Martin Horwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many British nationals worked in each other EU member state in each of the last 10 years, for part or all of that year; and if he will make a statement. [82500]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many British nationals have been employed in other EU member states over the last ten years. The requested information is available in the following table (82500).
The data comes from the Labour Force Survey and is transmitted on a voluntary basis by the EU Member States to Eurostat (the European Union's statistical office). As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Employment by citizenship: UK citizens (aged 15 to 64) working in other EU27 member states | |||||||||||
| Persons (thousand) | |||||||||||
| Country | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
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Civil Servants: British Nationality
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of posts in the civil service have full UK citizenship as a requirement of employment. [80438]
Mr Maude [holding answer 14 November 2011]: Eligibility for employment in the civil service is governed by legislative requirements as to nationality. Although the civil service endeavours to open up as many posts as possible to the range of nationals eligible for employment, a number will be reserved for UK nationals. Given these posts will deal with the most sensitive information relating to national security and the interests of the UK the reserving of such posts is a reasonable action.
The criteria by which posts can be designated as reserved is set out in the European Communities (Employment in the Civil Service) Order 2007 with Departments and agencies responsible for considering whether or not a post requires reserving for UK nationals only. Unless a post satisfies the criteria, it cannot be reserved.
Civil Servants: Pensions
Mrs Glindon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how much funding from the (a) public purse and (b) private sector has been allocated to the mutualisation of MyCSP; [82520]
(2) how much funding from (a) the public purse and (b) the private sector has been allocated to the mutualisation of MyCSP. [82786]
Mr Maude: The work to transform the management and administration of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme has been under way for some time and has included the creation of MyCSP and now its mutualisation.
While MyCSP is part of government, its transformation is provisioned by Cabinet Office and subject to an approved business case. A competition is currently under way to select a private sector partner to contribute to this mutualisation and transformation through share participation in the MyCSP mutual joint venture. As this process is under way at the moment it would be inappropriate to make any further statement at this time.
McKinsey and Company
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many (a) secondees and (b) consultants from McKinsey and Company are being paid by (i) his Department and (ii) McKinsey and Company; [82454]
(2) how many employees of McKinsey and Company are working in his Department; and what role each such person has in his Department; [82455]
(3) if he will publish the names of people employed by McKinsey and Company who (a) are working in his Department and (b) have been seconded to his Department since 6 May 2010. [82456]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office has one person employed by McKinsey and Company. Mr Tim Kelsey leads on the Transparency agenda and is being paid for by the Cabinet Office at the equivalent rate of a director.
This is part of the Cabinet Office's strategy to bring in expertise from commercial and third sector organisations and the wider public sector but at civil service rates of pay, rather than consultancy rates.
McKinsey and Company have not seconded any other employees to the Cabinet Office since 6 May 2010.
Voluntary Sector
Steve Brine: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway of 2 November 2011, Official Report, column 907, on the voluntary sector, when he plans to announce further details of the special funding for advice centres. [82450]
Mr Hurd: The £16.8 million Advice Services Fund for England was announced on 21 November 2011. The fund will provide immediate support for not-for-profit providers of free advice services in England. The fund will be administered by the Big Fund, the non-lottery arm of the Big Lottery Fund and will be open for applications by the end of November.
Voluntary Work: Young People
Graham Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many organisations in (a) Lancashire and (b) Hyndburn constituency are involved in National Citizen Service pilot schemes. [82925]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office has announced 29 providers to deliver 2012 pilots. In Lancashire, three organisations have been selected as lead providers—Catch22, The Challenge Network and Fylde Coast YMCA.
Graham Jones:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what arrangements are in place to ensure that the distribution funding for organisations providing
24 Nov 2011 : Column 509W
National Citizen Service programmes
(a)
takes place on a fair geographical basis and
(b)
takes account of social inclusion. [82926]
Mr Hurd: Providers were selected after a two-stage bidding process that was fully open and competitive. In commissioning places for the 2012 pilots the Cabinet Office looked closely at where providers were able to deliver places and pilots will take place in 95% of upper tier local authority areas in England in 2012. Pilot providers were partly chosen on the strength of their proposals to recruit the broadest range of young people to participate.
