Creative Industries Council

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what issues the Creative Industries Council will address. [72749]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Creative Industries Council will look at a wide range of issues relevant to economic growth in this sector as identified by the Industry membership. This includes, but is not limited to, the issues of skills and access to finance.

Departmental Travel

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which travel management companies his Department uses for the purchase of airline tickets. [72684]

John Penrose: The Department uses Capita Business Travel.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) contractual obligations and (b) other processes his Department uses in respect of travel management companies to ensure the best value is achieved when purchasing airline tickets. [72698]

John Penrose: The information is as follows:

(a) Capita Business Travel were procured via a Buying Solutions (now Government Procurement Service—GPS) framework Agreement, and it is this framework that set the contractual obligations (b) travellers are asked to book as far in advance as possible to get better rates. Also as this is a government wide contract, the travel company has to ensure that it is delivering the best pricing/value and these are being continually benchmarked by category managers at GPS.

Chief Scientific Adviser

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the resource budget allocation was for the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [72455]

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have a formal resource budget allocation for a chief scientific adviser and has not had a specific resource budget allocation over the last five years. The resource budget allocation which covers their work is the wider DCMS research budget.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the salary, including benefits, was of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many individuals have held the post in the last five years. [72456]

10 Oct 2011 : Column 174W

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport had one chief scientific adviser in the last five years, who was employed until 13 September 2010. She was a member of the Department's board until her last day of service and, as such, her remuneration details were published in the Department's Annual Accounts. This can be accessed on our website:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/8309.aspx

(page 72).

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and on what date the office was established. [72457]

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not currently have, nor has it had during this period, a formal office to support the chief scientific officer. Support has been received from a civil service equivalent grade of 7 and a senior executive officer in the order of 1.05 full-time equivalent (three days a month).

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on requiring his Department's (a) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (b) contractors to have a written code of practice or protocol relating to the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice. [72458]

John Penrose: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have a specific written code of practice relating to its agency and arm's length bodies scientific evidence and advice provision, conduct and quality assurance. When using contractors for research, our policy is to ask them to adhere to the standard guidelines and principles on conducting social research. This includes the Social Research Association ethical guidelines as well as the principles developed and made available by Government Social Research.

Legal Opinion

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the average hourly rate paid was to external (a) solicitors and (b) barristers engaged by his Department in 2010-11; what guidance his Department uses in commissioning external legal advice; and if he will publish (i) the names of each external (A) solicitor and (B) barrister engaged by his Department in 2010-11 and (ii) the sums paid in each case. [72564]

John Penrose: The Department does not hold the information in the consolidated format you have requested. To provide it would incur disproportionate costs; but we can provide total costs paid to external solicitors and barristers, which can be found in the table.

The Department commissions external legal advice on the basis of advice provided by a team of lawyers from the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol).

10 Oct 2011 : Column 175W

Counsel is usually selected from a set of panels filled by competition and with agreed panel rates. Details of Counsel who are currently on the Treasury Solicitor's (civil) panels are available from the TSol website at:

www.tsol.gov.uk/attorney_generals_panel_of_counsel.htm

In circumstances where Counsel is selected off-panel (for example, where leading Counsel is required), nominations are sought from the Attorney-General. Fees in these cases are individually set but the nomination process ensures that higher charging Counsel are unlikely to be retained unless a very cogent business case can be made.

External firms of solicitors are chosen from panels of competitively selected firms on the basis of their ability to provide high quality, value for money legal services. The Government have negotiated fee rates with each of these firms.

The names of the external solicitors and barristers engaged by the Department in 2010-11, and the sums paid in each case, can be found in the following table. These costs are taken from the departmental legal costs budget.

(A) Firm (B) Barrister Total (£) (1)

Field Fisher Waterhouse

 

8,001.11

Charles Russell

 

12,634.78

 

Jeremy Johnson (5 Essex Street)

729.75

 

Marie Dementriou

4,025.25

 

James Eadie QC

2,326.50

Withers

 

10,476.59

 

Michael Furness QC

6,227.51

 

Charles Harpurn

3,840.00

 

Daniel Beard

8,349.75

 

Ben Hooper

1,370.00

Linklaters

 

1,062,616.90

 

Mr Gerard Clarke

634.50

DLA Piper

 

48,298.93

(1 )Including VAT. Note: All the figures listed are inclusive of any disbursements incurred, such as travelling costs.

In the case of barristers, the above figures do not represent the personal earnings of the individuals during 2010-11. A percentage of their fees are also paid towards professional overheads.

Departmental Tuition

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has funded foreign language tuition for Ministers or officials of his Department since May 2010. [72744]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: There is no record of my Department having funded any foreign language tuition for Ministers or officials since May 2010.

Education

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has for the future of creative education. [72793]

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Mr Jeremy Hunt: My Department, along with the Department for Education, will set out our plans for cultural education later in the year in response to Darren Henley's review into this area.

FIFA

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the reform of FIFA. [72748]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Minister for Sport met his European counterparts in February in Budapest and then on 6 September in Gdansk to discuss issues of governance, match-fixing and integrity. On each occasion he reiterated our view that international federations, such as FIFA, should reform themselves quickly and effectively. The Minister for Sport is a member of the International Olympics Committee President's High level Working Group on Corruption in Sport.

Government Art Collection

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on making the Government Art Collection available for public display. [72631]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Government Art Collection (GAC) regularly lends works of art to temporary public exhibitions all over the country. Current and future exhibitions which include loans from the GAC are taking/will take place in Birmingham, Brighton, Carlisle, Chichester, Compton Verney, Durham, Edinburgh, Penzance and Stratford-on-Avon.

In 2011-13 the GAC is holding a series of 5 displays at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London which will include nearly 200 GAC works of art. These will tour as a single unit to Birmingham 16 November 2012 to 24 February 2013 and Belfast 15 March to 9 June 2013.

