Building Schools for the Future Programme
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what the average cost is of each completed school building project under the Building Schools for the Future programme; [68497]
(2) what the average cost to the public purse was of building a (a) primary school of average size and (b) secondary school of average size in the latest period for which figures are available. [68498]
Mr Gibb: The average cost of each completed school building project under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is £18 million. This figure is drawn from data on 227 schools and includes complete new build projects; part new build and part refurbishment projects; and refurbishment only projects.
The average cost of building a new secondary school of average size, procured through BSF is £25 million. This figure is drawn from data on 93 new build schools of average size.
Information is held centrally only in respect of the cost of building secondary schools procured as part of BSF. Cost information for primary and secondary schools procured locally is held by local authorities and cannot be collected and aggregated without disproportionate cost.
Children: Autism
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how he expects schools to monitor the progress of children with autism, including those who do not have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan; [69570]
(2) whether he proposes that all children with autism will be given an action plan, including children without a statement of special educational needs on an education, health and care plan. [69571]
Sarah Teather:
Local authority maintained schools in England have a duty and academies an obligation to use their best endeavours to make the special educational
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provision called for by a child's learning difficulties, including children with autism. The provision and progress of children with statements of special educational needs (SEN) must be reviewed at least annually and the SEN and disability Green Paper proposed that the provision for, and progress of, children with education, health and care plans should be reviewed regularly.
Schools can draw up individual education plans for children with or without statements. The Green Paper said that a revised SEN code of practice would look at new approaches to planning, reviewing and tracking pupils' progress which reduced the bureaucratic burdens on schools associated with individual education plans.
Children’s Play: Training
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons the Playwork Induction Standard was replaced by a system of individual qualification for playscheme employees. [68501]
Sarah Teather: The Playwork Induction Standard did not meet the standards demanded by the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, when it came into force in September 2008. The framework sets the minimum requirements for staff-to-child ratios in settings delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage and the qualification levels practitioners must hold.
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Civil Disorder
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on children's services in local authorities of the eviction of council tenants involved in the public disorder of August 2011. [70571]
Tim Loughton: Local authorities are best placed to consider how their children's services should respond locally to this and any other impacts following the recent public disorder. In doing so I am sure that they will take into account both their statutory responsibilities and the needs of vulnerable children and young people in the area.
Class Sizes
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average class size for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools was in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside and (iii) England in each year since 2010. [70087]
Mr Gibb: The requested information is shown in the table.
| State-funded primary and secondary schools: (1,2,3) classes as taught. (4 ) As at January each year, in England, South Tyneside local authority and Jarrow parliamentary constituency | ||||||
| Average class size | ||||||
| England | South Tyneside local authority | Jarrow parliamentary constituency | ||||
|
|
State-funded primary (1,2) | State-funded secondary (1,3) | State-funded primary (1,2) | State-funded secondary (1,3) | State-funded primary (1,2) | State-funded secondary (1,3) |
| Notes: (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including all-through academies). (4) One teacher classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. Source: School Census. | ||||||
Classroom Assistants
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations on the practice of using unqualified teaching assistants as cover supervisors for absent teachers. [69040]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 September 2011 ]: The Agency Worker Regulations do not change the position on the use of cover supervisors. The role of a cover supervisor is to supervise pupils in carrying out a pre-prepared exercise but it does not involve teaching a class. Therefore, those undertaking the role of cover supervisors should continue to be paid as cover supervisors.
The Department has provided guidance on its website to help those in the education sector with the implementation of the Regulations. The guidance is available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/a0077106/supply-teachers
Departmental Consultants
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many senior civil servants in his Department and its predecessors at each grade had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte or KPMG immediately prior to taking up their appointment in each of the last four years; what consultancy agreements his Department and its predecessors had with those firms in each such year; and how many consultants from those firms have advised his Department and its predecessors in each such year. [68964]
Tim Loughton: Information on the former employment of senior civil servants is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Information on the consultancy services provided to the Department in the last four years (shown in financial years) is set out as follows:
Total spend £421,000 (2008-09), £398,000 (2009-10), £294,000 (2010-11) and £172,000 (2011-12 to end July).
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Services provided from financial year 2010-11 onwards include: the provision of financial audit services on audit reviews of Nestor Primecare Services income and expenditure accounts for the Childcare Approval Scheme; developing the process for due diligence reports associated with the free schools agenda.
Total spend £757,000 (2008-09), £683,000 (2009-10) and £457,000 (2010-11).
Services provided from financial year 2010-11 onwards include: professional services consultancy, providing advisory services supporting the development of Diplomas; information systems and technology strategy development services.
Total spend £2,724,000 (2008-09), £2,536,000 (2009-10), £1,124,000 (2010-11) and £619,000 (2011-12 to end July).