Graham Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many young people from (a) Lancashire and (b) Hyndburn constituency he expects to be involved in the National Citizen Service in each of the next four years. [82927]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office is committed to providing 30,000 NCS places across the country in 2012. Pilots will take place in 95% of upper tier local authority areas in 2012, and providers were partly chosen on the strength of their proposals to recruit the broadest range of young people to participate. The Prime Minister has announced that there will be 90,000 places for young people in 2014 with an ambition to make NCS universally available to all 16-year-olds in future.
Graham Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the budget for the National Citizen Service will be allocated on a regional basis; and what funding he expects to allocate to organisations in (a) Lancashire and (b) Hyndburn constituency. [82928]
Mr Hurd: The budget for the 2012 pilots is held by the Cabinet Office and is allocated to providers after an open competition which takes account of their ability to deliver and their plans to recruit a broad range of young people. The Cabinet Office has announced 29 providers to deliver the 2012 pilots.
Geraint Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was spent on (a) print and broadcast advertising, (b) launch costs and (c) promotional material for the 2011 pilot National Citizen Service in 2010-11. [82334]
Mr Hurd: In line with the current Government freeze on marketing and advertising, there was no central Government budget allocated to marketing and advertising, launch costs and promotional materials for the 2011 pilot of National Citizen Service.
Any costs for print or broadcast advertising, launch costs or promotional material for the 2011 pilot of National Citizen Service in 2010-11 were met by the 12 provider organisations who delivered the pilot.
Geraint Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the effect of charging for National Citizen Service places on the take-up of places by children from low-income backgrounds in 2011. [82335]
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Mr Hurd: During the 2011 pilot of National Citizen Service, some pilot providers requested small contributions or deposits from participants. Many providers supported participants to fundraise this amount. All National Citizen Service pilots included bursaries or support schemes to ensure that young people/families without the means to contribute were able to participate.
The independent evaluation of the first National Citizen Service pilot by NatCen is currently examining a range of factors impacting on recruitment, including the effects of charging for National Citizen Service places. Findings will be made available in due course.
Geraint Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to ask local authorities to contribute to the cost of National Citizen Service places in their areas. [82336]
Mr Hurd: The National Citizen Service pilots in 2011 and 2012 are aiming to test a variety of cost and delivery models. Provider organisations have been tasked to develop and outline innovative ways of building a broad coalition of support from across the community to help with the delivery of National Citizen Service, including local authorities.
Communities and Local Government
Council Tax Benefits
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what modelling his Department undertook of changes in council tax benefit for those in employment of (a) the localisation of this benefit and (b) a 10 per cent. reduction in available funding. [82644]
Robert Neill: The Department's modelling of changes in council tax benefit for those in employment of (a) the localisation of this benefit and (b) a 10% reduction in available funding will be included in the impact assessment to be published alongside the legislation providing for the localisation of council tax support in England.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions on the alignment of localised council tax benefit with universal credit; and if he will make a statement. [82646]
Robert Neill: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss a range of matters.
Councillors: Leave
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the amount of paid time off work for the conduct of public duties given to employees of local authorities who are also councillors in the last year for which figures are available. [81985]
Robert Neill: We have made no such estimate.
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Empty Property
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to encourage local authorities to bring empty properties back into use. [82486]
Grant Shapps: The Government published “Laying the Foundations—A Housing Strategy for England” on 21 November which sets out our plans for dealing with empty homes.
Through the affordable homes programme we have committed £100 million to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing. We are making sure that community and self help groups have an opportunity to access this funding and take on this work alongside conventional housing providers. Detailed bidding guidance is available on the Homes and Communities Agency's website:
www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/empty-homes
We have announced £50 million of additional funding to tackle some of the worst concentrations of empty homes. Tackling empty homes in these areas will require an intensive approach—refurbishing and reconfiguring homes, as well as improving the public realm and tackling wider issues in the local area.
We are consulting on technical reforms to council tax, including on proposals to give councils the flexibility to reduce or remove council tax relief on empty homes, and second homes. These reforms could allow councils to make up to a £20 a year reduction in the bill for a typical Band D property in England. The consultation also explores the proposition that councils should have local discretion to introduce a council tax premium on homes that have been empty for more than two years. All these measures would provide an additional fiscal incentive for owners to bring empty homes into use more quickly.
Under the New Homes Bonus local authorities can receive the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one—so over £8,500 for a band D property. In year one of the New Homes Bonus just under 16,000 long term empty homes were brought back into use. This equates to a reward to local authorities of around £19 million.
The new Community Right to Reclaim Land will also assist communities to bring empty properties owned by public bodies back into use.
