Redundancy
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his estimate of the number of public and private sector job reductions in (a) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, (b) Sunderland, (c) the North East of England and (d) England between 2010 and 2015. [29551]
Danny Alexander: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was formed in May 2010 to make an independent assessment of the public finances and the economy.
On 29 November 2010, the OBR released the official forecast for total employment and general Government employment, updated for the spending review announcements.
As the OBR sets out in paragraph 3.98, page 62 of its “November 2010 Economic and fiscal outlook” (Cm 7979), it expects total employment to rise by 1.1 million over the next five years, from 29.0 million in 2010 to 30.1 million in 2015. General Government employment is
13 Dec 2010 : Column 559W
projected to fall by just over 400,000 between 2010-11 and 2015-16, more than offset by a rise in market sector employment of around 1.5 million.
The OBR has not published forecasts on a sub-national level.
Revenue and Customs: Finance
Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any HM Revenue and Customs unit will receive a net decrease in funding in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11 and previous years as a result of the outcome of the spending review. [29360]
Mr Gauke: Over the course of the spending review period HMRC will make savings of 25%, of which it will reinvest £900 million to tackle avoidance, evasion and fraud to bring in additional revenues of £7 billion a year by 2015.
HMRC expects some of its directorates will receive a net decrease in funding in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11 but it is currently in the process of planning budget allocations and no final decisions have yet been taken.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion
Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each unit within HM Revenue and Customs tasked to tackle tax (a) avoidance and (b) evasion; what estimate he has made of the amount of tax collected as a result of each such unit’s activities in 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [29362]
Mr Gauke: HMRC does not collate its yield results in the manner requested. The additional tax liability (including penalties and interest) resulting from all HMRC compliance work in 2008-09 was £12 billion. HMRC data for 2009-10 are not yet available.
The National Audit Office is due to publish a report in mid to late December on whether HMRC is managing its civil tax investigations efficiently and effectively. They will examine whether HMRC has an effective mechanism for referring investigations; manages civil investigations effectively; collects tax due from civil investigations promptly; and is proactive in maximising the impact of this activity.
Tax Avoidance: USA
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to take steps to prevent UK companies taken over by US-based concerns from transferring tax liability to holding companies outside UK jurisdiction. [29986]
Mr Gauke: The Government recognise the need for a sustainable corporate tax system and one element of this is proportionate and effective anti-avoidance rules to ensure that UK tax revenues are adequately protected.
The Government recently published “Corporate Tax Reform: delivering a more competitive system” that brings together a significant programme of corporate tax reforms. This demonstrates the Government's commitment to a competitive and stable tax system that allows business to expand and invest in the UK.
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Taxation: Private Rented Housing
Graham Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has made of the (a) level of outstanding, (b) unassessed and (c) undeclared tax liabilities by private landlords in each of the last four tax years; and if he will make a statement. [29419]
Mr Gauke: HMRC does not hold the information requested by the hon. Member.
The self-assessment regime provides for liabilities to be returned and assessed by the taxpayer.
However, the risk of potential loss of tax from private landlords was targeted by the National Property Project which ran between May 2007 and July 2010. The additional cumulative yield from 18,405 interventions settled to date is not split into separate years and totals £49.7 million. This figure is projected to reach £61 million once all inquiries from this project are concluded.
Graham Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many private landlords HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has identified as having completed tax returns incorrectly in each of the last four tax years; and what additional tax liability was assessed as a result of HMRC intervention in each year. [29420]
Mr Gauke: Inquiries into income tax self-assessment returns do not distinguish between private landlords and other taxpayers. However, the risk of potential loss of tax from private landlords was targeted by the National Property Project which ran between May 2007 and July 2010. The additional cumulative yield from 18,405 interventions settled to date is not split into separate years and totals £49.7 million. This figure is projected to reach £61 million once all inquiries from this project are concluded.
Taxation: Sports Competitors
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department’s officials have had with UK Sport on the taxation of visiting sports professionals since 6 May 2010. [29508]
Mr Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Universal Credit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision will be made for tax credits for pensioners with children when child tax credits are replaced by universal credit for people of working age. [29618]
Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
The policy proposals relating to provision for pensioners with children will be developed to support the Welfare Reform Bill which we plan to introduce early in 2011.
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VAT: Channel Islands
Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of UK businesses based on the UK mainland that ship goods to UK mainland customers via the Channel Islands; [29850]
(2) if he will make an estimate of the likely effect of the rise in the rate of value added tax in January 2011 on the number of UK-based mail order businesses transferring operations to the Channel Islands. [29851]
Mr Gauke: No such estimates have been made.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps his Department has taken to comply with EU Directive 1983/181 in order to prevent abuse, evasion and avoidance in respect of low value consignment relief; [29852]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with the government of (a) Jersey and (b) Guernsey on low value consignment relief; and if he will make a statement. [29854]
Mr Gauke: HMRC challenges arrangements it believes to be abusive in all areas of the VAT system.
My Department has been working closely with the authorities in Jersey and Guernsey on this issue, encouraging them to take action to limit the use of the Channel Islands by UK-based companies to secure VAT relief on imports to the UK and to restrain the activities of those companies already based there.
VAT: Registration
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of time taken was to process new value added tax number applications from businesses located in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months. [29957]
Mr Gauke: The following table shows the average length of time taken, in calendar days, to process Value Added Tax (VAT) registration applications in each of the 12 months from December 2009 to November 2010.
|
|
Days |
HM Revenue and Customs operates a national registration service and so it is not possible to provide a geographical breakdown.
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Education
Academies
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have applied to become academies (a) nationally and (b) in Milton Keynes. [29658]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 9 December 2010]:As of 3 December 2010, 265 schools have applied nationally to convert to academy status of which two applications have been received from schools in Milton Keynes. We want many more schools to benefit from the freedoms and responsibilities of academy status and have recently opened the programme up to allow a much larger number of schools to apply.
British Council Language Teaching
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he intends to announce his plans for the future funding of the British Council Language Teaching Assistantship scheme in England and Wales. [24792]
Mr Hayes [holding answer 22 November 2010]: The detail of budget allocations following the spending review is currently being worked through by Departments. We hope to be able to confirm the situation with regard to the Language Assistant Programme by the end of this year.