Services provided from financial year 2010-11 onwards include: research and analysis services for: the evaluation of the Commissioning Support Programme and the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in children and young people's services; the evaluation of Building Schools for the Future Programme; evaluation of the making good progress pilots—an investigation of Speech and Language Therapy; services for supporting the Teacher Pension Services tender project; and, the supply of services to deliver the Achievement for All programme.
There was no expenditure with Ernst and Young in those years.
Information on expenditure for the years before 2008-09 are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Department does not hold any information, for all years, on the number of consultants who have provided advice and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Correspondence
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many letters his Department received from hon. Members in June 2011. [68759]
Tim Loughton: The total number of letters in the Department for Education from hon. and right hon. Members in June was 1,187.
Procurement
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what methodology (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible used to estimate savings to the public purse made in respect of its procurement and purchasing since May 2010. [69277]
Tim Loughton: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), said in response to PQ16752, on 15 November 2010, Official Report, columns 615-16W, that the Government had announced a more specific and innovative approach to efficiency and reform across the public sector, including:
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a reduction in administration budgets of 34% across the whole of Whitehall and its arm's length bodies saving £5.9 billion a year by 2014-15;
radically reducing the number of arm's length bodies across government; and
the Efficiency and Reform Group's tough new efficiency regime which will drive savings in procurement, major projects and estate management;
and that, in result, Departments would no longer be required to report against the previous Government's efficiency target.
In August 2011, the Minister for the Cabinet Office announced that the Efficiency and Reform Group's new measures had saved £3.75 billion over 2010/11.
This impact was assessed using methodologies attached at Annex A. The assessment has been independently verified by Government auditors who found the benefits assertions to be fairly calculated and presented.
These savings are born out in my Department's annual report and accounts 2010-11.
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/d/annual%20report%20and%20accounts%202010%2011.pdf
Note 9 (a), page 83, reports that other administration costs for my Department reduced from £70.713 million in financial year 2009-10 to £65.868 million in financial year 2010-11. Figures in this report are prepared in accordance with HM Treasury's Financial Reporting Manual for central Government Departments and associated Treasury resource accounting and budgeting guidance.
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Independent Review Panels
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Leeds North East of 16 March 2011, Official Report, columns 423-24W, on independent review panels, in respect of each of the reviews commissioned by his Department between May 2010 and March 2011 which appointments (a) were made following a light-touch process and (b) involved a formal application and selection process; and if he will make a statement. [68189]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 5 September 2011]:All independent review panel appointments were based on a light-touch process.
Regulation
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many regulations his Department has introduced (a) in the six months prior to 1 September 2010 and (b) in the six months after 1 September 2010 which it has determined do not impose costs on businesses. [65319]
Tim Loughton: In the period between 1 March 2010 and 31 August 2010, the Department for Education made 68 statutory instruments which did not impose any costs upon businesses. In the period between 1 September 2010 and 28 February 2011, the Department made 28 statutory instruments which did not impose any costs upon businesses.
Copies of these statutory instruments can be found at:
www.legislation.gov.uk
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many regulations that impose costs on businesses his Department (a) introduced and (b) removed in the six months prior to 1 September 2010; and what the net effect on the costs on businesses of such introductions and removals was. [65353]
Tim Loughton: In the period between 1 March 2010 and 31 August 2010, the Department for Education introduced two statutory instruments which imposed costs on business. In the case of both of these statutory instruments, impact assessments were carried out which identified the likely costs implications associated with their implementation. These impact assessments can be viewed using the links provided.
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1997/pdfs/uksiem_20101997_en.pdf
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) (Children's Homes etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/617/pdfs/uksiem_20100617_en.pdf
None of the statutory instruments which were revoked by the Department between 1 March 2010 and 31 August 2010 imposed any costs on business.
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Internships
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many hours were worked per week by each intern employed by his Department under the Cabinet Office Summer Diversity Internship Programme in the last 12 months. [69478]
Tim Loughton: Information for the Department is set out in the following table:
| Intern | Length of placement during period (week(s)) | Hours worked |
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) persons undertaking unpaid work experience, (b) unpaid interns and (c) other persons in unpaid positions were working in his Department as of 1 July 2011. [69519]
Tim Loughton: From 1 July 2011 until the end of August 2011, the Department has had 42 unpaid work experience placements. The Department had no unpaid interns over the same period.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students were in receipt of educational maintenance allowance in each school and college in London in 2010-11. [71246]
Mr Gibb: 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, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
Education Maintenance Allowance: Coventry
Mr Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people in Coventry local authority area were in receipt of education maintenance allowance in academic year 2010-11; and how many young people in that area he expects to participate in the 16-19 bursary scheme in 2011-12. [70368]
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Mr Gibb: 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 with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 7 September 2011:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question PQ70368.