Empty Property: Retail Trade
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities are empowered to compulsorily purchase individual retail units which have been empty in order to bring them back into use; and under what authority. [82475]
Robert Neill:
If a local authority has a scheme for any land, it may acquire that land by agreement. If that is not possible, authorities have a number of powers to acquire land compulsorily, provided they can demonstrate to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), a compelling case
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in the public interest. It is for the authority concerned to choose the appropriate power, but the powers under section 226(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 are frequently used to acquire land in town centre schemes.
Growing Places Fund
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Ministers in his Department made public mention of (a) the Growing Places Fund, (b) the money which was subsequently to be allocated to the Growing Places Fund and (c) the stated intention of the Growing Places Fund prior to the official announcement of the policy on 7 November 2011. [82511]
Grant Shapps: On 18 September, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), announced plans to establish a new £500 million Growing Places Fund to support local infrastructure projects which unlock housing and economic growth.
I refer the right hon. Member to the statement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 12 October 2011, Official Report, column 445 and to the answer by the Minister of State for Decentralisation and Cities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), of 25 October 2011, Official Report, column 124W.
The announcement of 7 November 2011 was the publication of the Fund's prospectus and the indicative allocations to individual Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Housing: Construction
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2011, Official Report, columns 567-8W, on housing: construction, what progress the Planning Inspectorate has made in developing and publishing a model condition which local planning authorities can use where they need to require that any residential roads proposed as part of a housing development are built to adoptable standards. [82647]
Robert Neill: Draft model planning conditions have been prepared as a basis for discussion about the approaches which local planning authorities can use where they need to require that residential roads proposed as part of a housing development are built to adoptable standards. Legal and technical consultation is under way but must be completed before these can be used.
Housing: Finance
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the receipts from local authority housing sales he expects will go to local authorities to help them build new houses. [82793]
Andrew Stunell: The Government will consult shortly on how receipts arising from additional homes sold under the right to buy will be used to fund new affordable homes.
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Local Government: Pensions
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) 90%, (b) 80%, (c) 70% and (d) 60% employee participation rates on Local Government Pension Scheme funds. [82641]
Robert Neill: No assessment of this kind has been made yet. The level of employee participation and its impact on scheme income is one of the factors to be taken into account by scheme actuaries when funds are next valued in 2013. Access to scheme membership is automatic for eligible employees. Employers and pension fund administering authorities have a role in explaining the available benefits and their guaranteed status.
Mayors: Referendums
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who is responsible for monitoring donations for mayoral referendums. [82601]
Robert Neill: The Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) Regulations 2007, which specify the rules for conducting local governance referendums, including referendums on having a directly elected mayor, set an expense limit for campaign expenditure at local governance referendums. While there are no statutory arrangements for monitoring compliance with these provisions, exceeding this limit constitutes a criminal offence.
The 2007 Regulations will be replaced by new regulations following the enactment of the Localism Act 2011; it is intended that these will replicate the existing provisions on expense limits.
Where a registered political party or a regulated donee are participants in a mayoral referendum, the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 in respect of donations to parties or regulated donees will apply.
Planning Permission
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether private sector organisations are entitled to present local and neighbourhood plans. [79996]
Greg Clark: Only local planning authorities can bring forward local plans. Neighbourhood plans can be brought forward by a parish or town council or a designated neighbourhood forum. Neighbourhood forums must be open to all those living or working in the neighbourhood area.
Where a local council designates a neighbourhood as a business area, non-domestic rate payers will also be allowed to vote in the referendum at the end of the neighbourhood planning process. Business areas for neighbourhood planning will be areas which are wholly or predominantly business in nature.
A local authority will be required to put a neighbourhood plan into force where a majority of both voting residents and business rate payers support the plan in the referendum.
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Planning Permission: Norfolk
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which representatives of local authorities in Norfolk he has met in the last two months to discuss the provisions of the Localism Bill relating to planning reform; and if he will make a statement. [81271]
Greg Clark: Details of DCLG Ministers meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/transparencyingovernment/ministerialdata/
Social Services: Finance
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the likely effect of the Local Government Resource Review on social care. [82648]
Robert Neill: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues.