Additionally, the vast majority of the GAC's holdings are accessible online via its website. All the GAC's paintings (up to the end of 2007) are included in the Public Catalogue Foundation's volume on the GAC (2008) and on the BBC/Public Catalogue Foundation's “Your Paintings” website, and this year the GAC published a book, “Art, Power, Diplomacy: The Untold Story of the Government Art Collection”. The GAC gives tours of its premises to organised groups approximately three times per month and is open to the public during both the annual Culture 24 Museums at Night and Open House weekends. GAC staff also give public lectures, when requested, to organisations outside London.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many items in the Government Art Collection are in storage. [72635]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: Of over 13,500 works in the Government Art Collection 4,571 are currently not on display and are available for selection and display. Of these 382 are awaiting installation at already selected specific venues and 26 are being either restored or reframed. Given the nature of the collection these figures are continually changing.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 177W

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many items in the Government Art Collection are on display in locations outside Greater London. [72636]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: In the UK, 352 Government Art Collection items are on display in locations outside Greater London (including 29 on temporary exhibition and loans to non-Her Majesty's Government's buildings) and 5,194 are abroad. Given the nature of the collection this figure regularly changes.

Intellectual Property

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he last met the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss the Hargreaves Review of intellectual property. [72633]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: I meet the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much (a) financial and (b) other support in each category local enterprise partnerships in (i) the East Midlands, (ii) the East of England, (iii) London, (iv) the North East, (v) the North West, (vi) the South East, (vii) the South West, (viii) the West Midlands and (ix) Yorkshire and the Humber have given to the creative industries since the inception of each partnership. [72654]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Government encourage any work undertaken by Local Enterprise Partnerships to support the creative industries in their area but does not record the information specified.

Mass Media: Ownership

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the Government plans to submit evidence on the issue of (a) media ownership and (b) press regulation to the Leveson inquiry. [72800]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: If we are approached for information or to give evidence, we shall co-operate fully with any requests.

Music

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what monitoring his Department carries out of the provision of local music services. [71660]

Mr Gibb: I have been asked to reply.

The Department for Education has contracted with the Federation of Music Services (FMS) to monitor and report on the use of the Government's Music Education Grant, which is paid to local authorities. The FMS also administers this grant on behalf of the Department.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 178W

In return for their funding, local authorities are required to report on: the nature of the music education services they provide, including data on the number of schools and children receiving free first access instrumental tuition; the number of children continuing instrumental tuition after first access; the number of ensemble opportunities offered to pupils; and the level of funding local authorities themselves contribute towards music education.

The FMS reports back to the Department on a regular basis, highlighting both problems and best practice.

National Lottery: Tickets

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of any assessment his Department has made of the geographical distribution of the purchase of lottery tickets. [71869]

John Penrose: The Department makes no assessment of the geographical distribution of the purchase of lottery tickets. The national lottery operator, Camelot, and their regulator the National Lottery Commission (NLC), ensure that total sales figures broken down by game type, week by week, are made available on a monthly basis with quarterly sales reports providing some additional commentary, the link to the agreed reporting timetable for this financial year and links to the reports can be found on the NLC website here:

http://www.natlotcomm.gov.uk/regulating-the-lottery/sales-reporting

The national lottery operator believes that the geographical breakdown of national lottery sales information is commercially sensitive information, particularly given the development of the gambling and lottery markets in recent years. In the interests of transparency, we are looking into this further and, in the meantime, I will ask the chief executive of Camelot to write to the hon. Lady.

Olympic Games 2012

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the outcome of the London 2012 Olympics test events. [72628]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: To date, the staging of test events for London 2012 has been a notable success. Feedback from International Sport Federations has been very positive and the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is already addressing the learning areas captured in this first series in readiness for both Games-time and the next series of test events, which started in early October. The public has also responded with enthusiasm to the events, with large turnouts rewarded by considerable British sporting success.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of progress on the Government's objectives for a sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympics. [72747]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: I am confident that the London 2012 games will leave behind a significant sporting legacy. We will support elite sport by maintaining public

10 Oct 2011 : Column 179W

funding for Olympic and Paralympic sport going into the Rio 2016 cycle. We've set out an ambitious programme of bids for major sporting events, with the 2013 Triathlon World Series Final and 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships secured in Olympic venues, Weymouth and Portland bidding for the World Cup in sailing and the Major Prize of the 2017 World Athletics Championships to be decided in November. Olympic venues and investment in training facilities will support local communities after the games. We are preserving Whole Sport Plans and holding sports to account on meeting challenging participation targets. More than a thousand local sports clubs and facilities will be improved, the nation’s playing fields protected, and 40,000 new community sports leaders recruited to get more people playing sport through our mass-participation strategy, Places People Play. This will also have a specific disability sport strand.

The new school games will give every school and pupil the opportunity to take part in more competitive sport, with opportunities for disabled children and young people to participate in each level of the competition. In addition, the Change4Life sports clubs will allow more young people to try a wider range of sports, giving young children their start to enjoy a lifetime’s habit of playing sport.

Our legacy plans will even change lives abroad through the ground-breaking International Inspiration programme which helps to increase sports opportunities in 17 countries and has reached over 10 million young people in 16 countries.

Olympic Games 2012: Conditions of Employment

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that branded merchandise that has been manufactured by children working in sweatshops or otherwise unacceptable working environments is not sold during the London 2012 Olympics. [72137]

Hugh Robertson: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a private company operating independently of Government, responsible for staging the games including the licensing and merchandising.

LOCOG places a high priority on environmental, social and ethical issues when procuring goods and services needed for the games, and explicitly rules out the use of child labour by all of its suppliers. LOCOG has put in place effective supply chain assurance arrangements, by developing a Sustainable Sourcing Code which all licensees are contractually bound to abide by. The code can be found at london2012.com/publications

http://www.london2012.com/about-us/publications/index.php

The code requires licensees to disclose to LOCOG the locations of factory premises used to produce London 2012 products, to register these premises on the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex) and to comply with the Ethical Trading Initiative's Base Code (which covers labour conditions, trade union membership, non-discrimination and child, labour).