Children in Care
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in England were the subject of a care order, police protection order or emergency protection order or were placed for adoption at 31 March in each year from 1989 to 2010. [25210]
Tim Loughton: Information on the number of children subject to a care order, police protection order or emergency protection order at 31 March 2010 can found in the following table.
| Children looked after at 31 March subject to a Care Order, Police Protection Order or Emergency Protection Order: Year ending 31 March 2010, coverage: England | |
| Legal status at 31 March 2010 | Number |
| Notes: 1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000, and to the nearest 10, otherwise. 2. Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. Source: SSDA903 | |
The number of children who were placed for adoption at 31 March 1993 to 2010 is shown in the following table. It is not possible to extract a complete year's worth of data for the year ending 31 March 1992 as this is affected by the introduction of the Children Act 1989 on 14 October 1991. Information prior to 1992 is not available.
13 Dec 2010 : Column 563W
| Children looked after at 31 March who were placed for adoption (1,2,3) : () Years ending 31 March 1993 to 2010, coverage: England | |
|
|
Total number placed for adoption |
| (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100 as they exceed 1000. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (4) Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return which covered all children looked after. (5) Figures are derived from the SSDA903 one-third sample survey. Source: SSDA 903 | |
Curriculum
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made on his review of the national curriculum; when he expects the review to conclude; and if he will make a statement. [28014]
Mr Gibb: We will be announcing full details of the review of the national curriculum shortly. Once the review is launched, we plan to consult widely and then announce our new curriculum in 2012, which will give schools a full academic year to prepare for implementation from September 2013.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority taught lessons in (i) social and emotional aspects of learning and (ii) the UK Resilience Programme in each of the last five years. [28086]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 2 December 2010]: The Department does not collect data on the number of primary and secondary schools in each local authority that are taught lessons in social and emotional aspects of learning. According to the National Strategies’ data, approximately 90% of primary and 64% of secondary schools were involved in developing approaches to social and emotional skills in 2009.
The UK Resilience Programme (UKRP) started as a pilot programme in September 2007 aimed at Year 7 pupils in 22 secondary schools across three local authorities: Hertfordshire, Manchester and South Tyneside. As of September 2010, 41 secondary schools in Hertfordshire; eight in South Tyneside and 11 in Manchester have teachers delivering the programme to Year 7 pupils. The programme is not designed for primary age children.
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From September 2010, nine schools in a further seven local authorities started to teach the UKRP to their Year 7 pupils. They are: two in Gloucestershire, two in Sandwell, one in Barnet, one in Ealing, one in Luton, one in Sefton, and one in Trafford.
Curriculum: Reviews
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to publish its Curriculum Review; and whether it will be subject to public consultation. [26959]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 29 November 2010]: Details of our plans to review the national curriculum will be announced shortly. We intend that the review process will be open and transparent and can confirm that we will be consulting widely, including launching a public call for evidence.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what grants have been awarded by his Department in 2010-11 to date; what grants he plans to award in each of the next two years; what the monetary value is of each such grant; and to which organisations such grants are made. [25042]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 18 November 2010]: A summary of the grants to be awarded by DfE in 2010-11, drawn from the Main Departmental Estimate, is set out in Table 1.
At the start of 2010-11, the Department had approximately 230 grant streams of different sizes. The following table shows that around £14 billion went to our non-departmental public bodies and around £37 billion went to local authorities, the largest component being the dedicated schools grant (DSG). Smaller amounts went to the voluntary and community sector, the private sector, and other public sector organisations.
Details of the Department's monthly spend, including grants, wherever the payments are more than £25,000 each month, is available from the Department's website. Details of the Department's expenditure over the next two years are still being considered and will be announced in due course, including the pupil premium for the most deprived pupils.
| Table 1: Information on grants to be awarded by DfE in 2010-11 | ||
| £ million | ||
|
|
Current | Capital |
|
Request for Resource 1—covering most departmental spend except Sure Start |
||
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| £ million | ||
|
|
Current | Capital |
| Note: All values are rounded to the nearest million. Source: Data are taken from the 2010-11 Main Estimate. | ||
Education Maintenance Allowance
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what date his Department informed administrators of the www.direct.gov website that young people currently in receipt of education maintenance allowance (EMA) will continue to receive it for the rest of this academic year but will not receive it next academic year; what information he provided to that website in respect of EMA; and if he will make a statement. [27756]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 December 2010]: This is a matter for the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) which operates the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA’s chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Wigan with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Letter from Peter Lauener, dated 7 December 2010:
One of the responsibilities delegated by the Secretary of State to the Young People’s Learning Agency is to maintain the Direct.gov.uk website on behalf of the Department for Education in respect of EMA and all other learner support schemes. The Direct.gov.uk website was updated on 27 October with this statement:
“EMA will close to new applicants from January 2011. Learner support funds will be available through schools, colleges and training providers to help students who most need it to continue in learning. If you currently get EMA you will continue to receive it for the rest of this academic year, but you will not receive it next academic year.”
The information in this Direct.gov.uk statement about eligibility and cut-off dates was confirmed in discussion with the Department for Education in the days immediately following the Spending Review announcement and was also made available to the call centre which deals with direct enquiries about EMA.
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Education: Assessments
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his Department’s Business Plan for November 2010, when he plans to publish impact indicators on readiness to progress to the next stage of schooling at ages 5 and 11; and if he will make a statement. [25664]
Tim Loughton: The impact and input indicators published earlier this month were in draft form. We will be consulting on these further between now and January and will be finalising their definitions and the method by which they will be calculated for March. Currently we envisage using existing sources of data for these impact indicators of readiness to progress. The precise timing of data releases and publication of indicators will be confirmed by this work.
EU Law
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many EU directives are pending transposition into domestic legislation by his Department; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such transposition. [27501]
Tim Loughton: There are no EU directives currently pending transposition into domestic legislation by the Department for Education. The policy remit of the Department falls mostly outside of the sphere of Community competence and the Department is therefore unlikely to be the lead Department for transposition of any EU directives.
Free Schools
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has issued to officials in his Department on the processing of new applications to open free schools in cases in which the applicant is a religious or faith-based group; and if he will make a statement. [22451]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 8 November 2010]: No guidance has been issued to officials relating specifically to processing free school applications from religious or faith-based groups. The Department will conduct due diligence checks on all groups and individuals affiliated with a free school proposal, to ensure that they are suitable to conduct a publicly funded school. These checks apply equally to applicants from religious or faith-based groups and to others.
Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many expressions of interest in establishing free schools he has received from (a) groups and (b) individuals. [24351]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold, collect or receive details about expressions of interest for Free Schools. The point at which the Department receives formal notice of applications is when groups put in a proposal form. To date, the Department has received over 180 proposals to set up Free Schools. Due to the complexity of some of these proposals, we are unable to categorise them all as group-led or individual-led, although the vast majority are from groups.