As at the 31 of July 2011 the number of young people who had received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in Coventry Local Authority area was 4,604.
EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year. EMA take-up data showing the number of young people who have received one or more EMA payments, broken down by local authority, during academic year 2010/11 is available on the YPLA website, at the following address:
http://ema.ypla.gov.uk/resources/research/takeup/
Further information on take up for the academic years: 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 can also be found here.
Schools, colleges, Academies and training providers will be able to determine their own criteria for eligibility for discretionary bursaries, and for deciding the level of awards. We therefore do not hold data about the number of young people that are expected to benefit from the bursary scheme in each local authority area. We expect that in many cases providers will want to agree a consistent approach across an area, taking account of the needs and circumstances of young people locally.
The bursary fund allocations that have been made for 2011/12 for schools, colleges and further providers have been published and can be found on the following website:
http://www.ypla.gov.uk/aboutus/ourwork/funding/allocations/
Free Schools
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost to the public purse has been of each of the free schools established to date. [70430]
Mr Gibb: Current estimates are that the total capital costs for the 24 free schools opening in 2011 will range from £110 million to £130 million. The Department will publish the full financial information for approved free schools once final costs have been agreed.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of applications to establish free schools were from parent groups. [70498]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 7 September 2011]: There were 323 applications in the first Free School application round, which closed on 11 February 2011, from a diverse range of groups. At the time we did not, however, require proposers to categorise themselves as either teachers, parents or charitable groups.
In the second round of Free School applications, which closed on 15 June 2011, there were 281 applications of which 227 were for mainstream Free Schools. 126 (56%) of these applications came from local groups, where proposers have described themselves as a teacher, parent or community group.
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Free Schools: Finance
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much of his Department's net expenditure on academies is to be recouped from dedicated schools grant payments to local authorities from September 2011. [68017]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 5 September 2011]: The amount recouped from local authorities through adjustments to their dedicated schools grant allocation increases throughout the year as more schools become academies.
Details of the first adjustment for 2011-12 financial year can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012 pupilpremium/a0070267/dsg-and-pupil-premium-allocations-for-2011-12
(final 2011-12 DSG allocations). At that point, the figure for 2011-12 recoupment, for both school budget share and Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG), was £2.4 billion. Details of the next adjustment in September and subsequent adjustments will be made available at the same web-page.
GCSE
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the trends in academic standards in GCSE examinations. [67948]
Mr Gibb: The independent regulator, Ofqual, is responsible for ensuring that standards are maintained over time. It is currently looking into issues such as grade inflation, level of demand on candidates, marking and international comparisons.
The Government plans to reform the National Curriculum and GCSEs to ensure that all our young people have an education which matches up to the best in the world and allows them progress to further and higher study.
New GCSEs will be developed reflecting the new National Curriculum, focusing on essential knowledge in key subjects, with exams taken at the end of the course to support good teaching and in-depth study.
GCSE: GCE A-level
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy is on the timing of release of GCSE and A-level results to local authorities. [70159]
Mr Gibb: Summer GCSE and A-level results are each released to students on a specific date in August. Awarding organisations communicate results in confidence to the relevant schools and colleges the day before.
The Department publishes Statistical First Releases (SFRs) on the overall achievements of young people in GCSE examinations and other accredited qualifications and on the overall achievement of young people in GCE and Applied GCE A-level examinations and other
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equivalent qualifications at the end of October. These SFRs present national and local authority level results based on provisional data.
School and college level results are then published in mid-January in the Performance Tables, and further SFRs are published based on final data. This follows a process during which schools check and confirm, or ask for amendments to, the data for which they are held to account. The final data also take account of results notified late by awarding organisations, the outcome of appeals etc.
Head Teachers: Pay
Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the salaries of head teachers are subject to the public sector pay freeze. [70050]
Mr Gibb: The two-year pay freeze for all head teachers and teachers in maintained schools started on 1 September 2011. The pay freeze relates to inflationary pay increases and will cover the 2011/12 and 2012/13 academic years.
Staff in academies are not affected by the public sector pay freeze. This is because academies are not bound by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) and are therefore able to set their own pay and conditions of service.
Music: Education
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils took part in peripatetic music lessons in (i) England, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Dudley Borough in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [69613]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 7 September 2011]:We are making £82.5 million available for music education in 2011-12 and are determined that this is used to ensure that every child has an opportunity to learn a musical instrument. We do not collect data centrally on the numbers of peripatetic music lessons either nationally or in specific areas. However, data supplied voluntarily by local authorities suggest that 831,503 primary school children in England were learning a musical instrument in the 2009/10 academic year and a projected 880,971 were learning a musical instrument in 2010/11.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the allocation of music education funding to local authorities. [70401]
Mr Gibb: The allocation of music education funding to local authorities was discussed in February 2011 with the Department for Communities and Local Government, prior to the announcement of the 2011-12 music education budget.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department has issued to local education authorities on the funding of music education services. [70402]
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Mr Gibb: The Federation of Music Services, which is administering the Music Education Grant on behalf of the Department in 2011-12, has issued guidance on the funding of music education services.
