, (b) rape, (c) forced marriage, (d) sexual harassment, (e) female genital mutilation and (f) other violence; [67828]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that students affected by (a) relationship abuse, (b) rape, (c) forced marriage, (d) sexual harassment and (e) female genital mutilation have access to specialist support in schools; [67830]
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(3) what steps his Department is taking to provide assistance to young people who are not in formal education who are affected by violence against women and girls, including (a) relationship abuse, (b) rape, (c) forced marriage, (d) sexual harassment and (e) female genital mutilation to access specialist support. [67832]
Tim Loughton: The Government provide considerable support to assist schools in identifying and supporting pupils at risk of abuse. All schools have clear responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils. The Government believe that schools are best placed to assess which materials or strategies might be useful to help their pupils, who may be vulnerable to particular types of harm.
The Department for Education works closely with the Home Office, Department of Health and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on these issues. Together we have produced a number of multi-agency guidelines for a broad range of practitioners to help them when working with young people who are affected by these forms of abuse, whether or not they are in formal education. The Government have also committed to developing an action plan to tackle child sexual exploitation to be published in the autumn.
In addition, the inter-agency guidance, “Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010)” and guidance to schools and FE colleges, “Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (2006)” set out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. These documents act as signposts to other guidance about specific forms of abuse.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure that primary schools and secondary maintained schools and academies provide education for students on (a) relationship abuse, (b) rape, (c) forced marriage, (d) sexual harassment and (e) female genital mutilation. [67829]
Mr Gibb: The personal well-being strand of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education provides a framework for schools to teach about these issues as part of sex and relationships education (SRE).
The Department's guidance, to which all schools must have regard in their teaching of SRE, sets out how SRE should prepare young people for adult life. It includes, for example, developing positive values and a moral framework; understanding the consequences of their actions and behaving responsibly within relationships; knowing how the law applies to sexual relationships; and avoiding exploitation and pressure.
Schools will teach a range of issues within SRE, and teaching professionals can be trusted to make appropriate judgments about how best to meet the needs of their pupils. Schools need to have the flexibility to decide on such matters for themselves so that they take account of the views of parents, and reflect the ethos of the school and the nature of the local community.
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to provide education for young people who are not in
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formal education on violence against women and girls, including
(a)
relationship abuse,
(b)
rape,
(c)
forced marriage,
(d)
sexual harassment and
(e)
female genital mutilation. [67831]
Mr Gibb: It is the responsibility of the local authority or school that has commissioned alternative provision for a pupil to determine the details of what should be covered in the curriculum for that pupil. Where a pupil has behavioural problems, and more particularly where they have a history of violence, the school or local authority may decide that it is appropriate for them to have Personal, Social and Health Education lessons and that those lessons should include these issues.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons his Department is conducting its review of personal, social, health and economic education and sex and relationships education separately from its review of the national curriculum. [67834]
Mr Gibb: The review of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, including sex and relationship education, is being carried out separately from the national curriculum review because PSHE education is not a national curriculum subject. Both reviews share our aim to free up teachers, giving them greater control over what is taught and allowing them the scope to design and teach a curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the views of interested parties are considered as part of its review of personal, social, health and economic education and sex and relationships education. [67835]
Mr Gibb: As part of its review of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, the Department will consult with a number of interested parties including campaign groups, subject associations, voluntary bodies, teachers and parents. Written evidence to the review can be submitted via the DfE consultation website at:
www.education.gov.uk/consultations
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Government's document entitled Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls, page 12, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that all schools participate in achieving the Government's objective of improving the teaching of sexual consent within the curriculum. [67836]
Mr Gibb: The personal well-being strand of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education provides a framework for schools to teach about sexual consent as part of sex and relationships education (SRE).
We are conducting an internal review of PSHE education to look at how schools can be supported to improve the quality of all PSHE teaching, including strengthening the priority of the teaching of sexual consent.