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Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will put in place mechanisms for public scrutiny of the financial backing of individuals and organisations who are involved in setting up free schools. [24812] [Official Report, 31 December 2011, Vol. 522, c. 5MC.]
Mr Gibb: Once a Free School proposal is approved to progress to business case and plan stage, the main elements of the proposal forms will be put on the Department's website. We will redact personal information to comply with obligations under the Data Protection Act, and other information where we have judged that commercial interests would be prejudiced should we publish the proposal in full.
The Department will conduct due diligence checks, including financial checks, on companies and individuals associated with a proposed Free School. The vast majority of proposers to date are not associated with or supported by third party organisations.
Once a Free School is established, the Academy Trust will be required to publish annual accounts in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. These accounts will be available on the Charity Commission website.
Further Education: Student Numbers
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of young people participated in post-16 education (a) in Bristol East constituency, (b) in Bristol, (c) in the South West and (d) nationally in each of the last five years. [28229]
Mr Gibb: Estimates of participation in education and training for young people in each local authority (LA) in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June. The full SFR can be found on the Department’s website:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000938/index.shtml
Figures are aggregated from LAs to regions and England and are available from 1994 onwards. The figures cannot be disaggregated to parliamentary constituency level. The latest figures, for end 2008, show that an estimated 100% of young people of academic age 16 (usually those in their first year after compulsory education) in the city of Bristol LA were in some form of education or work based learning (WBL) at the end of 2008. The full time-series is provided in the following table.
| Participation in education and work based learning (WBL) of academic age 16-year-olds | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
|
|
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
Note that it is possible in some circumstances for estimates of participation in some LAs to reach, and even exceed, 100%. This is because the numerator (participation in education) and denominator (population) come from different data sources. For the most part the participation and population data are consistent and young people are assigned to the LA in which they are resident. An exception is participation in independent schools, where learner residence data are not collated nationally. An assumption is made that young people
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participating in independent schools live in the LA that the school is located. This will tend to inflate participation estimates for LAs with both an untypically high number of independent schools and where cross border flows of independent school pupils between LAs are common.
The city of Bristol is one such LA, with 16% of academic age 16-year-olds participating through independent schools compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE and BTEC
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people aged 16 years from each socio-economic group he expects to sit (a) GCSE and (b) BTEC examination in the 2010-11 academic year. [27760]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 1 December 2010]: The Department does not hold information on the number of pupils from different socio-economic groups that are entered for different qualifications. It is therefore not possible to estimate the number of people from each group that are expected to sit GCSEs and BTECs at age 16.
However, some information from the Youth Cohort Study and Longitudinal Study of Young People in England about the achievement of GCSEs by socio-economic group is available from the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000795/index.shtml
Information on GCSE attainment by Income Deprivation Affecting Children Indices (IDACI) is available from the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000909/index.shtml
Grammar Schools
Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to make legislative provision for the selective status of grammar schools which change to academy status. [27441]
Mr Gibb: We have ensured that, when maintained grammar schools convert to become academies, the schools and local parents retain the same rights and safeguards they had prior to conversion. Sections 6(3) and 6(4) of the Academies Act 2010 ensure that grammar schools may continue to select by ability on conversion.
Mathematics: Primary Education
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issued on the number of hours per week in which mathematics is taught at primary school in (a) 1997 and (b) the last three years. [27761]
Mr Gibb
[holding answer 1 December 2010]: No guidance has been issued by the Department for Education on the number of hours per week in which mathematics is taught in primary schools in any of the years in question, although the National Numeracy Strategy, and then the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
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jointly with the National Numeracy Strategy, published guidance in 1999 and 2002 respectively, which reflected the previous Government’s policies. This Government believes it should be for each primary school to organise its curriculum to include the programmes of study for mathematics including decisions about how much time to devote to teaching this subject.
National Commissioning Framework
Mr Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for consultation on replacement arrangements for the national commissioning framework. [23297]
Mr Gibb: The Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) has a statutory duty to issue guidance to local authorities on the performance of their duty to ensure that enough suitable education and training is provided for young people, and to consult on the production of that guidance.
The YPLA has been working closely with local authority representative bodies and a range of other partners to develop new statutory guidance. This will replace the National Commissioning Framework which was withdrawn earlier this year. The new statutory guidance will be published before Christmas and will inform the allocations process for the academic year 2011/12, based on decisions that Ministers have made about the simplification of the system for funding young people’s education. Alongside this publication, there will be a full public consultation on the statutory guidance to inform the allocations process for 2012/13.
Pupils: Asthma
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to issue new guidance to schools for the purpose of ensuring the effective management of pupils’ (a) asthma and (b) other long-term health conditions. [28035]
Mr Gibb: I refer my hon. Friend to the response given on 29 November 2010, Official Report, column 530VV, which explains that the Secretary of State for Education is planning to issue new guidance to schools for the purpose of ensuring the effective management of pupils’ (a) asthma and (b) other long-term health conditions.
Pupils: Bullying
Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to issue advice to (a) teachers, (b) schools and (c) local authorities on the extent of their responsibilities in relation to bullying which takes place outside school hours and outside schools between pupils of different schools. [27701]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 30 November 2010]:Tackling bullying is a top priority for this coalition Government. Teachers, pupils and charities report that prejudice-based bullying in particular is increasing.
That is why our Schools White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”, highlighted the importance of tackling incidents of homophobic and prejudice-based bullying. We want schools to educate children about the differences between different groups of people and create a culture of respect and understanding.
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As bullying also takes place outside of school. We will revise existing statutory guidance on behaviour in order to strengthen head teachers’ authority to tackle pupils who misbehave beyond the boundaries of the school.
The Department will radically reduce the existing 481 pages of guidance for schools on bullying to ensure it is readable and used by schools.
Pupils: Disability
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to promote disability awareness among students in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools. [28581]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 3 December 2010]: The current Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education framework for both primary and secondary schools provides an opportunity for teachers to raise awareness of disability issues amongst their pupils. The programmes of study include learning about identifying and respecting the differences between people, including those with disabilities. Pupils are taught about the effects of all types of stereotyping and discrimination, how to challenge them assertively and ways of working cooperatively with a range of people who are different from themselves.