The guidance states that this funding should be used to support frontline services for music. In order to receive the funding, local authorities must submit a declaration that the money will be used for music education. In addition local authorities must provide details of their contribution to music education funding and the services that they intend to provide to children in the area, as well as showing how the Music Education Grant will be used to meet the Government's objectives in terms of music education. The guidance also states that the Music Education Grant must not be used for musical provision which replaces activities for which funding is already allocated through other sources (e.g. National Curriculum music provision, for which schools are already funded).
The full set of guidance can be found at:
http://www.thefms.org/the-fms/professional/funding/
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding has been allocated to each local authority for music education in each category of expenditure for 2011-12. [70403]
Mr Gibb: We are making £82.5 million available for music education in 2011-12, of which £77 million is going to local authorities. The Federation of Music Services, the membership organisation for music services, is administering the Music Education Grant on behalf of the Department for 2011-12. Details of allocations of the grant to each local authority can be found on the Federation of Music Services' website at:
http://www.thefms.org/the-fms/professional/funding/
Pupil Exclusions: Children in Care
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of looked after children were (a) temporarily and (b) permanently excluded in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [68881]
Tim Loughton:
Information on the percentage of children looked after continuously for at least 12 months who received a fixed exclusion and the percentage who received a permanent exclusion is available for the years
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2007 to 2009 in the Statistical First Release “Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England, as at 31 March 2010” available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000978/index.shtml
Figures for 2009/10 are now available and will be included in the 2011 publication in December.
Table 1, showing local authority level figures for the academic years 2006/07 to 2009/10 for children looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 31 March based on the individual child level CLA-NPD matched dataset, has been placed in the House Libraries. Information on years prior to 2007 is not available from this data source.
Prior to 2007 information was collected via the OC2 aggregate return. These figures were based on children looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 30 September. Information on the percentage of children receiving a fixed exclusion is not available. The figures for the percentage of children receiving a permanent exclusion are not directly comparable to those from the CLA-NPD matched dataset as they have been derived from a different data source and are based on a different cohort of children. Figures for 2005/06 can be found in the SFR “Outcome Indicators for Looked-after Children, Twelve months to 30 September 2006, England”, available at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000727/index.shtml
Table 2, showing the percentage of children looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 30 September who received a permanent exclusion in 2005/06, has been placed in the House Libraries. Where a child was permanently excluded more than once in the previous school year, each occasion has been counted.
Pupils: Disadvantaged
Mr Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of school pupils in Coventry local authority area were in receipt of free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available. [70367]
Mr Gibb: Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in Coventry local authority as at January 2011 is shown in the table.
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| Notes: 1. Includes middle schools as deemed. 2. Includes primary academies. 3. Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. 4. Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. 5. Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarders. In pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. 6. Pupils who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between 5 and 15. 7. Includes maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools, and pupil referral units. Excludes pupils in alternative provision as full and part-time status is not collected. Source: School Census. | |||
The latest information, for January 2011, on free school meal eligibility and other school and pupil information can be found in the “Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2011” Statistical First Release at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml
Schools: Attendance
Mr Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parental requests for authorised absence during term time were (a) approved and (b) declined in (i) Coventry education authority area, (ii) Bradford education authority area, (iii) Stoke-on-Trent education authority area, (iv) Wolverhampton education authority area and (v) England in each of the last five years. [70366]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education does not collect data on the number of parental requests for authorised absence during term time. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 state that head teachers may grant leave of absence during term time. The Department looks to schools themselves to consider each request as they can only be judged on a case-by-case basis taking into account individual circumstances. We would not want to interfere with that process.
The available absence statistics can be found in the 'Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2009/10' Statistical First Release at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000994/index.shtml
The Department collects information on the total number of sessions possible and the number of sessions of absence per term. It is not possible to identify individual episodes of absence.
Schools: Finance
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been allocated in local authority central spend equivalent grant in each local authority area to date; and how much of that grant has been recouped from the dedicated schools grant to each local authority. [68018]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 5 September 2011]: Since the beginning of the academy programme, there has been a principle that academies should be funded on the same basis as maintained schools in their local area. In addition to their school budget share, Academies are paid a Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG) to cover the costs of those services that were previously provided without charge by the local authority.