Details of the review can be found at:
www.education.gov.uk/consultations
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Postgraduate Education
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of students educated at (a) independent and (b) maintained schools who will graduate from PGCE courses in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014. [67869]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
This information is not available.
Postgraduate Education: Fees and Charges
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on tuition fees for PGCE courses in core subjects within the English Baccalaureate in each of the next three years. [67870]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education has recently published its strategy for initial teacher training, ‘Training Our Next Generation of Outstanding Teachers’, which was agreed with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. The strategy contains proposals for the funding of initial teacher training courses from 2012/13 onwards, including for subjects in the English Baccalaureate. The Department for Education is proposing bursaries of up to £20,000 in 2012/13 to encourage the best graduates into teaching and support them during their training. The most generous bursaries are in mathematics, science and modern languages, which are core English Baccalaureate subjects. A copy of the strategy has been placed in the House Libraries.
Pupil Exclusions
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children were (a) temporarily and (b) permanently excluded in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [68880]
Mr Gibb: Information on the proportion of pupils with permanent and fixed period exclusions by local authority in 2009/10 is published in tables 17 and 18 of the Statistical First Release ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2009/10’ available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001016/index.shtml
Information on the proportion of pupils with permanent and fixed period exclusions by local authority in 2008/09 is published in tables 17 and 18 of the Statistical First Release ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2008/09’ available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000942/index.shtml
Information on the proportion of pupils with permanent and fixed period exclusions by local authority in 2007/08 is published in tables 17 and 18 of the Statistical First Release ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2007/08’ available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000860/index.shtml
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Information on the proportion of pupils with permanent and fixed period exclusions by local authority in 2006/07 is published in tables 12 and 13 of the Statistical First Release ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2006/07’ available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000793/index.shtml
Information on the proportion of pupils with permanent and fixed period exclusions by local authority in 2005/06 is published in the Statistical First Release ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England 2005/06’ available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000733/index.shtml
Information on fixed period exclusions in 2005/06 is available for secondary schools only.
Pupil Exclusions: Special Educational Needs
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children with statements of special educational needs were (a) temporarily excluded and (b) permanently excluded in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [68879]
Mr Gibb: The requested information has been placed in the House Libraries.
Runaway Children
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the Young Runaways Action Plan. [68856]
Tim Loughton: There are no plans to review the Young Runaways Action Plan, which was published by the previous Government in June 2008.
I have, however, already committed to reviewing the statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care, which provides the main framework for local responses to these issues. The Department is also leading on the development of an action plan for tackling child sexual exploitation, which will be published in the autumn. That action plan will take full account of the strong link between children going missing and children suffering from sexual exploitation.
Rural Areas
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether officials of his Department have had recent discussions with the Rural Communities Policy Unit in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [67147]
Mr Gibb: Yes, officials of this Department have had recent discussions with the Rural Communities Policy Unit in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Schools: Assessments
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) entered mainly CSE examinations, (b) entered mainly GCE O-Level examinations and (c) entered no public examinations in the fifth year or year 11 in each year since 1981. [65077]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is not available.
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Schools: Standards
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the school league tables for (a) GCSE and (b) A-levels by individual examination board in the latest period for which figures are available. [67949]
Mr Gibb: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Schools: Transport
Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received regarding changes to home to school transportation schemes. [68120]
Tim Loughton: The Department regularly receives correspondence from parents, local authorities, dioceses and other stakeholder groups regarding changes to home to school transport. A working group drawn from local authorities and diocese representatives has met on a number of occasions to take forward the remit of the review.
Teachers: English Baccalaureate
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the number of teachers trained to teach English Baccalaureate subjects. [66939]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 18 July 2011]: Information on the qualifications and deployment of teachers in the secondary sector is collected in the new School Workforce Census, which took place in November 2010. The School Workforce Census Statistical First Release provides a head count of teachers to year groups 7 to 13 by subject in Table 12 and the proportions of teachers with a relevant post A-level qualification in the subjects they taught to year groups 7 to 13, split by subject, in Table 13.