School Sport Partnerships: Finance
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has issued guidance to school sport partnerships on the identification of alternative funding sources from April 2011. [25047]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 29 November 2010]: At the end of October, the Department authorised grant payments to school sport partnerships covering their work up to the end of February 2011. At that time, partnerships were told that the Department would be writing to them about the conditions attached to that grant and about funding beyond February 2011. We intend to write to partnerships shortly about this. We have issued no guidance to partnerships about possible alternative sources of funding. As a result of the spending review, schools' overall budgets will not be reduced but will increase by £3.6 billion in cash terms by 2014-15, the end of the next spending review period.
Schools: Asbestos
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of school (a) staff and (b) children affected by an asbestos-related illness in the latest period for which figures are available. [29601]
Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
No research evidence is available on which to base such estimates for either school staff or pupils.
However, deaths from the cancer, mesothelioma, which is the main and most serious of the asbestos related diseases, can be regarded as an indicator of risk from exposure to asbestos. There is strong evidence that this disease is usually a consequence of heavy past occupational exposure to airborne asbestos fibres, although sometimes
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it is linked to exposure in a domestic setting. There is no evidence to say whether or not any of the remaining cases where there is no recognised cause may have been due to exposures in schools at a time when asbestos was in widespread use as a building material.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) tracks all deaths in Great Britain where mesothelioma has been recorded as a cause. HSE's periodical analyses of these deaths by occupation show that mesothelioma does occur among those whose last occupation is recorded as a teacher. The most recently available analyses by occupational group are for deaths during 2002-05. Among those aged 16 to 74—the ages for which occupation is reliably coded—there were 53 male deaths and 23 female deaths among those whose last occupation was recorded as a teacher. In statistical terms these numbers are broadly in line with the average for all occupations. Teachers do not stand out as a higher risk group.
Of those deaths involving teachers it is not possible to say whether any are a result of asbestos exposure during the course of their work in schools as it can take decades for the disease to develop after exposure and
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the cause may lie in other jobs earlier in life or in non-occupational activities.
A recent, detailed, independent epidemiological study of mesothelioma in Britain conducted by Professor Julian Peto supports the conclusion that teachers are not a higher risk group. This study showed that the risk for those who had carried out at least five years work as a teacher or school worker, and had never worked in jobs classified as higher risk, was statistically no different from that for individuals who had only ever done office work.
Schools: Cumbria
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools there are in each parliamentary constituency in Cumbria in respect of which no other school for pupils of the same age range is located within a four mile radius. [26930]
Mr Gibb: The following table provides the information requested.
| Numbers of schools with no other school for the same age range located within a four mile radius by parliamentary constituency in Cumbria, 2010-11 | ||||
| Maintained primary schools (1) | Maintained secondary schools (2) | |||
| Parliamentary constituency | Total | Schools with no other school for the same age range within a four mile radius (3) | Total | Schools with no other school for the same age range within a four mile radius (3) |
| (1) Includes infant schools, junior schools and primary schools. (2) Includes academies. (3) The four mile radius includes schools located in neighbouring local authorities. Source: Edubase 25 November 2010 | ||||
Schools: Governing Bodies
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the appointment of school governors. [28195]
Mr Gibb: Guidance on the appointment and election of school governors in maintained schools is contained in “The Statutory Guidance on the Constitution of School Governing Bodies” which is available at:
www.governornet.co.uk/publishArticle.cfm?contentId=1342
There is no guidance which is sent specifically to local authorities.
Schools: Gravesham
Mr Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children of each nationality have attended schools in Gravesham in each of the past 10 years. [28865]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 December 2010]: The Department does not collect information on the nationality of pupils in schools.
Schools: Health Education
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to consult parents on the proposals in his schools White Paper on personal, sexual and health education; and if he will make a statement. [28684]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 December 2010]: As set out in our White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, the Coalition Government wants all children and young people to receive high quality Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education. Further details on the internal review of PSHE education, including who will be consulted, will be announced in the new year.
Schools: Inspections
Charlotte Leslie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many formal appeals in respect of the outcome of an Ofsted inspection were brought by
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schools in each of the last five years; and how many such appeals were
(a)
upheld,
(b)
partially upheld and
(c)
rejected in each such year. [24105]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her letter has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 17 November 2010:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for response.
I have set out the information requested in a table at the end of this letter.
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Schools cannot make ‘formal appeals’ in respect of the outcome of Ofsted inspections but can make complaints about inspection judgments. The table details complaints made by schools about any school inspection judgment following inspections carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The table includes information for each financial year since April 2006, The total number of inspections in each of the years is included to provide some context. Because of their nature, the outcomes for complaints investigations regarding inspection judgments are either upheld or not; we do not partially uphold complaints about inspection judgments.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
| Section 5 school inspection complaints data | ||||||
| Period | Number of school inspections (1) | Number of complaints about judgments for inspections of schools (1) | As a percentage of number of inspections | Number of upheld complaints about judgments for inspections of schools (1) | As a percentage of number of complaints | Upheld complaints about judgments as a percentage of number of school inspections |
| (1 )This includes inspections of academies. (2) Please note that this is only six months’ data. | ||||||
Schools: North East
Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department plans to provide for schools in (a) North West Durham constituency and (b) the North East in each of the next five years. [25511]
Mr Gibb: The Department expects to announce the school funding allocations for 2011-12 by the end of the year. We made it clear in our school funding consultation earlier this year that our longer-term aim is to bring in a simpler, more transparent and fairer funding system, and to help reduce the funding differences between similar schools in different areas. (Consultation on School Funding 2011-12, July 2010). Our White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, explains that it will hold full and detailed consultations on school funding changes for 2012-13 and beyond.
Schools: Sports
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what schools which are members of School Sport Partnerships each Minister in his Department has visited since their appointment; what assessment was made of the work of each of those institutions; and if he will make a statement. [27744]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 1 December 2010]: All maintained schools in England are part of the network of school sport partnerships. This includes all of the many schools that Ministers in the Department for Education have visited since May 2010. These visits will have been for a range of purposes: to see examples of good practice; to meet and talk to students and staff; and to witness schools in action at first hand. The purpose of these visits is quite categorically not to make assessments of these institutions; that is the role of Ofsted.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what specialist sports schools and colleges he has visited since his appointment; what assessment was made of the work of each of those institutions; and if he will make a statement. [27745]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 1 December 2010]: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Education has visited three schools with a specialism in sport: Harefield Academy in Hillingdon, City of London Academy in Southwark and Consett Community Sports College in Durham. The Secretary of State was very impressed with what he saw, as he is when he visits many schools in England. In particular, he was impressed with the way the schools were making maximum use of the freedoms afforded to them by their academy status to improve provision for their pupils, both within their sport specialism and across the whole curriculum.