Tables have been placed in the House of Libraries which detail the amount of LACSEG paid out in academic years 2005/06 to 2010/11 and the amount of LACSEG recouped from each local authority since the inception of recoupment in 2008 to 31 August 2011.
The two sets of figures are not comparable. Only funding for LACSEG within the Schools Budget is recouped from DSG. The bulk of LACSEG relates to local authorities' non-schools education budget. Up to and including 2010-11 none of this funding was recovered from local authorities. In 2011-12, £148 million was topsliced from the local government settlement. The level of the reduction to local government funding relating to local authority LACSEG in 2011-12 and 2012-13 has recently been subject to a consultation. The Government are considering the responses to that consultation and the outcome will be announced shortly.
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's schools budget is planned to be in each year of the comprehensive spending review period. [68500]
Tim Loughton: The current schools budget for 2011-12 together with the current allocations as set out in Table 7.2 of “Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2011”, published by HM Treasury, for the financial years 2012-13 to 2014-15 is set out in the following table.
| School budget (dedicated schools grant and funding for academies) | |
| Financial year | £ million |
In addition schools will also receive the pupil premium that will be worth £625 million in 2011-12 rising to £2.5 billion in 2014-15.
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Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was allocated to each school and college in London in 16 to 19 bursaries for 2011-12. [71248]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the 16-19 Bursary Fund for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
Schools: Tower Hamlets
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that funding for other schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is not affected adversely as a result of the Bethnal Green Technology College becoming an academy. [68708]
Mr Gibb: The principle of academy funding is that Academies receive the same level of per-pupil funding as they would receive from the local authority as a maintained school. They also receive funding to meet the additional responsibilities that are no longer provided for them by the local authority. This means that others schools in the London borough of Tower Hamlets would not be adversely affected if the Bethnal Green technology college converted to academy status.
Solvents: Misuse
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has had recent discussions with the devolved administrations on the funding of statistical information on the prevention of volatile substance abuse. [70462]
Mr Simon Burns: I have been asked to reply.
The Department is reviewing its existing public health information and intelligence functions and considering what data should be collected to inform the work of Public Health England. Decisions on the data requirements for a drugs early warning system, including the collection of Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA) mortality data in the future will need to be based on the outcome of this work. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and the British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association have made representations about the importance of collecting data on VSA.
Spend by the Department on the collection and publication of statistics on VSA is shown in the following table:
|
|
Spend (£) |
There have been no recent discussions with the devolved Administrations concerning the funding of statistical information on VSA.
Frank, the Government's drug information and advice service, provides young people with knowledge to help
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prevent drug use. The following table shows Frank campaign funding for the last three years for which figures are available. This excludes spending on the Frank helpline which is funded through a contract for various helplines in which the costs attributable to Frank are not separately identified, but are estimated to be more than £800,000 per annum.
|
|
£ million |
Supply Teachers
Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that agency worker regulations do not adversely affect the present level of flexibility available to supply teachers and local authority employers. [69045]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 September 2011]: The Agency Workers Regulations implement the requirements of EU Directive 2008/104/EC. The purpose of the directive is to ensure the protection of temporary agency workers by applying the principles of equal treatment so that after a qualifying period, they enjoy the same terms and conditions as teachers who have been recruited directly by schools and local authorities. The Department's guidance will help teachers, employers and agencies to implement the regulations so that present levels of flexibility are still available for supply teachers and employers.
Teachers: Foreign Nationals
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) science and (b) mathematics teachers were non-UK nationals in 2010-11. [70433]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Teaching Assistants
Mr Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teaching assistants were employed in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 2010. [70088]
Mr Gibb: The following table gives the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants employed in publicly funded schools in Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside Local Authority, the North East and England in each year from 1997 to 2010.
Up until January 2010 these figures were collected through the School Census in January of each year. The School Workforce Census was run, in its complete form, for the first time in November 2010 and is the new source for these figures.
Further school workforce statistics are available from the November 2010 School Workforce Statistical First Release which is available at the following web link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000997/index.shtml
Data for November 2011 are scheduled to be published in spring 2012.