10 Oct 2011 : Column 180W

Olympic Games 2012: Dorney Lake

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local media outlets receive media accreditation for the London 2012 Olympics events at Dorney Lake. [72094]

Hugh Robertson: The British Olympic Association (BOA), as the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is responsible for allocating accreditation for the Olympic games for media based in the United Kingdom. The British Paralympic Association (BPA), as the National Paralympic Committee, is similarly responsible for UK media allocation to the Paralympic games. The process for the Paralympic games has yet to be finalised.

I understand from the BOA that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the BOA far more accreditations than in the past and more accreditations than any other National Olympic Committee. Over 3,000 applications have been received for the approximately 400 accreditations available.

To assist with the allocation process, the BOA established a Media Accreditation Committee composed of representatives from a broad spectrum of the written and photographic press respected for their knowledge and experience from Olympic games or understanding of the UK media.

For 2012 the IOC awarded BOA the following number of accreditations:


Number

Journalist

270

Photographer

80

Sport specific journalist

20

Sport specific photographer

20

Support staff

8

Technician

12

When determining the allocation of accreditations BOA has taken into account, among other things, continuous editorial commitment to Olympic sport throughout the four-year Olympic cycle; history of attending Olympic games; circulation numbers; publication frequency. Throughout this process the BOA's primary purpose has been to ensure that the allocations made are fair given the limited number of accreditations available. The Press Association has been appointed by the IOC as the National Host News Agency for the London 2012 Olympic games (and has also been appointed by the International Paralympic Committee as the National Host News Agency for the 2012 Paralympic games) to service the local and regional press in the UK and they have committed to covering every British athlete at the games. The BOA has also agreed that regional written and photographic press who applied for accreditation should benefit from a small number of passes to be allocated on a pool basis. The distribution of these will be decided by the BOA with guidance from the Newspaper Society, in consultation with regional publishers. The Newspaper Society will be in touch with representatives of regional newspaper groups in the next few months to set up a meeting to discuss practical arrangements over operation of the pool.

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I will shortly be writing to the BOA on this matter and I will ensure the outcome of this correspondence is passed on to my hon. Friend.

Olympic Games 2012: East London

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings he has had with the Mayor of London on the economic legacy for east London of the London 2012 Olympics. [72640]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: I have regular meetings with the Mayor of London on matters connected with London 2012 and its legacy. The Mayor is responsible for the legacy for East London which is why Government are legislating to enable him to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation to drive the regeneration of the area and its economic legacy post-games.

Olympic Games 2012: Equipment

Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has for the equine-specific equipment purchased for the London 2012 Olympics after the conclusion of the games. [72581]

Hugh Robertson: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a private company operating independently of Government, responsible for staging the games. LOCOG will hire the majority of sports equipment it requires, however there will be some sports equipment purchased. LOCOG is talking to National Governing Bodies (NGBs) about donation of this equipment post-games, including the British Equestrian Foundation (BEF). Next year LOCOG will finalise what equipment this is likely to include and will agree this with the NGBs, including BEF. LOCOG must of course balance its overall budget.

Rugby

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on amateur rugby of hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2015. [72357]

Hugh Robertson: Recent research by UK Sport says that two-thirds of live spectators at major events are inspired to participate in the sport. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is committed and determined to ensure that enthusiasm is properly harnessed in 2015 producing a domestic and international legacy from the tournament. The RFU has set up eight Regional Legacy Boards to lead this drive ensuring that amateur rugby across the country benefits from hosting the World Cup on home soil. The legacy plans are to start right away.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department (i) has provided and (ii) plans to provide for preparations for hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2015; and if he will make a statement. [72374]

10 Oct 2011 : Column 182W

Hugh Robertson: The Government have provided a financial guarantee for the Rugby World Cup should the tournament not generate sufficient revenues. It has also provided a number of other guarantees in areas such as security, visas, anti-doping and customs controls necessary to stage the competition.

UK Sport also supported the hugely successful Women's Rugby World Cup in 2010. The support being provided to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) is on the basis that they will hold a tournament which reflects the diversity of the nation and invest all profits in grassroots rugby or social programmes such as Hitz.

Sculpture: Abingdon Green

Mr Doran: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has for the care and maintenance of the Knife Edge-Two Piece by Henry Moore on Abingdon Green accepted as a gift to the nation by the Government in 1967. [72196]

Mr Vaizey: My Department is not generally responsible for the maintenance of public sculptures but is keen to see them properly maintained. I understand that the problem with Knife Edge Two Piece has been compounded by the fact that it has been difficult to identify who is responsible for the care and maintenance of the work.

The House of Commons has an excellent Advisory Committee on its works of art, chaired by the hon. Member for Aberdeen North and I would propose that the matter should be referred to his Committee to allow the House to consider whether it would be willing to take on the ownership and duty of care of this sculpture. In suggesting this, I am aware that the House of Commons has its own professional curatorial staff who would provide the very finest levels of care for the sculpture.

Sport

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what targets he has set for increased participation in sport in England. [72629]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: We are determined to get more people playing sport. Part of that will be making it clear to sports governing bodies that we expect concrete results in return for Government investment. I have already written to all NGBs emphasising that funding will be decreased or may cease altogether for organisations that fail to achieve their objectives.

We have already introduced the School Games, Sport England has a £136 million lottery funded legacy programme in place and we are reviewing, with Sport England, how to increase the number of young people playing sport.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to promote community and grassroots sport. [72751]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: We are preserving Whole Sport Plans and holding sports to account on meeting challenging participation targets. Through our mass-participation programme, Places People Play, more than a thousand local sports clubs and facilities will be improved, the

10 Oct 2011 : Column 183W

nation's playing fields protected and 40,000 new community sports leaders recruited to get more people playing sport. This will also have a specific disability sport strand.

The new School Games will give every school and pupil the opportunity to take part in more competitive sport, with opportunities for disabled children and young people to participate in each level of the competition, in addition the Change4Life Sports clubs will allow more young people to try a wider range of sports, giving young children their start to enjoy a lifetime's habit of playing sport.