Schools: Transport
Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding Walton High School, Milton Keynes, received from his Department towards its School Travel Plan in 2010-11; and how much such funding it will receive in each of the next three years. [24424]
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Mr Gibb: Walton High School, Milton Keynes, submitted an approved school travel plan for the year ended March 2010. Due to a review of all capital budgets within the Department no school travel plan grants have been paid. We shall notify all schools of the outcome once final decisions have been taken following the capital review.
Science: GCSE
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 27 July 2010, Official Report, column 1228W, on Science: GCSE, when he expects to complete his assessment of the action needed to ensure that all schools offer the possibility for students to study three separate science subjects at GCSE level. [27131]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 29 November 2010]: The Schools White Paper 2010, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, confirmed the importance the Government place on making the study of the three separate science subjects at GCSE accessible to all pupils. This includes exploring how schools delivering triple science might be recognised in the performance tables; the need to increase the number of specialist science teachers, for example, by providing financial incentives to attract the best graduates in shortage subjects such as the sciences into teaching; and improving the skills of existing science teachers. The support the Government will provide to enable wider participation in the three separate sciences at GCSE level is still subject to the more detailed outcome of the spending review and we will announce our plans as soon as that is finalised.
Special Educational Needs
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the (a) level of availability and (b) standard of educational provision for children with special educational needs in (i) South Thanet constituency and (ii) England. [24590]
Sarah Teather: Planning and making appropriate provision to meet the needs of children with SEN is the responsibility of local authorities, such information is not held centrally by the Department for Education. Section 14 of the Education Act 1996 places a duty on a local authority to provide sufficient schools in number and character to ensure appropriate education for pupils with special educational needs. School organisation and special educational provision are matters for local consultation and determination, and where there are disagreements, they may be referred to the independent schools adjudicator for consideration and are not ones in which the Government can intervene.
I am publishing a Green Paper to look at the wide range of issues concerning provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities. To inform this important work, I issued a call for views and have met parents, teachers, local authorities, charities and other groups. The call for views attracted over 1,800 responses from a wide range of people and organisations. In order to give those views the most careful consideration, I will be publishing the Green Paper in February 2011.
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Timber
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the compliance of (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s criteria for sourcing sustainable timber. [27839]
Tim Loughton: The Department of Education includes in all appropriate contracts where the supply of timber may be used, clauses governing the legal use of timber as defined in the UK Government Timber Procurement Policy—definition of ‘legal’ and ‘sustainable’ for timber procurement and contained within CPET (Central Point of Expertise on Timber).
Under these clauses, contractors are obliged to obtain documentary evidence that the timber and wood derived products is legal timber and if requested, shall supply this evidence to the Department.
Higher Education: Scholarships
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to provide transitional funding in academic year 2011-12 for the period between the end of the Aimhigher programme and the introduction of the new access commitments by universities and the new National Scholarship Fund. [28597]
Mr Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
The arrangements for new access agreements and the £150 million National Scholarship Programme are being introduced to coincide with the new funding arrangements for students in 2012.
Universities, schools and colleges have learned much from Aimhigher about “what works”. Universities already use this to inform their own outreach activities covered by existing access agreements, agreed with the Office for Fair Access, and the widening participation strategic assessments they submit to HEFCE. Helping young people find out about higher education is a normal part of what schools do and schools will receive additional support through the pupil premium from April 2011. In this context we have concluded transitional funding is unnecessary.
The National Scholarship Programme will form part of a package of measures to support disadvantaged young people through their education, including the introduction of the £2.5 billion pupil premium in April 2011, that will help to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to Higher Education.
Culture, Media and Sport
2017 World Athletics Championship
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what estimate he has made of the potential contribution to the economy of the UK hosting the 2017 World Athletics Championship; [29483]
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(2) whether his Department has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of providing guarantees to UK Athletics for its bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championship. [29746]
Hugh Robertson: In conjunction with UK Athletics and Visit London, UK Sport commissioned a feasibility study into bidding for and hosting a World Athletics Championships. That study contained an estimate of the economic impact of the event, based on UK Sport’s eventIMPACTS methodology, totalling £102.6 million.
Preparatory work is under way on assessing the level and cost of likely guarantees required for a bid, however, detailed assessments will begin once the IAAF release their bidding requirements for 2017.
Archery
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many competitive archery venues there are in England. [29623]
Hugh Robertson: This Department does not hold the information requested.
Additionally, Sport England has spoken with the National Governing Body for Archery who stated that they also do not collect the data in the manner it has been requested.
Athletics
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many athletics tracks suitable for (a) national and (b) international competitors there are in each local authority area in England. [29676]
Hugh Robertson: According to UK Athletics, the minimum number of lanes required for national and international track competition is eight.
Sport England’s Active Places website shows that there are a total of 124 floodlit athletics tracks with eight lanes across the country.
Cinemas: Listed Buildings
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) cinemas and (b) theatres have had listed building status removed as a result of a submission to his Department in the last 10 years. [30052]
John Penrose: English Heritage has advised us that in the last 10 years, four cinemas and one theatre have been delisted.
Departmental Conferences
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his Department’s annual budget for conferences was on (a) 7 May 2010 and (b) 7 December 2010. [29960]
John Penrose:
The Department does not hold a separate budget specifically for conferences. The budget for conferences is included within the Department’s wider
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hospitality budget which includes internal hospitality, conferences and committees. This budget at May 2010 was £162,478.00, and in December 2010 it stood at £120,484.00.
Following the formation of the new Government and the resulting spending review, the Department announced an intention to reduce administration costs by 50% by 2014-15. As part of this budget reduction all administration costs across the Department are subject to review, including those for hosting conferences.
Digital Broadcasting: Wales
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of digital switchover as a means of improving reception in (a) Wrexham and (b) Wales. [30339]
Mr Vaizey: Switchover extended reliable coverage of digital terrestrial services from a predicted 57% of Welsh households before switchover to an estimated 97.8% today. In addition, the number of households predicted to be able to receive digital TV is slightly greater than the number formerly able to receive the four main analogue channels. Further details of coverage predictions can be found on the Ofcom fact sheet on coverage No. 3
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/tv-research/dsoind/factsheets/
There are no specific figures for predicted coverage in Wrexham. However, most viewers in the town should be able to receive signals from at least one of the main Winter Hill and Wrexham Rhos relay transmitters.
Detailed predictions of coverage from each transmitter at specific postcodes is available at
www.digitaluk.co.uk/postcodechecker/
and a local RDI (Registered Digital Installers) or CAI (Confederation of Aerial Industries) accredited aerial installer would be able to offer further advice on the practicalities of reception from multiple transmitters.