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| Full-time equivalent teaching assistants in service in publicly funded schools, years: January each year, 1997 to 2010, coverage: Jarrow constituency, South Tyneside local authority, the North East government office region and England | ||||
|
|
Jarrow constituency | South Tyneside local authority | North East government office region | England |
| (1) The national figure for November 2010 includes estimates for a small number of schools, including four in South Tyneside local authority, that did not make an approved School Workforce Census return. In addition an estimate was made in the national figure for a proportion of returns that did not include the FTE number of hours worked by teaching assistants that would otherwise be excluded. These estimates are not available at the constituency, local authority and regional level and have not been included. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census (January 1997 to January 2010) and School Workforce Census (November 2010) | ||||
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what recent progress his Department has made on a national action plan to address the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's 2008 Concluding Observations on the UK's compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; [69319]
(2) what assessment he has made of the UK's progress in realising the General Measures of Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; [69320]
(3) whether he plans to bring forward proposals to incorporate into domestic legislation the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; [69321]
(4) whether he has considered bringing forward legislation for England similar to the Welsh Assembly's Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011; [69322]
(5) what assessment he has made of the UK's compliance with Article 4 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with regard to protecting children's rights to the maximum extent of available resources; [69323]
(6) what assessment he has made of the feasibility of identifying the proportion of public spending allocated (a) directly and (b) indirectly to children in line with recommendation by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; [69324]
(7) what assessment he has made of the level of knowledge of the principles and provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child among (a) children, (b) parents, (c) childcare professionals and (d) education professionals; and whether he has made an assessment of the Government's compliance with the UK's commitments under Article 42 of the Convention; [69327]
(8) whether he has assessed the need for compulsory education on the principles and provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as part of the National Curriculum; [69328]
(9) whether he has assessed the need for compulsory education on the principles and provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as part of (a) initial training and (b) continuous professional development for foundation years and education professionals. [69329]
Tim Loughton: This Government are committed to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). On 6 December 2010, Official Report, columns 5-7WS, the Minister of State, Department for Education, the hon. Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), gave a commitment to Parliament that:
“the Government would give due consideration to the UNCRC articles when making new policy and legislation”
“in doing so, we would always consider the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's recommendations but recognise that, like other state signatories, the UK Government and the UN committee may at times disagree on what compliance with certain articles entails”.
This year marks the half-way point between the UN Committee's Concluding Observations from 2008 and
9 Sep 2011 : Column 907W
our next reporting due in 2014. The UK Children's Commissioners are due to publish an independent report later this year which will provide an assessment of the UK's progress. The Government will want to consider their conclusions and plan next steps in light of that report.
Each of the UK jurisdictions is approaching implementation of the UNCRC in a way which reflects its own local circumstances and priorities. In England, the detailed review of the Children's Commissioner's remit and functions marked significant progress. By accepting the review recommendations, the Government have signalled that they intend to strengthen the role of the Children's Commissioner to promote the rights of children and young people in England.
There are no plans to incorporate UNCRC into domestic legislation. In general the UK Government does not incorporate treaties and international conventions directly into UK law. There is no requirement in the UNCRC that it be incorporated into a single piece of legislation. Our approach to deliver the UNCRC outcomes is through a mixture of legislative and policy initiatives. The analysis published by Government in March 2010, in response to the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights of 20 November 2009 demonstrated how existing legislation underpins implementation of the UNCRC in England.
The Welsh Assembly Government have taken the step of introducing a duty on its Ministers to have due regard to the UNCRC. I will be taking a very close interest in how this develops. However, the UK Government's priority is to raise awareness of the UNCRC and introduce practical measures to promote and protect children's rights.
It is not possible to provide accurate information on the proportion of the public spending allocated either directly or indirectly to children. This is due to a number of factors, including the devolved nature of decision-making on spending priorities and differing ways in which budgets are allocated. However, the Department for Education's planned expenditure on children and schools is £56.1 billion in 2011-12 compared to expenditure of £45.9 billion in 2006-07.
No assessment has been made of the level of knowledge of UNCRC among children, parents, child care and education professionals. The Department's website publishes information about UNCRC principles and provisions. To support awareness-raising among children, the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award is a way in which schools can demonstrate, through self evaluation and external assessment, that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is embedded in their ethos and curriculum. £500,000 was provided by Government over three years to March 2010 to UNICEF to support the rollout of the Award.
Learning about rights and responsibilities currently features within the National Curriculum as part of the Programme of Study for citizenship. The Department for Education is undertaking a review of the National Curriculum in England. The purpose of this review is to reform the National Curriculum and restore its original purpose so that it sets out only the essential knowledge, concepts and processes that children should be expected to acquire in key subjects during the course of their school career. This reduction in prescription will free up teachers to use their professionalism to design and plan
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lessons that inspire their pupils, and also give schools much greater scope to innovate in how they teach about important topics such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It is not anticipated that compulsory education on the principles and provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child will form part of either the initial training or continuous professional development for early education and child care professionals. However, candidates undertaking training and assessment in order to attain Early Years Professional Status are required to demonstrate that they have a sound working knowledge and understanding of current legal requirements, national policies and guidance on health and safety, safeguarding and promoting the well being of children.
Work and Pensions
Employers' Liability
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding his Department has allocated for the Employers Liability Insurance Bureau in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement. [70248]
Chris Grayling: The issues raised by an Employers Liability Insurance Bureau are complex and to ensure we get this right we have been in active discussions with all stakeholders since the public consultation closed in May 2010. We are still carefully considering how to progress the matter to achieve an appropriate outcome and we will bring forward our proposals, which will include financial allocations, in due course.