Sports Clubs

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what recent estimate he has made of the number of sports clubs using community asset transfers; [72647]

(2) how many sports clubs have successfully completed the transfer of a community asset in the last 12 months. [72648]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: This information is not collated by the Department; however, Sport England is aware of the increased popularity of community asset transfers. Sport England has been working closely with the Asset Transfer Unit to develop a range of support tools and resources aimed at sports clubs, national governing bodies and local authorities. In addition, the Localism Bill includes provisions to give community groups more opportunity to bid to take over assets listed as an Asset of Community Value, if they are made available for sale.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will assess the effect of philanthropic giving on amateur sports clubs. [72651]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Department does not hold this information. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs advise that sports clubs that have registered as Community Amateur Sports Clubs have benefited from £9.1 million of gift aid relief since 2002.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) if he will assess the effect of deregistration requirements on the number of community amateur sports clubs; [72652]

(2) if he will bring forward proposals to make it easier for sports clubs to leave the Community Amateur Sports Clubs scheme in circumstances where they no longer derive benefits or become ineligible. [72653]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Sport and Recreation Alliance's Red Tape review identified deregistration requirements as a barrier preventing clubs from registering as Community Amateur Sports Clubs. The Minister for Sport and the Olympics, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson), has written to Her Majesty's Treasury to request that an easier exit strategy be found should a club no longer benefit from the scheme.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 184W

Community Amateur Sports Clubs

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what measures his Department is taking to promote the Community Amateur Sports Clubs scheme. [72630]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Sport and Recreation Alliance (SRA) has already re-launched the Community Amateur Sports Clubs scheme (CASCs) and Sport England is funding Running Sports to develop new training sessions for CASCs.

The SRA looked at the issue of CASCs in the Red Tape review commissioned by the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson), who has written to Her Majesty's Treasury to raise various issues on CASCs, including a request to consider allowing CASCs to claim Gift-Aid on junior subscriptions.

Sport: Local Government Finance

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the effect on community and grassroots sport of changes in Government funding to local authorities. [72758]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: I have regular conversations with Department for Communities and Local Government colleagues in relation to sport. Through Whole Sport Plans, Sport England is investing £480 million through 46 national governing bodies between 2009 and 2013. The governing bodies work closely with their network of sports clubs to invest funding at a local level, in addition, the mass participation Olympic Legacy-Places People Play, will provide funding opportunities for sports clubs with £10 million for playing fields and £50 million for community sports facilities.

Sport: Young People

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review on participation in sport at youth level. [72627]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: As a result of the Government’s changes to the National Lottery, Sport England will see its funding increase by 14% over the spending review period. Up to £35.5 million of lottery funding from Sport England is being invested into the development of the School games, which will give more young people the opportunity to compete in competitive sport. This investment alongside our plans for an Olympic and Paralympic sporting legacy will provide more opportunities for more young people to participate in sport.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what analysis he has undertaken of recent trends in the level of participation in sport by young people. [72638]

10 Oct 2011 : Column 185W

Mr Jeremy Hunt: Data from the latest Taking Part survey shows that 90% of children (aged five to 15) had taken part in sport in the four weeks prior to being surveyed.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what change the Government expects in levels of participation in competitive sport by young people during the comprehensive spending review period. [72639]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: Sport England is investing up to £35.5 million of Lottery funding from now until March 2015 in the School Games which is a key part of the Government's plans for a lasting sporting legacy from hosting the London 2012 Games. All children in participating schools will have the opportunity to take part.

Swimming: Concessions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the effects of (a) the provision of and (b) the removal of provision of free swimming on (i) the over 60s and (ii) the under 17s. [72543]

Hugh Robertson: We have made no such assessment. However, in April 2009 the Department commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to undertake an independent evaluation of the Free Swimming Programme (FSP). This evaluation report, published in June 2010, found that the FSP did not represent good value for money, particularly as the report found that 83% of over 60s and 73% of those aged 16 and under would have gone swimming anyway, even if they had to pay. The analysis has also found that the costs of the scheme outweighed the health benefits. Full details of this evaluation can be found at the following link:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/FSPyear1_main_report.pdf

Sport England is investing £20.8 million into the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) over the period 2009-13 to grow and sustain participation in swimming. The ASA are working closely with key local authorities to drive increases in participation across all age groups.

Television Channels: Licensing

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to respond to Ofcom's report on the licensing arrangements for Channels 3, 4 and 5. [72745]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: I will announce my response as soon as I am able. I wish to take the opportunity of the Communications Review to give this matter proper consideration.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 186W

Television: Local Broadcasting

Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what regulatory changes he plans to make in respect of the introduction of local television. [72533]

Mr Vaizey: As set out in the framework for local TV consultation paper, the Government intend to lay three orders to: reserve a block of geographic interleaved spectrum across the UK for use by local services; create a new local licensing regime for local TV and; secure appropriate electronic programme guide prominence for newly licensed local TV services on digital terrestrial television.

Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport upon what timetable he plans to establish the Framework for Local Television under the Local Media Action Plan. [72534]

Mr Vaizey: It is expected that the Government will lay the necessary legislation by the end of this year and, subject to parliamentary process, Ofcom will consult on and award the new local television licences during 2012. The first local licences are expected to be awarded in 2012 with the first services expected to begin broadcasting in 2013.

Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what local content other than news and current affairs he expects of local television. [72535]

Mr Vaizey: Content shown by local services will be for local operators and the market to decide. It should reflect the individual needs and interests of the communities served.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects the first group of new local TV stations to begin broadcasting. [72750]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The first local services are expected to commence broadcasting in 2013.

Television: Young People

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on programmes targeted at young people in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07, (d) 2007-08, (e) 2008-09, (f) 2009-10 and (g) 2010-11. [71562]

John Penrose: Significant programmes run by this Department since 1995 which will have particularly benefited young people are:

£
Programme 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

UK Schools Games

6,000,000

490,000

10,000

725,000

Youth Mentoring

616,599

708,181

666,333

666,000

643,436

Change 4 Life

3,380,000

750,000

10 Oct 2011 : Column 187W

10 Oct 2011 : Column 188W

Children's Play

500,000

498,009

502,140

514,128

508,719

475,163

Youth Dance

100,000

100,000

95,000

Music Rehearsal Spaces

72,434

367,630

Free Swimming (for under 16s)

21,730,799

6,688,189

Total

500,000

1,114,608

7,210,321

1,770,461

26,467,952

9,744,418

Young people have also benefited from a range of schemes administered by arm's length bodies but we do not hold centrally the data for these. Schemes paid directly by the Department and by arm's length bodies included funding contributions from other Government Departments.