The following table summarises the number of teachers of English Baccalaureate subjects, and the proportion with a relevant post A-level qualification in the subject taught:
| Teachers of English baccalaureate subjects (1) in publicly-funded secondary schools (head count) to year groups 7 to 13 in 2010, and the proportions with a relevant post A-level qualification (2, 3 ) in the subject, November 2010, England | ||
| Subject (1) | Total head count (thousand) | Any relevant post A level qualification 3 (p ercentage) |
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| (1) Teachers are counted once against each subject that they are teaching. Head counts are used, so a teacher teaching French and German would be counted once in each. In the science subjects, the teacher will be counted under the subject as marked on their timetable—if a teacher is marked as teaching physics then they will be counted under Physics only, whereas if they are marked as teaching physics and combined/general science they will be counted once against each subject. The 33,300 combined/general science teachers are teachers with combined/general science on their timetables; the figure does not include physics, biology and chemistry teachers unless they are teaching it as an additional subject and is marked as such on their timetables. (2) A full list of what was deemed as a 'relevant' qualification subject for each curriculum subject taught can be found on the SFR home page. (3) Includes all qualifications at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 4 and above. (4) Teachers qualified in biology, chemistry, or physics are qualified to teach combined/general science. (5) Classics includes classics, classical Greek, classical Hebrew and Latin. (6) Not all schools were able to submit curriculum information, and not all qualifications returns were complete. Qualifications information was either not provided, or the subject field was missing for 12% of the teachers in schools submitting curriculum data. Note: Percentages are row percentages, and based on the number of teachers for whom curriculum and qualifications information was provided. Source: School Workforce Census, SFR Table 13. | ||
A full list of subjects and the proportion of teachers with a relevant qualification is available in Table 13 of the School Workforce Statistical First Release, available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000997/index.shtml
Teachers: Pensions
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which pension funds managing teachers' pension schemes were in (a) deficit and (b) surplus on the latest date for which figures are available; what the size was of any such deficit or surplus; and whether this will affect the rate of employer contributions to pensions for academies. [68806]
Mr Gibb: The Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) is an unfunded scheme and consequently there are no investments to manage. Employer and employee contributions rates are generally set following periodic valuations of the TPS by the Government Actuary, although the Department is currently consulting on an increase in the employee contribution rate in 2012-13 to take account of recommendations by the Independent Public Service Pension Commission. This will not affect the contribution rate paid by all TPS employers, including academies, which is currently 14.1%.
Teachers: Wirral
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers (a) were and (b) are to be employed in schools in Wirral in the financial year (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15. [67993]
Mr Gibb: There were 3,040 full-time equivalent teachers in service in publicly funded schools in Wirral local authority in November 2010. The source used is the School Workforce Census, No future estimates have been made centrally.
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Business, Innovation and Skills
Access to Education Advocate
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the access to education advocate since the advocate's appointment on (a) the increase in university tuition fees, (b) the National Scholarship Fund, (c) outreach funding, (d) the Office of Fair Access, (e) the education maintenance allowance and its replacement and (f) other issues relating to access to education. [67876]
Mr Willetts: The right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) had nine meetings with myself and the BIS ministerial team during his time as Advocate for Access to Education. He completed the six-month role on 30 June. During these discussions the issues of university tuition fees, the National Scholarship Fund, outreach funding, the Office of Fair Access, the education maintenance allowance and its replacement and other issues relating to education were covered. The Advocate's Report was published on 21 July 2011.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the date was of each meeting he has had with the access to education advocate since the post was created. [67877]
Mr Willetts: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and I together met with the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes), during his time as Advocate for Access to Education, on two occasions. These were Monday, 10 January and Monday, 4 April.
I also met with the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) on Thursday, 27 January; Monday, 18 April; Wednesday, 25 May; and Wednesday, 7 July.
In addition, the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), met with the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) on Monday, 10 January; Thursday,27 January; and Monday, 9 May.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many civil servants in his Department support the work of the access to education advocate. [67878]
Mr Willetts: Two members of BIS staff supported the work of the Advocate for Access to Education. One was a full-time member of staff and one was part time (0.5).