Employment and Support Allowance
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in receipt of employment and support allowance or its predecessor benefits who have been passed to Working Links in each quarter of (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [70426]
Chris Grayling: During 2009-10 and 2010-11, claimants of employment and support allowance and its predecessor benefits, who lived in the Jobcentre Plus districts of:
Coventry and Warwickshire
Gloucester, Wiltshire and Swindon
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire
West of England
North East Yorkshire and the Humber
could be referred from Jobcentre Plus to Working Links via the Provider-Led Pathways to Work programme, once they had undertaken an initial work-focused interview with Jobcentre Plus.
The following table shows the number of mandatory and voluntary starts to Provider-Led Pathways to Work in each quarter of 2009-10 and 2010-11, for customers who go on to start with a provider after being referred by Jobcentre Plus following their initial work-focused interview(1):
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| Quarter of starting PL Pathways with Jobcentre Plus | Starts for all providers in GB | Working Links |
Official statistics are routinely published for employment programmes such as Pathways to Work. Official statistics on Pathways to Work starts and job entries are currently available up to January 2011, and are published at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=ib_ref_p2w
(1) Source: DWP Provider-Led Pathways database. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, totals may not sum due to rounding.
Housing Benefit
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has considered enabling self-contained studios and bedsits to qualify for the local housing allowance shared accommodation rate. [70144]
Steve Webb: The shared accommodation rate limits the level of financial help available from housing benefit rather than deciding what type of property a person can live in.
The one bedroom shared accommodation rate is based on the rents of one bedroom properties, excluding anything self contained but including all other one room lettings. While the level at which it is set will be influenced by the rents of bedsits, the rents of studio flats would have no influence as they are self-contained.
However, this does not mean that all self-contained accommodation will be unaffordable. Some cheaper self-contained studios or bedsits may have rents that are at or below the shared accommodation rate, and others may be affordable if the claimant is able to make up any shortfall from other sources of income.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of single people aged 25 to 34 who are not in receipt of housing benefit to live in shared accommodation. [70446]
Steve Webb: It is estimated that 41% of non-student, single people, aged 25 to 34, who are renting in the private sector, have no children and have not declared housing benefit receipt are living in shared accommodation.
Notes:
1. Shared accommodation refers to households where there is no clear head, for example unrelated adults sharing a house or flat
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on an equal basis. This analysis therefore excludes other forms of sharing, for example lodging in an owner-occupied house, or adult children living with their parents.
2. Housing benefit receipt has been analysed at household level, so some individuals not claiming housing benefit, but sharing accommodation with benefit claimants, have been treated as if they are in receipt. Only a small proportion of non-recipients share accommodation with claimants, so this does not have a significant impact on the estimate.
3. “Private renting” includes both furnished and unfurnished tenancies, but excludes rent free cases.
4. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 23,000 households in Great Britain. Data for 2008-09 were collected between April 2008 and March 2009.
5. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record benefit receipt so the estimates presented should be treated with caution.
6. The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government Office Region population by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
7. Figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
Source:
DWP analysis of 2008/09 Family Resources Survey
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many working households were claiming housing benefit in each local authority area in Great Britain in (a) June 2010 and (b) May 2011. [71245]
Steve Webb: The requested information can only be provided for non-passported housing benefit recipients. While there may be small numbers of households in receipt of a passported benefit who are also in employment this information is not regularly recorded.
A copy of the available information has been placed in the Library.
Jobcentre Plus
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether his Department publishes information on the number of people placed into a job by each Jobcentre Plus office which they hold for more than (a) six months and (b) one year; [70261]
(2) whether his Department publishes information on the number of people placed into employment by each Jobcentre Plus office; [70262]
(3) what methodology his Department uses to determine the efficacy of each Jobcentre Plus office; [70263]
(4) what recent estimate he has made of the average cost of placing someone in a job through Jobcentre Plus in the last year for which figures are available. [70264]
Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus does not publish information on the number of people placed into employment by each Jobcentre Plus office, nor does it publish information on the number of people placed into a job by each Jobcentre Plus office which they hold for more than (a) six months and (b) one year.
The main measure of labour market performance is the rate at which people leave jobseeker's allowance, income support and employment and support allowance and move into employment. The measure supports the
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Department for Work and Pensions 2011-15 Business Plan and the coalition Government's structural reform priorities. Jobcentre Plus reports on monthly progress against this measure across all levels of the business. The data will be published at both a national and Jobcentre Plus district level early next year.