Tourism: Economic Situation

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how his tourism strategy will promote economic growth. [72637]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: The tourism policy, published in March, includes a range of proposals to help tourism achieve its potential as a central part of Britain's growth strategy. These include initiatives which will help us to capitalise on the Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major events in 2012, increase domestic tourism and improve productivity.

For example, over the next four years VisitBritain will be overseeing the “You're Invited” programme, which will make the most of the international interest in the recent royal wedding, as well as next year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations as well as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, showcasing Britain to the world. The programme aims to attract 4 million extra visitors, spending an additional £2 billion in the UK economy, which will support businesses, jobs and growth. The programme is backed by a £100 million marketing fund, funded by the public and private sector.

VisitEngland is working closely with local areas and destinations, in line with Government's localism agenda, to grow the value of local tourism economies. They are also currently working on a marketing campaign with destinations across the country, to deliver economic growth from the domestic market, and to support employment and job creation. This will maximise the impact of the unique events of 2012, helping to spread the benefits of the Games outside London and maintain a legacy of domestic tourism growth.

We will also help the industry to improve staff and management skills and prepare for changes in technology and information provision, cut red tape and identify sector specific rules and regulations that are holding the industry back, and improve our visa processes and visitors first experience when they arrive in the UK.

UK Film Council

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what savings have been made from the abolition of the UK Film Council. [72798]

Mr Jeremy Hunt: I refer the ho. member to the answer I gave him on 4 May 2011, Official Report, column 753W.

Education

Academies

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2011, Official Report, column 351W, when he expects the second round of applications to open for the fund for 2011-12 that will be targeted mainly towards academies' building condition needs. [67266]

Mr Gibb: We have decided to retain the remainder of the 2011-12 fund in order to ensure funds are available to address urgent and unexpected capital maintenance needs in academies. Academies should discuss such needs with their liaison officer in the Young People's Learning Agency in the first instance.

On 19 July, we announced details of the Government's initial response to Sebastian James's independent review of capital, and this will inform the shape of future arrangements for allocating capital funding to academies. Significantly, we have committed to carrying out a condition survey of the schools estate, to enable a fairer distribution of available funding in the future.

We also announced the launch of a new privately-financed school building programme to address those parts of the schools estate in the worst condition. The programme will be open to academies, schools and local authorities, and is expected to cover between 100 and 300 schools. Further details can be found at:

https://sharepoint.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/PSBP/

Academies: Bromley

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which secondary schools in the London borough of Bromley have converted to academy status in 2011 to date; what the operative date is in each case; who the partner is in each case; and what staff changes are planned for the posts of (a) headteacher, (b) deputy headteacher, (c) other teaching staff and (d) other staff in each case. [71669]

Mr Gibb: As of 1 September, 14 secondary schools in the London borough of Bromley have converted to academy status in 2011. Of these, three schools—Beaverwood School for Girls, Bishop Justus Church of England School and Coopers Technology College—opened as academies in March 2011. Six schools—Charles Darwin School, Hayes School, Langley Park School for Boys,

10 Oct 2011 : Column 189W

Newstead Wood School for Girls, Ravens Wood School and The Ravensbourne School—opened as academies in April 2011. The Bullers Wood School opened as an academy in May 2011. Two schools—Langley Park School for Girls and St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School—opened as academies in August. The two remaining schools—Cator Park School and Kelsey Park Sports College (now known as the Harris Academy Beckenham)—opened as academies in September and are in a formal partnership with the Harris Federation.

As autonomous bodies, personnel issues, including the recruitment and retention of staff, are matters for the Academy Trust.

Academies: Warwickshire

Mr Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which primary schools he expects to become academies in (a) Coventry and (b) Warwickshire in the 2011-12 academic year. [70365]

Mr Gibb: At present, no primary schools in Coventry or Warwickshire have applied to convert to academy status; this may, however, change over the course of the academic year. Four primary schools in Coventry and eight primary schools in Warwickshire have already expressed an interest in converting. Full details of schools that have formally applied for academy status, as well as a list of academies that have opened in the academic year 2010-11, can be found on the DFE academies website at:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesof schools/academies/a0069811/schools-submitting-applications-and-academies-that-have-opened-in-201011

Anti-slavery Day

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to mark Anti-slavery Day 2011. [72087]

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education and the Home Office are marking Anti-slavery Day with the launch of new guidance entitled 'Working together to Safeguard children who may have been trafficked'. The guidance will raise awareness of the issues amongst agencies in England who are likely to encounter, or have referred to them, children and young people who may have been trafficked.

The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery.

The Government published their strategy on human trafficking on 19 July. The strategy reiterates the UK's intention to take a comprehensive approach to combating trafficking—both by focusing on tackling traffickers and maintaining effective care for victims.