TaxPayers' Alliance
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the TaxPayers' Alliance in the last 12 months for which information is available. [81987]
Robert Neill: Details of ministerial and the permanent secretary's meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/transparencyingovernment/ministerialdata/
Details of other officials' meetings are not held centrally and it would entail disproportionate cost to assemble the information.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Business: Regulation
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 802W, on regulation, which sectors other than retail and hospitality have been examined by the Red Tape Challenge. [82443]
Mr Prisk: As of 22 November 2011 10 further themes have been in the ‘spotlight’ on the Red Tape Challenge website. These are: Road Transportation, Equalities, Enforcement, Health and Safety, Manufacturing, Environment, Employment-related Law, Children's Services, Rail and Maritime Transport and Disruptive Business Models. In addition, Pensions and Company and Commercial Law have been open for comment since the website went live. Details of all previous and upcoming themes can be found on the website at:
www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of the regulations relating to the retail and hospitality sectors examined by the Red Tape Challenge have been removed. [82444]
Mr Prisk: The outcomes of the Retail and Hospitality, Food and Drink Red Tape Challenge themes were announced in July and September respectively. We are currently following the appropriate legislative and parliamentary processes to implement these changes.
Businesses: Ex-servicemen
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have applied to the Be the Boss scheme for ex-service personnel. [82618]
Mr Prisk: 1,786 ex-service personnel have applied to join the scheme since the Royal British Legion launched the Be the Boss Scheme in June 2010. On 17 November I met with a number of participants in the scheme. On that occasion I also announced that the eligibility criteria had been extended, meaning that all ex-service personnel can now take advantage of the support offered by the scheme.
Consultants
Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) temporary staff in his Department are working on the Red Tape Challenge; and what the estimated number of such staff will be in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. [80410]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]:I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 November 2011, Official Report, column 324W.
Departmental Written Questions
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills (1) how many parliamentary questions for written answer on a named day by his Department were answered (a) on time, (b) five days late, (c) 10 days late, (d) 20 days late and (e) over 30 days late in each month since May 2010; [79538]
(2) how many parliamentary questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day by his Department have remained unanswered for a period of two months since May 2010. [79539]
Mr Davey: The Department aims to answer named day questions on the date specified by the Member, and ordinary parliamentary questions (PQs) within five sitting days. Where it is not possible to provide a full answer within the usual deadline, the Department believes it will normally be preferable to provide an answer a few days late, rather than provide an incomplete answer.
During the period 10 May 2010 to 31 October 2011 a total of 1,469 named day parliamentary questions (PQs) were due for answer, of which 969 (66%) received a substantive reply on the date requested by the Member. Twenty-three of the 1,469 named day answers (2%) did not receive a substantive answer within 10 sitting days.
In line with the format provided to the Procedure Committee in the last session,(1) the Department's PQ
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data are recorded by (i) questions answered on time (ii) questions answered within 5 to 10 days and (iii) questions answered more than 10 days late. Data related to PQs answered 20 or 30 days late are not held centrally within the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).
The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written PQ performance on a sessional basis and will provide the committee with the information, using the same format as before, at the end of the session.
These figures have been drawn from the Department's database which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
(1 )Procedure Committee—First Special Report 7 December 2009 [HC 129].
European Union
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many ministerial-level meetings have been held in his Department as part of the Government's examination of the balance of EU competences. [81415]
Mr Davey: I refer the right hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South to the answer I gave on 21 November 2011, Official Report, column reference 143W.
Higher Education
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how much funding has been allocated for each higher education institution in (a) the west midlands and (b) Birmingham in each of the next five years; [82778]
(2) how much funding his Department has allocated to higher education institutions in (a) Newcastle, (b) Wakefield, (c) Manchester, (d) Leeds, (e) Liverpool, (f) Bristol, (g) Sheffield, (h) Bradford, (i) Leicester and (j) Nottingham in each of the next five years. [82779]
Mr Willetts: The recurrent funding that the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) pays to higher education institutions (HEIs) is calculated on an annual basis. The most recent available allocation figures are for 2011-12. Details of the 2011-12 allocations are available on the HEFCE website at:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/finance/recurrent/2011/notify/
A summary table of allocations by region can also be accessed through this link.
Subsequent years' allocations are not confirmed. Future year allocations are subject to funding agreement and will be confirmed in subsequent grant letters.
Higher Education: Regulation
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to publish (a) a summary of consultation responses received, (b) a list of respondents and (c) the Government's response to his Department's consultation entitled A new, fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for the Higher Education sector. [82039]
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Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Technical Consultation closed on 27 October 2011. The Department will respond in due course. This response will include a summary of all consultation responses and a list of the respondents.