The measure of people moving into work is assessed using employment data from HMRC. This provides useful trend information but is not a complete picture of all employments, and is not robust at a local level. For the very large numbers of Jobcentre Plus claimants, it is not cost-effective to measure the number of people each Jobcentre places into employment, nor what happens to them after they have been successful in finding work. Jobcentre managers therefore focus on maximising off-flow rates from benefit, and also receive supporting information about potential destinations from benefit.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not have information showing the average cost of placing a claimant in a job through Jobcentre Plus. As part of the DWP business plan, the unit cost of Jobcentre Plus labour market support per customer has been published. We are currently exploring ways to develop and present cost per outcome measures.
Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department measures the success of individual Jobcentre Plus offices in finding sustainable employment for jobseekers. [70394]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions does not measure the success of individual Jobcentre Plus offices in finding sustainable employment for jobseekers.
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The main measure of Jobcentre Plus labour market performance is the rate at which people leave jobseeker's allowance, income support and employment and support allowance and move into employment. The measure supports the Department for Work and Pensions 2011-15 Business Plan and the coalition Government's structural reform priorities.
Jobcentre Plus reports on monthly progress against this measure across all levels of the business.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions applied to claimants of jobseeker's allowance have been challenged by the claimant since 1997; what proportion of challenges were upheld in favour of the claimant; and if he will make a statement. [68123]
Chris Grayling: Data on the volumes of referrals made to Jobcentre Plus Decision Makers for consideration of sanctions are only available from April 2000. Information in the following table shows the proportion of decisions determined in favour of the claimant both before challenge and after challenge.
The source of the information is DWP Information Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. Figures are published at:
http://83.244.183.180/sanction/sanction/LIVE/tabtool.html
The Tabulation Tool and instructions on how to use it can be found on the departmental website here:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html
| Referrals made for fixed, varied and entitlement decisions (thousands) by reason for referral | ||||||
| All decisions | Non-adverse | Proportion of decisions in favour of the claimant | ||||
|
|
Appeals | Reconsiderations | Appeals | Reconsiderations | Appeals (%) | Reconsiderations (%) |
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| (1 )To January. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten and displayed in thousands. Some additional disclosure control has been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding method used. 2. Percentages are to the nearest unit. 3. Varied length sanctions are where the JSA claimant has their payment temporarily suspended for anything up to 26 weeks. 4. Fixed length sanctions are where the JSA claimant has their payment temporarily suspended for either 2, 4 or 26 weeks. 5. Entitlement decisions are where the JSA claimant has their entitlement to JSA ended. 6. This information is published at the DWP website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp 7. Data are shown in financial years with 2010-11 containing data up to January 2011. 8. Reason for referral Sanctions for Failure to Attend Back to Work Sessions have been applied since April 2009. Flexible New Deal scheme sanctions have been applied in some parts of Great Britain since October 2009. Prior to April 2010, a Failure to Attend Advisory Interview attracted an entitlement decision. Since then, it has attracted a fixed length sanction of between one and two weeks. 9. JSA Sanction Data are available from April 2000. Source: DWP Information Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. | ||||||
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions have been applied to jobseeker's allowance claimants since 1997; what the type of sanction was; what financial penalties were imposed; and if he will make a statement. [68125]
Chris Grayling: Data relating to both the number and the type of sanctions applied to jobseeker's allowance are only available from April 2000. The available information is in the tables.
All adverse decisions lead to cessation of or reduction in the payment of jobseeker's allowance to the claimants concerned. The amount of penalty in each case depends on the circumstances of that claimant. Data are not kept relating to the amount of financial penalties incurred by these claimants.
The source of the information is DWP Information Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. Figures are published at:
http://83.244.183.180/sanction/sanction/LIVE/tabtool.html
The Tabulation Tool and instructions on how to use it can be found on the departmental website here:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html
| Referrals made for fixed, varied and entitlement dec isions by reason for referral— all decisions | |||||
| Fixed Decisions | |||||
| Thousand | |||||
| Reason for referral | |||||
|
|
Total | Giving up place on training scheme/employment programme | Losing place on training scheme/employment programme due to misconduct | Refusal of place on training scheme/employment programme | Neglect to avail of place on training scheme/employment programme |
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| Fixed Decisions | |||||
| Thousand | |||||
| Reason for referral | |||||
|
|
Failure to attend place on training scheme/employment programme | Failure to attend advisory interview (post April 2010) | Refusal to carry ou t a JS direction | Failure to attend Back to Work Session | Missing |
| Varied Decisions | |||||||
| Thousand | |||||||
| Reason for referral | |||||||
|
|
Total | Reason for Discharge from HM forces | Leaving employment voluntarily | Lost employment through misconduct | Neglect to avail of an opportunity of employment | Refusal of employment | Missing |