The strategy also sets out our commitment to raising awareness of trafficking among the public and the private sector. The Government recognise the importance of Anti-slavery Day as an opportunity to improve understanding and increase vigilance in our communities.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 190W

Children: Care Homes

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many looked-after children were placed in (a) homes and hostels (i) subject and (ii) not subject to children's homes regulations, (b) foster placements and (c) other arrangements by another local authority in each local authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [71251]

Tim Loughton [holding answer 13 September 2011]: Information on the number of looked-after children who were placed in (a) homes and hostels (i) subject and (ii) not subject to children's homes regulations, (b) foster placements and (c) other arrangements by another local authority in each local authority area for the years 2009 and 2010 only, has been placed in the House Libraries. Information for the three years prior to 2009 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children aged between (a) 0 and five years, (b) six and 10 years and (c) 11 and 16 years were placed in (i) homes and hostels (A) subject and (B) not subject to children's homes regulations, (ii) foster care and (iii) other arrangements by another local authority in each local authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [71252]

Tim Loughton [holding answer 13 September 2011]: The requested information for the years 2009 and 2010 only has been placed in the House Libraries. For completeness information has also been included for children aged 17 years and over. Table 1 includes information for 2009; table 2 includes information for 2010. Information for the three years prior to 2009 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Crimes of Violence

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will (a) assess the United Nations Global Survey on Violence against Children conducted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children and (b) place a copy of his assessment in the Library. [72409]

Tim Loughton: The Department is now considering the United Nations Global Survey on Violence against Children. A copy of any Government response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Children: Hyperactivity

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the incidence of (a) attention deficit disorder and (b) hyper-activity among school pupils in the last 15 years. [72128]

Sarah Teather: The Department does not collect annual data that record the incidence of attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity among school pupils. The most recent data collected on the mental health of children and young people, ‘Mental Health of Children and Young

10 Oct 2011 : Column 191W

People in Great Britain 2004’, put the incidence of hyperactivity disorder among children and young people in Great Britain aged five to 15 at 1.5%.

Children: Respiratory System

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the number of children who did not attend sports lessons as a result of respiratory illnesses in the last year for which figures are available. [72326]

Mr Gibb: The Department does not collect this information from schools.

Children's Centres: Finance

Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department plans to allocate to children's centres in each of the next four years. [71903]

Sarah Teather: Since April 2011, funding for children's centres is included within the Early Intervention Grant (EIG). The allocation for 2011-12 and the indicative allocation for 2012-13 are shown in the following table. Funding beyond March 2013 is subject to future spending reviews.

The EIG is an un-ring-fenced and un-hypothecated funding stream that gives local authorities flexibility to target resources strategically and to intervene early to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. It is up to local authorities to judge how best to use this funding in consultation with local communities, taking account of local need and evidence of what is most effective. Local authorities have statutory duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to provide sufficient children's centres to meet local need so far as is reasonably practicable, and to ensure there is consultation before opening, closing or making significant changes to services through children's centres.

Early Intervention Grant

£

2011-12

2,222,555,697

2012-13

2,307,199,996

Total

4,529,755,693

Children's Play: Training

Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on requiring those seeking to (a) establish and (b) find employment with children's playschemes to achieve the same qualifications as those working in educational children's programmes. [68510]

Sarah Teather: Play settings that provide care for children aged between birth and the academic year in which they turn five need to meet the staff-to-child ratios and qualification levels required by the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Play settings that provide care for children who are aged over five and are on the General Childcare Register need to meet the requirements set out in the General Childcare Register Regulations 2008. Subject to those requirements, the Government believe that the play work sector is best placed to determine the training and development needs of its work force.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 192W

Curriculum: Animal Welfare

Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to include animal welfare in the personal, social, health and economic curriculum. [72016]

Mr Gibb: The review of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), which was launched on 21 July 2011, will identify the core body of knowledge that pupils need, as well as ways to improve the quality of teaching. In addition to considering the submissions of evidence and good practice the review will also evaluate the existing research available on PSHE education and its teaching. We welcome representations, including evidence, which can be submitted up to the end of November 2011. The consultation website can be accessed at:

http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/

Departmental Travel

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which travel management companies his Department uses for the purchase of airline tickets. [72686]

Tim Loughton: The Department uses Carlson Wagonlit Travel Ltd to purchase airline tickets.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what the salary, including benefits, was of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many individuals have held the post in the last five years; [72448]

(2) what the resource budget allocation was for the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [72447]

(3) how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and on what date the office was established; [72449]

(4) what his policy is on requiring his Department's (a) non-departmental public bodies and (b) contractors to have a written code of practice or protocol relating to the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice. [72450]

Tim Loughton: The information is as follows:

(i) In the Department for Education, the role of chief scientific adviser is carried out by the full-time director of research and analysis. Her basic salary was between £85,000 and £89,999 in 2010-11, and is expected to be between £85,000 and £89,999 in 2011-12. The Department publishes information about the salaries of senior civil servants on its website:

http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmental information/transparency/b0065313/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salarv-information

10 Oct 2011 : Column 193W

The post of chief scientific adviser was established in the Department in 2005. Three people in the Department have held the post of chief scientific adviser in the last five years. The current director of research and analysis, encompassing the chief scientific adviser role, was appointed to the post in August 2008. Prior to that, it was filled on a temporary basis for 11 months, following the departure of the previous chief scientific adviser, and chief economist, in September 2007.

(ii) Our chief scientific adviser does not have a specific chief scientific adviser's office. There is no specific budget for the chief scientific adviser role. The role is carried out as part of the duties of the director of research and analysis.

(iii) Although there is no specific office supporting the chief scientific adviser, there are approximately 0.15 FTE staff supporting the director of research and analysis in carrying out the chief scientific adviser role.

(iv) The Department is committed to providing scientific advice in accordance with the Government chief scientific adviser's "Guidelines on the use of science and engineering advice in policy making". All of our analysts are bound by the civil service code and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Commitment to these values is required of all members of the home civil service.

(a) The Department's arm’s-length bodies (ALBs), formerly known as non-departmental public bodies, have their own standards and principles which they apply locally to ensure analytical evidence is robust. Where they have produced official statistics, they have been bound by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) Code of Practice for Official Statistics. A number of activities will be transferring from these ALBs to four new Executive agencies in the Department by April 2012, under the departmental reform programme. The Executive agencies will be bound, as appropriate, by the UKSA Code of Practice for Official Statistics

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html

and the Government social research code

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/networks/gsr/gsr-code

(b) The Department ensures that all of its research and evaluation contractors have suitable systems and processes to ensure that appropriate standards for the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific

10 Oct 2011 : Column 194W

evidence and advice are met. Potential contractors are required to clearly state in their tenders which codes of practice or protocols they are bound by, these are then considered by the Department's project manager when they are evaluating the tenders. Once a contractor is appointed their work is overseen by a professional Government analyst to ensure quality standards are maintained.