Higher Education: Students
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what research he has commissioned on the effect on the number of mature students in higher education of the Government's decision to remove limits on student numbers for those achieving grades AAB or above at A level; and if he will make a statement; [80887]
(2) what research he has commissioned on the effects on the number of black and ethnic minority students entering higher education of the Government's decision to remove the cap on student numbers for those achieving grades AAB or above at A level; and if he will make a statement. [80889]
Mr Willetts: The Higher Education White Paper, "Students at the Heart of the System" published in June this year, sets out clearly the importance the Government place on widening participation and improving fair access to higher education. We have been clear that all those with the ability should have access to higher education irrespective of their background or family income. Following the publication of the HE White Paper BIS Ministers wrote to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) setting out priorities for funding which includes the additional costs associated with attracting and retaining students from non-traditional backgrounds, and disabled students.
The impact of the proposed changes to student number controls that were outlined in the HE White Paper were assessed in the HE White Paper Equality Impact Assessment. This concluded that any changes that we make to help meet some of the significant demand for higher education will have no adverse affect on protected or disadvantaged groups because any 2012/13 changes will work within existing entrant control systems and will not affect the number of student places. It also outlined that most students with AAB+ A-level grades already go to university.
Annex D of HEFCE's consultation on teaching funding and student number controls (SNC) for 2012/13
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2011/11_20/
provides information on proportions of students known to have AAB+, known not to have AAB+ or who are not attributed to either population, with breakdowns for subject area, ethnicity and age group.
We have instructed HEFCE to continue to monitor impact on particular groups and in developing the proposals for teaching funding and allocating student numbers for 2012-13 HEFCE has assessed the impact on the HE sector in terms of regulatory burden, equality and diversity, sustainable development and privacy in its Sector Impact Assessment
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/funding/201213/201213_tfund_SIA.pdf
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Occupational Health: Research
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the state of research in the field of occupational health. [81614]
Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC), one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research, has not assessed the state of research in occupational health recently. A routine quinquennial review of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, which includes research in occupational health, took place in 2009.
Office for Fair Access
Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to paragraph 17 in the Executive Summary of the Higher Education White Paper, “Students at the heart of the system”, what progress he has made in increasing the resources of the Office for Fair Access. [79441]
Mr Willetts: In the financial year 2010/11 the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) baseline budget was £484,000. We have agreed in the course of this year (2011/12) to increase this to £630,000 and are continuing to work with the director to keep this under review to ensure he has access to the resources he needs to fulfil his role in line with the Government's expectations set out in the letter to him on 10 February 2011.
The Government have committed to strengthen OFFA, as outlined in the Higher Education White Paper “Students at the heart of the system”, so it can provide a more active and energetic challenge and support to universities and colleges. We will work with the next Director on the size and structure of OFFA but will make significantly more resources available, increasing capacity up to around four times its original level.
Public Houses
Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to respond to the Tenth Report from the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee on Pub Companies, HC 1369; and if he will make a statement. [82507]
Mr Davey: The Government response to Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee report on Pub Companies was published this morning. The response may be found on the BIS website and contains a full statement of the Government’s position:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/publications
Qualifications: Bexley
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many adults in the London borough of Bexley completed a (a) level 2 and (b) level 3 qualification in the last five years for which figures are available. [76563]
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Mr Hayes: The following table shows the number of adults (aged 19+) achieving a Government-funded full level 2 and full level 3 qualification in Bexley local education authority from 2005/06 to 2009/10, the latest years for which final data are available.
| Full level 2 and full level 3 achievements by adults (aged 19+) in Bexley local education authority, 2005/06 to 2009/10 | ||
| Academic | Full level 2 achievements | Full level 3 achievements |
| (1) Figures for 2008/09 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years due to the introduction of demand led funding. More information on demand-led funding is available at: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/datadictionary/businessdefinitions/Demand+Led+Funding.htm Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the academic year. 3. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. 4. These data include Learner Responsive, Apprenticeships, Workplace Learning, Adult Safeguarded Learning and University for Industry funding streams. Learner Responsive provision includes General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary, Sixth Form Colleges, Special Colleges (Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges), Specialist Colleges and External Institutions. 5. These data include all Government-funded FE participation and achievement excluding schools and higher education. Source: Individualised Learner Record | ||
Information on Further Education and Skills participation and achievement is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23 June 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Regional Growth Fund
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 802W, on the Regional Growth Fund, whether his Department takes into account the amount spent by companies on due diligence when assessing bids to the Regional Growth Fund. [82496]
Mr Prisk: The Regional Growth Fund does not require companies to undertake due diligence ahead of submitting a bid.