Football: World Cup
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Government support for the Football Association’s bid to host the FIFA World cup in 2018. [29239]
Hugh Robertson: The Government did not contribute any funding directly to the bid to host the 2018 World cup.
Ministers made a number of visits in support of the bid, and the cost of these are currently being collated.
Government officials also worked in developing technical and wider aspects of the bid for the Football Association, however, precise details of this can be calculated only at a disproportionate cost.
2017 World Athletics Championship
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which stadiums in England his Department has assessed as being of a standard to host an IAAF World Athletics Championship. [29625]
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Hugh Robertson: There are currently no athletics stadia in England with the permanent facilities and capacity required to host a World Athletics Championships.
The feasibility of potential venues, including the Olympic Stadium once its future use is determined, will be assessed.
Internet: Further Education
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he plans to issue guidance to further education colleges on their classification as (a) an internet service provider, (b) a subscriber and (c) a communications provider under the provisions of the Digital Economy Act 2010. [28633]
Mr Vaizey: I have been asked to reply in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Ofcom will shortly be publishing the code of practice heralded by the Digital Economy Act 2010, which will set out the initial obligations to tackle the online infringement of copyright. We expect the code to make clear the classification and requirements under the Act of internet service providers, subscribers and communications providers. Therefore, we have no plans at present to issue guidance specifically targeted at further education colleges with relation to the initial obligations. We remain confident that the initial obligations will not cause undue difficulties for further education colleges.
Internet: Regulation
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) further education colleges, (b) universities and (c) public libraries of implementing the provisions of the Digital Economy Act 2010. [28634]
Mr Vaizey: I have been asked to reply in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
We remain confident that the implementation of the online infringement of copyright provisions in the Digital Economy Act 2010 will not cause undue difficulties for further education colleges, universities, public libraries or other premises offering wireless internet access. Therefore, we have made no estimate of the costs specifically incurred to these institutions of implementing the provisions of the Act. Ofcom will shortly be publishing the code of practice which is required to set out the details of the initial obligations heralded by the Act. The Government recognise that clarification is needed for wi-fi service providers, and we have indicated that this is an area which we expect the code to cover. The Government do not anticipate agreeing a code which does not take proper account of the position of wi-fi providers, such as further education colleges, universities and public libraries.
In the meantime, there are simple and proportionate steps such bodies can adopt to prevent infringement on their networks. Many already do so and, in many cases, their activities to prevent infringement already go far beyond what the Act requires.
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Libraries: Membership
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he plans to bring forward proposals to provide for library membership from birth. [29690]
Mr Vaizey: It is for local authorities to decide what library services their communities need and to allocate their budgets accordingly. We will not constrain local government by pursuing the spending commitment to promote library membership as an entitlement from birth, which was set out by the previous government in the Public Library Modernisation Review Policy statement published in March 2010.
With or without this promotional activity, public libraries across the country continue to make a valuable contribution to early years learning.
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what consultation he has had with trade unions representing staff of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (a) prior and (b) subsequent to announcing its abolition; [30126]
(2) what requests for meetings he has received from trade unions representing staff of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council subsequent to announcing its abolition. [30127]
Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State did not consult with trade unions representing staff in the Museums, Libraries and Archives council (MLA) prior or subsequently to the abolition announcement.
Since the decision the MLA has had ongoing meetings and regular dialogue with the recognised trade union, Prospect, and in addition kept staff up to date to the best of its knowledge on the Government’s intentions for delivering MLA functions in the future. In addition, on 1 December MLA placed all its employees formally ‘At Risk’ of redundancy and started a four-month period of formal consultation with staff and trade unions to enable it to reach final decisions as to the future of its staff.
I have received one request for a meeting with Prospect.
Olympic Games
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which Olympic sport has the fewest venues for participative competition (a) with and (b) without spectator provision in England; and how many such venues there are. [29621]
Hugh Robertson: This information is not held by the Department, or its arm’s length body, Sport England.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many people in England participated in each (a) Olympic and (b) Paralympic sport in 2009. [29635]
Hugh Robertson: The Sport England Active People Survey 3 shows those participants engaged in Olympic sport in 2009.
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Due to the low levels of participation in Paralympic sports, we are not able to provide reliable estimates for participation in 2009.
| Olympic sport (1) | Paralympic sport included | Number participating once a week (2) | Number participating once a month (3) |
| (1) The Active People Survey only identifies separate participation figures for some paralympic sports. The table indicates those sports where figures for the paralympic sport are included within the Olympic sport total. Where separate paralympic sports are identified the survey received insufficient responses to provide robust estimates of participation. (2) Once per week participation is based on the number of people who have taken part four times in the last 28 days for 30 minutes at moderate intensity. (3) Once per month participation is based on the number of people who have taken part in the sport at all in the last 28 days. (4) Insufficient sample size to provide robust estimates of participation. | |||
Olympic Games 2012
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) of 26 October 2010, Official Report, column 173W, on Olympics: sporting legacy, over what period of time and in respect of which (a) sports and (b) age groups he proposes to seek to reverse the decline in competitive sport; and against what criteria he proposes to measure progress on this objective. [29966]
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Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in close discussions with the Department for Education about competitive sport in schools and we are working to ensure this fits with the new Government approach to school sports, that being to give schools more autonomy and reducing centrally determined objectives.
As part of this objective we are introducing a new School Sport Competition in 2011 which should see levels of competition increase, but most importantly the competition should appeal to a wide range of young people of different tastes and abilities.
Sport England's mass participation legacy plan Places People Play will bring the sporting legacy to life in communities across the country to deliver a sustainable increase in adult participation for the games and beyond by improving local sports facilities and by getting more people involved in grassroots sporting activities and in Olympic and Paralympic sports.
For example, as part of the Places People Play programme, Sportivate, which will be launched in April 2011 and run until March 2015, is designed to capture the excitement of London 2012 and provide attractive sporting opportunities for young people aged between 14 and 25. Those involved will be given six weeks coaching at a local venue and provided with guidance on places and people they can continue to compete with.
Adult participation in sport will continue to be measured by Sport England's Active People Survey.
S4C
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has to meet hon. Members representing constituencies in Wales to discuss governance arrangements for S4C. [29972]
Mr Vaizey: The Government are committed to the future of Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C as a strong and independent Welsh TV service. Welsh MPs have already made representations to DCMS Ministers about the future governance arrangements for S4C and a wide range of interested parties will be consulted in the future.