The Department's social researchers, who manage most of the Department's externally commissioned research and evaluation projects, are bound by the Government social research (GSR) code which sets out specific principles to guide the work and behaviour of Government social researchers. The GSR code brings together professional standards and departmental/devolved Administration guidance under seven key principles. Adherence to the code ensures high quality research and analysis for policy and operational delivery research, and analysis that is scientifically rigorous, relevant and valued.

The Department's contractors who are involved in the processing of data that support statistical publications are bound by principles within the UKSA code where relevant, for example regarding how they handle and store data to ensure security and prevent early release of statistics.

The largest volume of statistical releases and outputs related to my Department's areas of responsibility are produced by or in association with professional statisticians working within the Department itself, who act in accordance with the UKSA code of practice:

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html

Where statistical releases have been assessed by UKSA for compliance with the code their designation as National Statistics compliant with the code has been confirmed.

Manpower

Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant from (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible since May 2010. [66319]

Tim Loughton: Information for the number of staff recruited to and released from the Education Family workforce (the Department and its arm’s-length bodies) is set out in the following table:

Name Number of staff recruited since May 2010 Number of staff released since May 2010

Department for Education

71

178

British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA)

0

207(1)

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)

291

121

Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC)

0

11

General Teaching Council for England (GTCE)

6

0

National College

7

23

Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC)

17

1

Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual)

25

0

Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)

123

27

Partnerships for Schools (PfS)

5

21

Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA)

0

140

School Food Trust (SFT)

1

18

Training and Development Agency (TDA)

14

21

10 Oct 2011 : Column 195W

10 Oct 2011 : Column 196W

Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA)

52

0

(1 )BECTA is now closed. Note: The total cost of all releases (248) was £5.6 million.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether any complaints from officials of his Department have been received in respect of his political advisers since May 2010. [71390]

Tim Loughton [holding answer 12 September 2011]: Since May 2010, officials in the Department have no record of receiving any complaints in respect of its political advisers.

Dominic Cummings

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when Mr Dominic Cummings started work at his Department; and whether he is still employed. [72313]

Tim Loughton: Dominic Cummings joined the Department for Education on 21 February 2011 and is still employed.

Drugs: Misuse

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who the members are of the volatile substance abuse stakeholders group; when the group last met; and when it next plans to meet. [70458]

Sarah Teather: The volatile substance abuse steering group was established under the previous Administration. It last met in November 2009 and there are no plans to reconvene the group.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment his Department has made of the work of (a) hospital trusts, (b) voluntary organisations and (c) local education authorities concerning the prevention of volatile substance abuse. [70460]

Sarah Teather: No recent assessments have been made concerning the prevention of volatile substance abuse. Department for Education research published in February 2011 looked at the costs and benefits of specialist drug and alcohol services for young people. Also, as part of the 2010 Drug Strategy, officials looked at international evidence on preventing substance misuse, consulting widely on the most effective ways of doing so. Government Departments are working closely to ensure commitments made in the Drug Strategy are met.

The non-ring fenced Early Intervention Grant will allow local authorities to prioritise funding according to local need and where it will have the greatest impact.

Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department has allocated to the prevention of volatile substance abuse in each of the last three years. [70464]

Sarah Teather: Through the Children and Young People's Grants the Department for Education funded organisations called 'Solve It' and 'Re-Solv' which both work on the prevention of volatile substance abuse (VSA).

‘Re-Solv' received money to develop training materials, promote them to key work force groups and deliver training. 'Solve It' received funding to develop a programme of VSA education, awareness, training, family support and counselling. The amounts allocated are shown in the table.


Re-Solv Solve It Total

2008-09

51,000

51,000

2009-10

44,518

50,000

94,518

2010-11

45,097

52,000

97,097

Total

89,615

153,000

242,615

Local authorities used to receive funding through the area-based grant (ABG) for substance misuse. Between 2008 and 2011 it was £7 million per year (£3 million from DFE and £4 million from DH). This year local authorities have received £2.2 billion though the Early Intervention Grant which allows them to target their funding where it is most needed.

Education: Environment

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the level of environmental education in schools. [71733]

Mr Gibb: Environmental issues are included in both the current geography curriculum and science curriculum for primary and secondary aged pupils.

Ofsted undertakes thematic reviews of National Curriculum subjects. The ‘Geography—Learning to make a world of difference’ report, published in 2011, found that in strong performing schools students had an awareness of environmental issues, locally and globally, and cared about their environment and were aware that they needed to act as responsible citizens. In addition, the ‘Successful science—An evaluation of science education in England 2007-2010’ report, published in 2011, found that in the schools in which the pupils' achievement was good or outstanding the school used their local environment effectively.

Education: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much of the 16-to-19 Bursary funding awarded to students in Bassetlaw has been awarded to students who previously received education maintenance allowance (EMA); and how much remains for schools to allocate to applicants who have not previously received EMA. [72796]

10 Oct 2011 : Column 197W

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, has written to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.

Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 22 September 2011:

I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question PQ72796 that asked:

“How much of the 16-19 Bursary funding awarded to students in Bassetlaw has been awarded to students who previously received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA); and how much remains for schools to allocate to applicants who have not previously received EMA.”

We do not hold the information you are requesting.

Transitional arrangements have been put in place for young people previously in receipt of EMA. These arrangements provide continuity for those young people who successfully applied for EMA in 2009/10 and are completing their course of education or training in 2011/12. In these cases, students will get EMA in 2011/12 at the same rate as they did in 2009/10 and 2010/11.

Those young people who were successful in applying for EMA for the 2010/11 academic year and who were assessed as most in need and therefore granted the full £30 a week EMA are still eligible for support until the end of the 2011/12 academic year at the amount of £20 per week.

The 16-19 Bursary is designed to help support those young people who face the greatest barriers to continuing in education or training post-16.

The most vulnerable young people will be eligible for a bursary of at least £1200. This group covers young people who are looked after, care leavers, those in receipt of income support and disabled young people in receipt of both Employment Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance.