Renewable Energy: Training
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how much of the budget allocated to the Renewables Training Network he estimates will be spent in Scotland; [82465]
(2) what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Executive, (b) Scottish universities, (c) Scottish colleges and (d) businesses in Scotland on the formation of the Renewables Training Network. [82466]
Mr Hayes:
The Renewables Training Network receives public funding from the Growth and Innovation Fund, alongside matching employer investment. Department
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for Business, Innovation and Skills funding for skills covers England only and the scope of Growth and Innovation Fund projects reflects that.
Students: Loans
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of graduates who will not repay their student loans in full over a 30-year period. [80735]
Mr Willetts: We currently estimate that around 40% of borrowers will not fully repay their loan either because it will be written off due to death, not being able to work again due to permanent disability or after 30 years has expired.
We currently estimate that the resource accounting and budgeting charge for student loans—representing the cost of both write-offs and interest subsidies—will be around 30% of the face value of loans issued.
Trade Unions: Training
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in Equalities for Trade Union Representatives courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82121]
(2) how many awards were made to participants in Trade Union Health and Safety Representation courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82122]
(3) how many awards were made to participants in Trade Union Representative courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82123]
(4) how many awards were made to participants in Trade Unions Today courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82124]
(5) how many certificates were awarded to participants in Trade Union Health and Safety Representatives courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82125]
(6) how many certificates were awarded to participants in Trade Union Health and Safety Representatives (Next Steps) courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82126]
(7) how many certificates were awarded to participants in Trade Union Representatives (stage 1) courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82127]
(8) how many certificates were awarded to participants in Trade Union Representatives (Stepping Up) courses
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funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82128]
(9) how many certificates were awarded to participants in Trade Union Learning Representatives courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82129]
(10) how many certificates were awarded to participants in Trade Unions Today courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82130]
(11) what courses for trade union representatives were funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; [82139]
(12) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in TUC Organising Academy courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82140]
(13) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in Trade Union Tutor Training courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82141]
(14) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in Organising and Recruitment for Trade Unions courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82142]
(15) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in Organising and Recruitment for Trade Union Health and Safety Representatives - Occupational Health and Safety courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82143]
(16) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in Trade Union Representatives - Contemporary Trade Unionism courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82144]
(17) how many diplomas were awarded to participants in Trade Union Health Representatives - Employment Law courses funded by the Skills Funding Agency and its predecessor bodies in each of the last five years; which institutions taught these courses; and what the cost was in each year; [82145]
Mr Hayes: Since April 2010, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has been responsible for funding post-19 Further Education (FE) and Skills provision delivered through FE colleges and training organisations (the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) had this responsibility from 2001).
Each academic year, FE colleges and training organisations receive a post-19 funding allocation at the
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programme level (for example budgets for Adult Skills, Adult Safeguarded Learning and/or Offender Learning and Skills). As funding is not allocated at the learning aim level the amount of money spent on TUC learning aims is not recorded centrally by the Skills Funding Agency (or the LSC previously).
I have made data available in the Libraries of the House showing the number of Government-funded FE enrolments for Trade Union representative Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) courses by level, provider name and funding rate. The QCF system was introduced in 2009/10, therefore only data for 2009/10 have been included, this is the latest year for which final enrolment data are available.
Information on FE and skills participation, enrolments and achievements is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 October 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Information on FE and skills enrolments by aim title for academic years 2005/06 to 2009/10 is available in the National Aims Report:
http://mireportslibrary.thedataservice.org.uk/learners/
Education
Academies
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have (a) become academies and (b) applied to become academies in each (i) region and (ii) parliamentary constituency since May 2010. [79222]
Mr Gibb: As of 1 November 2011, 1,100 schools in England had successfully converted to academy status, while 1,600 schools (including the open converted academies) had applied to convert to academy status. The precise number of open converted academies and applications to convert in each region and in each constituency has been placed in the House Libraries.
Academies: Finance
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons he awarded funding from the public purse to an academy in Lincolnshire for the purposes of purchasing a property in France; and if he will make a statement. [77223]
Mr Gibb: Academies have considerable flexibility in deciding how they use their resources and the property was purchased for educational purposes using that flexibility. Approval was given in September 2009.