Schools Sport Partnerships
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which Schools Sport Partnerships (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have visited since 6 May 2010. [29517]
Hugh Robertson: In my capacity as Minister for Sport and the Olympics, I visited Eltham Green School Sport Partnership in June as part of National School Sport Week. I have also visited two schools, Ling Bob Junior and Sacred Heart, which are part of the Brooksbank and Burnage School Sport Partnerships respectively. I have also visited a number of School Sport Partnerships in my own constituency as part of the Kent School Games.
Additionally, the Secretary of State met with School Sport Partnerships at a round-table event he hosted in July during National School Sport Week, and we have
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both met Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, on a number of occasions to discuss related issues.
Sport: Cycling
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) what venues there are in England for international competition-standard BMX biking; [29622]
(2) how many velodromes there are in England. [29624]
Hugh Robertson: Neither this Department or Sport England hold the information requested.
Sports: Revenue
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) how much revenue accrued to the Exchequer from foreign sports professionals visiting the UK in each of the last three years; [29509]
(2) what the three highest revenue-generating sports were in 2009; and how much was generated from foreign professionals in those sports visiting the UK in that year. [29510]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
Revenue from visiting foreign sports professionals is not distinguished from that of visiting foreign entertainers in HMRC records. The information requested could therefore be obtained only through the examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.
Tourism
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has to increase the competitiveness of the UK tourist industry. [29855]
John Penrose: We shall increase the competitiveness of the UK tourist industry by raising standards and productivity through VisitEngland working closely with local destination management organisations. By responding to customer feedback, we shall also improve the welcome shown to foreign visitors, supply them with better customer information and signage, and raise staff and management skills. We shall also cut red tape and regulations that burden tourism businesses.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Higher Education: Scholarships
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) whether the functions of Aimhigher will continue to be undertaken in 2011-12; [28544]
(2) what mechanisms will be put in place to assist the schools supported by Aimhigher to help their low-income pupils go on to higher education in the next four years; and if he will make a statement. [28545]
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Mr Willetts [holding answer 7 December 2010]: This Government have been very clear about the importance of widening participation and improving fair access in higher education—all those with the ability should have access to higher education irrespective of family income.
We are establishing a new framework with increased responsibility on universities to widen participation. We are also introducing the National Scholarship Programme which will form part of a package of measures to support disadvantaged young people through their education, including the introduction of the £2.5 billion pupil premium in April 2011 that will help to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to higher education.
Universities, schools and colleges have learned much from Aimhigher about what works, and activities to help young people find out about higher education are a normal part of what schools do. Higher education institutions will build on this knowledge and continue to deliver a range of outreach activities including those in their existing access agreements, agreed with the Office for Fair Access, and their widening participation strategic assessments. Within this context, the Aimhigher programme will cease at the end of this academic year (July 2011).
Animal Experiments
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ensure that specific outcomes and milestones for the reduction of animal experiments funded by the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council are included in those research councils’ delivery plans. [30151]
Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are non-departmental public bodies which receive their grant in aid from this Department. In keeping with the Haldane principle, day to day decisions on the scientific merits of different strategies, programme and projects are taken by the research councils without Government involvement.
The law states that the use of animals in research where it may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm, is subject to licence and will be permitted only where there is no practicable alternative. The MRC and BBSRC are committed to ensuring that any research programmes they fund follow high standards of animal welfare and avoid the use of animals wherever an alternative exists. All proposals submitted to MRC and BBSRC are subject to robust peer review which includes assessment of the justification for the proposed use of animals.
MRC and BBSRC are strongly committed to promoting the principles of Replacement, Refinement and Reduction (the 3Rs) of animals in research, and are the major funders of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs),
www.nc3rs.org.uk
NC3Rs provides a UK focus for the promotion, development and implementation of the 3Rs in animal research and testing, and brings together academia, industry, government and animal welfare organisations. NC3Rs aims to facilitate the exchange of information
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and ideas, and the translation of research findings into practice that will benefit both animals and science. NC3Rs funds high-quality 3Rs research, organises workshops and symposia to disseminate and advance the 3Rs, and develops 3Rs information resources and guidelines.
All the research councils are required to produce a delivery plan which sets out how their funding allocation from this Department will be spent over the spending review period. Delivery plans are high level documents and do not set out specific milestones in relation to outcomes.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what account the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council take of public concern for animal welfare in their policies on animal experimentation; and by what processes. [30152]
Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are non-departmental public bodies which receive their grant in aid from the Department.
The MRC and BBSRC are very aware of their responsibilities to understand and take account of public concerns about any aspect of the research they fund. The MRC and BBSRC provide support for, and are active members of, the Boyd Group, which brings together scientists, research funders and animal welfare groups to discuss policy issues related to animals in research. The MRC and BBSRC work with animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA in relation to policies on animal experimentation.
MRC and BBSRC are strongly committed to promoting the principles of Replacement, Refinement and Reduction (the 3Rs) of animals in research, and are the major funders of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs),
www.nc3rs.org.uk
NC3Rs provides a UK focus for the promotion, development and implementation of the 3Rs in animal research and testing, and brings together academia, industry, government and animal welfare organisations. NC3Rs aims to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, and the translation of research findings into practice that will benefit both animals and science. NC3Rs funds high-quality 3Rs research, organises workshops and symposia to disseminate and advance the 3Rs, and develops 3Rs information resources and guidelines. In partnership with other funders of biomedical research in the UK the MRC and BBSRC have published guidelines on “Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research” (this is available from NC3R’s website
http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/document.asp?id=1319
and also from the MRC and BBSRC). Compliance with the guidelines is a condition of funding for all grants involving the use of animals.
The BBSRC is also guided and advised in these areas by its Bioscience for Society Strategy Panel, a panel of independent experts whose responsibilities include:
Advising BBSRC on current and emerging public attitudes to bioscience issues and the conduct of research, identifying issues requiring BBSRC action.
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Approving and guiding the development of BBSRC’s programme in public engagement, dialogue and consultation to meet government and BBSRC strategic plan objectives.
Making proposals to help BBSRC discharge its social responsibilities by further integrating ethical and other social issues into its planning on policy and funding.