Schools, colleges and other providers have received an allocation of funding for the bursary and are free to determine the scale of discretionary bursaries and the frequency of payments for all

10 Oct 2011 : Column 198W

awards. The bursary is not necessarily distributed to learners at the start of the academic year but is designed to help at the time of actual need. We have published details of the allocations of funding to schools, colleges and other providers and this can be found at the following website:

http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/YPLA/YPLA-Funding_Allocations_201112-li-Aug11-v1.xls

This shows allocations arranged by upper tier local authority, so figures for providers serving Bassetlaw will be included under Nottinghamshire. We do not collect information on the individual students to whom bursaries are allocated.

Education: Young People

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of young people aged between 16 and 19 were not in education, employment or training in each (a) region and (b) London borough in each year between (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2010-11. [71681]

Tim Loughton [holding answer 13 September 2011]: The official national estimates of the number and proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June. However, these cannot be disaggregated to local authority or regional level.

We can estimate the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET at a sub-national level using data collected by local authorities. The figures for 16 to 18-year-olds who were NEET in each year between 2006/07 and 2010/11, for England, each region, and for local authorities in London, are shown in the following tables. Note that due to methodological differences, the figure for England does not correspond to the official estimates of NEET published in the SFR.

Average number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET (actual age)
  November to January
  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET

England

7.7

122,077

7.8

107,161

6.7

107,970

6.4

101,479

6.0

93,098

South-east

5.6

13,685

6.3

12,852

5.7

14,331

5.8

14,219

5.4

13,147

East of England

6.8

11,947

7.1

10,147

6.2

11,058

5.9

10,455

5.7

10,254

South-west

6.0

9,547

5.9

8,451

5.7

9,035

5.6

25,893

5.3

24,326

West midlands

8.9

15,804

8.8

12,919

7.0

12,738

6.6

35,247

6.2

31,912

East midlands

6.4

8,888

6.7

7,953

5.4

7,819

5.5

23,481

5.4

22,327

Yorks and the Humber

9.3

15,676

8.9

13,923

7.9

13,474

7.8

39,282

7.2

35,201

North-west

8.9

21,045

8.8

19,152

7.8

19,029

7.3

51,483

6.7

45,954

North-east

11.4

9,958

11.7

8,788

9.8

8,755

9.0

23,531

7.9

20,219

Notes: 1. Information on 19-year-olds in the format requested not available for the period 2006-07 to 2010-11. 2. The figures for England presented are calculated by aggregating LA results. They differ from the official DFE estimates of NEET in England reported in a DFE SFR, due to methodological differences. Source: CCIS

10 Oct 2011 : Column 199W

10 Oct 2011 : Column 200W

Average number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET (actual age)
  November to January
  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET NEET (%) Average NEET

London

7.5

15,527

7.4

12,976

5.8

11,731

5.3

10,500

5.0

9,717

                     

Barking and Dagenham

11.4

702

11.5

622

8.9

600

7.9

519

6.9

458

Barnet

4.8

496

5.5

451

4.1

407

3.8

375

3.6

345

Bexley

6.9

477

7.4

437

5.3

350

5.0

326

4.6

300

Brent

6.7

422

6.8

355

4.6

301

4.6

307

5.0

313

Bromley

5.0

499

4.9

472

4.6

478

4.2

444

4.3

445

Camden

7.5

358

7.1

352

6.5

355

5.5

284

6.4

296

City of London

1.1

6

1.8

(1)

0.6

(1)

0.6

(1)

0.2

(1)

Croydon

8.1

796

8.3

729

7.1

689

6.9

658

6.6

542

Ealing

7.8

483

6.8

326

5.4

331

4.9

301

4.4

278

Enfield

7.0

662

7.7

641

6.4

562

6.1

496

5.8

453

Greenwich

12.0

813

10.1

631

9.5

593

6.6

398

6.2

368

Hackney

13.1

619

14.4

521

10.0

371

7.4

293

6.2

267

Hammersmith and Fulham

8.4

267

7.4

187

6.0

183

5.6

184

5.2

159

Haringey

12.5

582

11.7

444

6.8

313

6.8

320

6.6

299

Harrow

5.3

338

3.5

178

3.2

188

2.9

174

2.7

158

Havering

6.1

576

7.4

519

5.2

459

4.7

406

4.0

343

Hillingdon

7.0

686

6.5

490

5.3

442

5.4

448

4.6

382

Hounslow

8.3

577

7.2

406

5.5

339

4.7

304

4.6

279

Islington

8.6

522

10.1

504

7.7

485

7.3

400

6.2

381

Kensington and Chelsea

7.9

178

6.3

157

5.4

154

5.0

118

5.3

143

Kingston

3.4

174

3.2

165

3.2

159

3.4

164

3.1

138

Lambeth

10.5

483

10.3

439

7.9

319

7.6

299

7.4

293

Lewisham

6.7

489

6.5

444

5.5

451

4.9

414

4.7

363

Merton

6.7

188

6.7

154

5.8

149

5.6

146

5.5

152

Newham

10.8

880

11.4

654

7.7

612

6.7

521

6.4

481

Redbridge

4.8

423

5.6

381

4.2

376

4.1

358

4.1

335

Richmond

4.0

141

4.0

83

3.4

104

3.5

116

3.8

114

Southwark

11.7

582

11.7

485

8.8

395

8.7

294

8.4

271

Sutton

4.8

335

5.1

308

4.4

286

4.4

279

4.2

265

Tower Hamlets

10.9

634

11.2

459

6.7

368

6.0

319

5.3

275

Waltham Forest

6.3

514

6.6

453

4.7

391

4.5

353

4.2

307

Wandsworth

6.0

382

4.9

307

4.4

305

4.3

290

4.5

307

Westminster

6.5

245

5.9

217

5.0

212

4.6

188

4.1

207

(1) Values of five or less have been suppressed for reasons of confidentiality. Note: Information on 19-year-olds in the format requested not available for the period 2006-07 to 2010-11 Source: CCIS