Bell Pottinger Group
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) political advisers in his Department have met representatives of (i) Bell Pottinger Group or (ii) each of its subsidiaries in the last five years; on what dates any such meetings took place; and what was discussed. [80060]
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Tim Loughton: The Department for Education publishes all ministerial and permanent secretaries' meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. The information can be viewed at the following links:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/a0065263/ministers-quarterly-returns
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/a0075403/the-permanent-secretarys-meetings-with-external-organisations
The Information for April to June 2011 will be published in due course. The information for July to September 2011 is being collated.
The additional information requested for each of the five years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Children: Disability
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial and other support is in place to ensure that individuals aged 16 in receipt of disability living allowance are equipped to make informed and responsible financial decisions. [79882]
Mr Gibb: Under the terms of the new 16-19 bursary fund which was introduced in September 2011, the most vulnerable young people are eligible for a bursary of £1,200 a year—more than they could have received under education maintenance allowance (EMA). This includes disabled young people in receipt of both employment support allowance and disability living allowance.
When we announced the ending of EMA, we set out plans for transitional support for the majority of young people who had received EMA in 2010/11 and were continuing in post-16 education or training in 2011/12. Some young people in receipt of disability living allowance may be receiving weekly payments under these arrangements. It is of course important that young people know how to use their money wisely and make responsible financial decisions. Personal finance is covered within the economic wellbeing and financial capability strand of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education for young people under 16. This is a non-statutory programme of study which gives teachers the flexibility to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils. Young people aged 16 and over have access to the independent Money Advice Service which was set up by the Government to give free, unbiased money advice to help people make informed choices. Their advice and information is available online, over the phone and face-to-face.
NDPBs
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials were (a) directly and (b) otherwise employed by non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible (i) in 2000, (ii) in 2005, (iii) in 2007, (iv) in 2010 and (v) on the most recent date for which figures are available. [78122]
Tim Loughton:
The Department was created on 11 May 2010 and employed 2,622 civil servants at that time. The Department currently employs 2,594 civil servants.
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Information on the public servants currently employed in Department's non-departmental public bodies
(1)can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/a00199711/monthly-workforce-management-information-2011
Historical data for these bodies is a matter for them and is not held centrally.
Contact information for them can be found at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/b0065313/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salary-information
(1) Not arm’s length bodies as this term includes non-ministerial departments and a public corporation.
Private Finance Initiative
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will publish the (a) cost, (b) date of commencement and (c) duration of each private finance initiative contract managed by his Department; [76536]
(2) what the (a) cost, (b) date of commencement and (c) duration is of each private finance initiative contract managed by his Department. [82208]
Mr Gibb [holding answer s 27 October and 23 November 2011]: Information on the private initiative contracts managed by the Department is available on the Treasury's website and can be accessed by using the following link:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education at how many events organised by (a) charities, (b) civil society groups, (c) businesses and (d) lobbying organisations (i) Ministers and (ii) senior officials in his Department have spoken in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [76787]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 25 October 2011]: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and the rest of his ministerial team have attended many events organised by a wide range of organisations.
The level of detailed information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
A range of speeches by the Department for Education ministerial team can be found at the following link:
http://education.gov.uk/inthenews/speeches
Family Intervention Programme
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2011, Official Report, columns 201-02W, on the family intervention programme, when his Department expects to set the budget for family intervention projects in each of the next four years. [76946]
Tim Loughton: We plan to make a decision on future funding for family intervention projects shortly. Funding up to March 2012 is included as part of the DfE £2.2 billion Early Intervention Grant.
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Free Schools
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free schools do not use the national curriculum; and how many do not use nationally negotiated pay agreements to determine teacher pay. [78634]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 7 November 2011]: The Department does not hold this information. As with academies, all mainstream free schools have freedoms over the curriculum they deliver, provided it is broad and balanced. Similarly, free schools are able to set their own pay and conditions for their staff.
Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which free schools have (a) opened and (b) been approved to open in each (i) region, (ii) local authority and (iii) parliamentary constituency. [79220]
Mr Gibb: The first 24 mainstream Free Schools opened in September 2011. The names and locations of these schools are shown by region in the following table. At this stage no other schools have been approved to open in 2012 or beyond.
| Region | School name | Local authority | Constituency |
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Free Schools: Finance
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 287W, on free schools, what the threshold percentage is set out in the funding agreement of each free school relating to any shortfall or increase in pupil numbers. [81123]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 15 November 2011]: Funding agreements for each of the free schools that opened in September 2011 will be published in due course.