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on (a) travel, (b) office space, (c) staff time and (d) communications in supporting the work of the access to education advocate. [67879]
Mr Willetts:
To support my right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) in his role as Advocate for Access to Education,
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BIS spent
(a)
£680.84 on travel;
(b)
BIS provided him with a desk and a phone line at no additional cost to the Department as this was available within our normal capacity;
(c)
he was assigned the services of two BIS officials—one full-time and one part time—the approximate employment costs for whom were £28,000 (1.0) and £14,500 (0.5) respectively for the six month duration of the role which was completed on 30 June;
(d)
communications in supporting the Advocate role were covered by the same full-time member of the support staff.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to enable the access to education advocate to answer parliamentary questions. [69007]
Mr Willetts: My right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) was asked by the Prime Minister to undertake the role of Advocate for Access to Education from 1 January 1 to 30 June 2011. This work has now been completed.
Apprentices
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were (a) undertaken and (b) completed (i) by apprentices of each sex and (ii) by apprentices formerly in receipt of free school meals in each (A) sector and (B) region in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [67887]
Mr Hayes [holding answer 19 July 2011]: I have made final full year data showing apprenticeship framework starts and achievements by region and sector subject area by gender for 2007-08 to 2009-10 available in the Libraries of the House.
Information is not available on the number of apprentices who were in receipt of free school meals. However, we do record information for those learners that attract a funding uplift, predominantly on the basis of living in a deprived area based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
In 2009/10, 85,800 (31%) learners starting an apprenticeship programme attracted a funding uplift.
Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by parliamentary constituency is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23 June 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Business: Research
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about Government support for research and development activities in UK companies. [68836]
Mr Willetts: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and discuss a wide range of topics, most notably around the Government’s growth agenda, given that innovation is a key driver of growth.
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This Government recognise the importance of research and development (R&D) activities in UK companies and this Department is working closely with HM Treasury to improve the climate in this area through a number of interventions, such as improvements to R&D tax credits, including increases to the rate of relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (subject to state aid approval), and the implementation of a patent box. We have also taken forward a number of actions via the spending review and this has included ring-fencing science and research programme funding and establishing a national network of technology and innovation centres.
Later this year, we will publish an Innovation and Research Strategy which will explore the roles of knowledge creation, business investment, skills and training, and the public sector in innovation and growth performance.
Care Homes: Ownership
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the accuracy of information held by the Land Registry on the ownership of care homes in England and Wales; [69158]
(2) if he will take steps to improve the accuracy of the information held by the Land Registry on the ownership of care homes run by Southern Cross; and if he will make a statement. [69159]
Mr Davey: The Land Registry creates and maintains a register of title to land in England and Wales. The register reflects the legal documents of title submitted to the Registry, and specifically records the ownership information contained in those documents. This question relates to care home ownership, and in that context, no-one has questioned or challenged the accuracy of any ownership information, therefore no assessment has been carried out.
The register of title does not record the use to which the land is put. It is therefore impossible to ascertain from the register whether any particular property is being used as a care home.
Companies House: Internet
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many annual returns were lodged with Companies House using web filing on a (a) Monday, (b) Tuesday, (c) Wednesday, (d) Thursday, (e) Friday, (f) Saturday and (g) Sunday in each of the last three tax years; and if he will consider staffing the web filing helpdesk on Sundays. [68257]
Mr Davey: The number of annual returns (form AR01) lodged with Companies House via the Web Filing facility on (a) Monday, (b) Tuesday, (c) Wednesday, (d) Thursday, (e) Friday, (f) Saturday, and (g) Sunday is as follows.
| Day | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 |
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The staffing of Companies House's Web Filing Help Desk is an operational matter for the Registrar of Companies; I have been advised by the Registrar that while he does not have any current plans to staff the Help Desk on Sundays the situation is constantly monitored.