Additionally, BBSRC has strategic policy priorities in the 3Rs and in “Welfare of managed animals (including livestock and companion animals)”
www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/priorities.aspx
Apprentices
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of apprentices aged (a) under 19 years and (b) 19 years and over were engaged in companies with (i) one employee, (ii) fewer than 10 employees and (iii) fewer than 50 employees in the latest period figures are available. [30205]
Mr Hayes: The following shows the percentage of apprenticeship starts in 2009/10 by the size of their employer, based upon information to date for the 2009/10 academic year. This analysis is based upon the size of the site-level employer. A national employer that has a number of sites across the country may therefore be recorded as a site-level employer multiple times. It is not possible to provide more detailed breakdowns of employer size for those employers with less than 50 employees.
| Apprenticeship starts in 2009/10 by site-level employer size (1) | |||
| Age (2) | |||
| Site-level employer size | Under 19 | 19 and Over | Total |
| (1) Figures are based on the number of employees at the local, site level. A national employer that has a number of sites across the country may therefore be recorded as a site-level employer multiple times. (2) Age is based on age at start of programme. Source: Individualised Learner Record | |||
Apprentices: Females
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that (a) the National Apprenticeship Service and (b) new apprenticeship places increase the proportion of women in disciplines in which they have been under-represented; how much he plans to allocate to adult apprenticeships in the next three years; and what objectives he plans to set for such apprenticeships in respect of gender balance. [30204]
Mr Hayes:
The Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeship places for all suitably qualified people, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religious beliefs. In the spending review, we announced that we will increase investment in adult apprenticeships by up to £250 million during this Parliament. There will be investment of £605 million in 2011-12 and an indicative budget of £648 million in
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2012-13. By the 2014-15 financial year, we will have in place sufficient funding for 75,000 more adult apprenticeship places than the previous Government were providing.
Men and women are evenly balanced in terms of numbers on the apprenticeships programme, but we know there is gender segregation across some sectors, with women under-represented in higher paid sectors such as construction and engineering. This broadly reflects the gender divide in the workplace, but it is an area we are keen to address.
Good quality information, advice and guidance are critical to helping everyone make informed choices. It is important that this information is presented in a non-biased and non-stereotypical manner. That is why we are also introducing an enhanced information, advice and guidance service for adults, offering high quality personalised information about a range of training and support.
Increasing the number, quality and background of people applying for apprenticeships is a priority for National Apprenticeships Service. The NAS is working with careers guidance agencies, local authorities, Job Centre Plus and other key partners to develop resources on apprenticeships to encourage people to think about apprenticeships in a non-stereotypical way. NAS also works with employers to help them understand and be more responsive to the needs of atypical and under-represented groups, for example women in construction and engineering.
The ‘Diversity in Apprenticeships’ pilots, which are due to commence delivery early in 2011, will test out new approaches to addressing under-representation and inequality in apprenticeships by creating a mutually supportive ‘critical mass’ of learners in non-traditional occupations. Seven of these pilots are focusing on the issue of under representation of females in male dominated sectors.
Biofuels: Job Creation
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the role of the biodiesel industry in creating skilled jobs in the environmental sector; and if he will make a statement. [30148]
Mr Prisk: This Department has made no such assessment.
Broadband: Crewe
Mr Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) levels of usage of broadband services in Crewe and Nantwich constituency. [29532]
Mr Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) estimates that Crewe and Nantwich constituency has approximately 47,600 residential and commercial properties. They also estimate approximately 1.5% of these premises would have either a slow broadband service or no service at all.
Broadband: Scotland
Gemma Doyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effects on (a) Scotland and (b) West
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Dunbartonshire local authority area of the implementation of the Government's policy on access to super-fast broadband. [30342]
Mr Vaizey: I am replying in view of my responsibility for communications policy. I have made no specific assessment, but expect that along with other areas in the UK, Scotland and West Dunbartonshire will benefit from greater availability of superfast broadband as a result of the UK Government's policies.
Broadband: Wales
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has had discussions with the Leader of the Conservative Group in the National Assembly for Wales on the selection of super-fast broadband pilot areas. [30340]
Mr Vaizey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 25 November 2010, Official Report, column 402W.
Business
Mr Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the merits of establishing an advisory panel of entrepreneurs; and if he will make a statement. [30481]
Mr Prisk: Returning the economy to sustainable growth is the overriding priority for the Government. The private sector delivers growth and it is the decisions of individual business leaders, workers and entrepreneurs that will ensure our economic future. We therefore need to draw on the experience and ideas of entrepreneurs in considering how Government can best support this process of growth and renewal. To assist this, I have recently established a new Entrepreneurs’ Forum that will meet from time to time and complement existing channels of dialogue with business.
Consumers: Protection
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals for enhanced consumer protection against aggressive online sales marketing; and if he will make a statement. [30067]
Mr Davey: Consumers are protected against aggressive sales marketing by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). The regulations ban commercial practices which through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence are likely to significantly impair the average consumer's freedom of choice in relation to goods or services, and thereby cause or be likely to cause him to make a choice he would not otherwise have made (eg purchase a good or service he would not otherwise have purchased). The CPRs apply as much to online sales marketing as they do to traditional marketing techniques. The CPRs are enforced by the Office of Fair Trading and local authority trading standards services.
Debts: Developing Countries
Mr Streeter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding the Export Credits Guarantee Department has received from other
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Government departments to meet the cost of cancelling debt owed to it by heavily-indebted poor countries in the latest period for which figures are available. [26550]
Mr Davey: Since 2000 approximately £93 million has been paid to ECGD by the Department for International Development in respect of amounts owed by heavily indebted poor countries. It relates to debt which HMG has forgiven but which ECGD has been unable to write-off for statutory reasons.
Departmental Conferences
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department’s annual budget for conferences was on (a) 7 May 2010 and (b) 7 December 2010. [29964]
Mr Davey: This Department’s annual administration budget for conferences was £741,000 on 7 May and £773,000 on 7 December. The current total annual forecast is for expenditure of £691,000.
Departmental Equality
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what methodology he is using for the equality impact assessment of decisions on his Department's expenditure over the Spending Review period; and what measures are in place to ensure that the allocations from his Department's science budget comply with the duty to promote equality provided by the Equality Act 2010. [30143]
Mr Willetts: To assess the equality impacts of BIS expenditure decisions over the spending review period, analysis of likely effects is to be based on the best mix of both hard numbers and more qualitative information. This will feed into the wider cost-benefit appraisal of policy decisions.
Where we believe that funding changes have negative equality impacts we will seek to mitigate these as far as possible within the policy delivery.
Even if we believe that funding changes will have no equality impacts we will anyway review these areas at regular intervals and, should negative effects come to light, appropriately assess and seek to mitigate these.
Following completion of the detailed work on the science and research budget allocations, we will work with partner bodies to ensure that we meet the requirements of all equality and diversity legislation.