Child Exploitation
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department requires from local safeguarding children boards in respect of child exploitation. [81890]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education does not require Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) to submit any information about child exploitation.
However, this is an extremely important issue which the Government take very seriously. LSCBs have a key role in ensuring that local multi-agency arrangements are in place to help and protect children and young people from all forms of child abuse, including child sexual exploitation. The national child sexual exploitation action plan, which the Government will publish shortly, will contain a clear message that every LSCB needs to treat child sexual exploitation as a priority and to assure itself that local service provision are informed by a robust assessment of the local situation.
New Schools Network: Finance
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) for how long he intends to continue funding work being undertaken by the New Schools Network; [80274]
(2) what assessment was made of the value for money of work being undertaken by the New Schools Network, funded by his Department, prior to its grant funding being renewed in October 2011; and if he will publish this assessment; [80275]
(3) what assessment was made of the need to continue to fund work undertaken by the New Schools Network prior to its grant funding being renewed in October 2011; and if he will publish this assessment. [80276]
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Mr Gibb [holding answer 14 November 2011]: Officials assessed both the performance and value for money of the New Schools Network's (NSN) work throughout the original grant period. NSN was found to have played a major role in assisting groups to submit quality applications to the Department; for example of the 24 Free Schools that opened this year, 22 had received advice and guidance from NSN. In the 2012 mainstream application process NSN supported over 80% of those approved by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), to move to the pre-opening phase of development.
These figures, supplemented by feedback from groups who contacted NSN for help, clearly demonstrate the value of the support to groups in developing their Free School applications. That is why we assessed that there was an ongoing need for an organisation to provide similar pre-application support and ran an open competition to offer a grant for these services from 1 November 2011 to 31 March 2013 (with a possible one-year extension). We have no plans to publish any specific information relating to these assessments.
Child Exploitation
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of recent trends in localised grooming and child sexual exploitation. [81891]
Tim Loughton: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre carried out a thematic assessment of child sexual exploitation, with particular reference to ‘localised grooming’, earlier this year. The CEOP report ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight: Breaking down the barriers to understanding child sexual exploitation’, published in June 2011, provided an outline of trends, themes and patterns. These were, however, based on a limited number of responses to a request to local agencies for data and the CEOP report acknowledged that findings from the thematic assessment were not fully representative.
The Government have published a national action plan to tackle child sexual exploitation. This will emphasise the importance of undertaking further research to improve understanding of child sexual exploitation and inform effective responses to it. It will look forward to findings becoming available from the recently launched inquiry by the Office of the Children's Commissioner into child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups.
Private Finance Initiative: Correspondence
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence between his Department and local authorities relating to the private finance initiative since May 2010. [73429]
Mr Gibb: The correspondence between the Department and local authorities is vast and varies depending on an individual local authority. We intend to keep correspondence on the private finance initiative in the Libraries only if it relates to parliamentary question on a particular issue, parliamentary debates or a parliamentary commitment that has been made in the House.
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The Secretary of State for Education made an oral statement on 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 792, to announce the new private finance programme, the Priority School Building Programme.
Pupil Premium
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many payments of the pupil premium his Department made in the 2011-12 school year. [81524]
Mr Gibb: The Pupil Premium is paid on a financial year basis. Two Pupil Premium payments have been made by the Department in financial year 2011-2012, in June 2011 and September 2011. A further two will be made in December 2011 and March 2012 for the 2011-12 financial year.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average level of expenditure per child in primary schools has been in each local education authority since May 2010. [81346]
Mr Gibb: The available information on the average level of expenditure per child in primary schools in each local education authority for 2009-10 is shown in the following table. The information for 2010-11 is currently being collected and will be available in January 2012 when it will be published as Official Statistics.
| Expenditure per child in primary schools in each local education authority for 2009-10 | |||
| LEA name | Schools net current expenditure (£) | Number of pupils (at January 2010) | Schools net current expenditure per pupil (£) |
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| Notes: 1. The data are taken from the local authorities section 251 Outturn statement for 2009-10, Table A line 56 Schools Net Current Expenditure and School Census. 2. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 13 December 2010. 3. Net current expenditure is rounded to the nearest £. | |||