Pupils: Assessments
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) net and (b) average spend was of schools in the maintained sector on key stage 4 examinations in academic year (i) 1999-2000 and (ii) 2010-11; and what proportion of the total budget of such schools this represented in each year. [88772]
Mr Gibb: The following tables set out the gross and average spend of local authority maintained secondary and special schools on examination fees for 2010-11, and what proportion of the gross expenditure of such schools this represents:
| Secondary schools | |||
| Spend (£) | Number of schools | Average school spend (£) | Percentage of gross expenditure spent on examination fees |
| Special schools | |||
| Spend (£) | Number of schools | Average school spend (£) | Percentage of gross expenditure spent on examination fees |
| Notes: 1. Figures are taken from data provided by schools in the Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) collection. 2. Numbers of schools used to calculate the average spend are taken from the January 2011 School Census. This relates to the January in the second part of the financial year. No weighting has been applied to the figures. 3. Figures supplied on spend are gross figures only. | |||
The figures supplied cover spending on examination fees as outlined in the CFR guide and so only include: the costs of test and examination entry fees and any accreditation costs related to pupils, including GCSEs, A/AS Levels and administrative costs, e.g. external marking.
The figures cover all local authority maintained secondary and special schools. However, some of these schools will have incurred costs for other examinations. For example, those with sixth forms will have included costs for key stage 5 examination fees in their CFR returns. It is not possible to identify the costs for key stage 4 examination fees specifically from the data collected.
The Department did not collect figures on examination fees until 2002-03.
Pupils: Bullying
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will assess the recent research conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit on links between bullying and appearance. [87797]
Mr Gibb: Tackling poor behaviour in all its forms—including bullying—is a top priority for this Government. Schools need to work proactively to identify the driving issues behind prejudice among their pupils and put in place measures to prevent bullying and poor behaviour fuelled by peer pressure, as well as clear processes to respond to bullying when it does occur.
The Schools and Students Health Education Unit's (SHEU) report records statistics such as the number of young people who want to lose weight, who do not eat breakfast, and who eat fewer than five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Although none of these issues is necessarily directly linked to bullying or the fear of being bullied, the research summary says that up to 22% of 10 to 11-year-olds report being picked on for the way they look. No child should feel victimised because of their appearance, or for any other reason, and where bullying occurs, schools must have robust procedures in place to respond to it quickly and effectively.
Reading: Primary Education
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers he expects to undertake training in the reading recovery intervention in 2011-12. [86712]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 15 December 2011]: There are currently 88 reading recovery teachers in training. The number of teachers undertaking training in 2012 has not yet been confirmed.
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial support his Department is providing to the national co-ordination of the reading recovery intervention. [86716]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 15 December 2011]: We are providing a modest amount of funding to support management costs for Every Child a Reader, which has reading recovery at its core. We anticipate that this will be on a sliding scale until 2014. After this period, we have stated that the programme will operate on a demand-led basis.
Residential Schools: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people ordinarily resident in Scotland have been accommodated in specialist educational facilities in England in each of the last five years. [88154]
Tim Loughton: The information is not held centrally by the Department.
The annual SSDA903 return collects information on children looked after by local authorities in England. Information is not collected on children looked after by Scottish local authorities; these data are collected by the
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Scottish Government. These data collections are based on the local authority which is responsible for the child irrespective of the country of the child's placement.
Some of the Scottish children in English educational facilities will be placed for education purposes, rather than be looked after and any information we hold about "ordinary residence" will be based on English law.
School Meals: Academies
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps he plans to take in cases where academy schools do not meet the nutritional guidelines for school meals followed by local authority schools; [85996]
(2) what assessment he has made of the quality of the school food provided to pupils in free schools; [85997]
(3) when he expects the School Food Trust to deliver its report on school food in academy schools; and when he plans to publish the report; [85998]
(4) what assessment he has made of the changes in school food provision in schools which have converted to academy status since May 2010. [86003]
Sarah Teather: We are confident that academies will recognise the importance of good nutrition to children's learning and will wish to provide healthy school food for their pupils. Where parents are not satisfied that they do so, they may complain through the normal complaints procedure which is publicised locally. Schools which have converted to become academies will already have been providing healthy, balanced meals that meet the current standards. I have no reason to believe that they would stop doing so on conversion. The Department is not aware of any evidence suggesting that academies provide meals that are less nutritious than those provided in maintained schools.
The Department has not yet made an assessment of the quality of the food provided to pupils in free schools. In order to assess the changes in school food provision in schools which have converted to academy status, the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has asked the School Food Trust to undertake a qualitative study to look at
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the approach taken by academies to providing healthy school food. This will occur in January and February 2012, with the results expected to be published in spring 2012.
Schools: Admissions
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for each local authority area, what proportion of places at maintained primary schools are at (a) non-denominational schools, (b) Church of England schools, (c) Catholic schools, (d) other Christian denomination schools, (e) Jewish schools, (f) Muslim schools and (g) any other denominational or faith schools. [75365]
Mr Gibb: I would draw my hon. Friend's attention to Table 10g of the Statistical First Release: Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011, which is available on the Department for Education's website. This was originally published on 22 June 2011, with an updated release published on 16 August 2011. This table has been enhanced by including an additional column “proportion of pupils”.
The original full Statistical First Release can be found at “DfE: Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011”.
Schools: Expenditure
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of average expenditure by schools on text books and other teaching material; and what assessment he has made of (a) recent and (b) long-term trends in such expenditure. [88183]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not collect expenditure on text books and teaching materials specifically, but through the Section 251 Outturn data collection, we can identify the amount spent on educational resources (non-ICT equipment), which includes expenditure on text books and teaching materials. The following table shows the expenditure for three sectors of local authority maintained schools: primary, secondary and special and their respective levels of spend from 2003-04 to 2010-11.
| Primary schools | Secondary schools | Special schools | |||||||
| Schools (No) | Spend on educational resources (£) | Average school spend (£) | Schools (No) | Spend on educational resources (£) | Average school spend (£) | Schools (No) | Spend on educational resources (£) | Average school spend (£) | |
| Notes 1. Figures for 2002-03 to 2009-10 are taken from data provided by LAs in the s251 Outturn collection. The scope of this collection covers LA ‘maintained’ primary, secondary and special schools. 2. Figures for 2010-11 are taken from data provided by schools in the Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) collection. The figures include data from LA ‘maintained’ primary, secondary and special schools. 3. Number of schools used to calculate the average spend are taken from the January school census. This relates to the January in the second part of the financial year. No weighting has been applied to the figures. 4. Figures supplied on spend are gross figures only. | |||||||||
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The figures supplied cover spending on learning resources (non-ICT equipment) as outlined in the Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) guide and so include:
achievement gifts and prizes awarded to pupils,
books (library and text books),
charges for the school library,
classroom and learning equipment (excluding ICT equipment),
curriculum transport, including minibus expenses such as maintenance, tax, fuel (excludes insurance),
furniture used for teaching purposes,
pupil travel for work experience placements,
purchase, lease, hire or maintenance contracts of audio-visual or other equipment used for teaching,
reprographic resources and equipment used specifically for teaching purposes,
school trips and educational visits,
servicing and repairs to musical instruments and PE equipment used as part of the curriculum,
subscriptions, publications, periodicals and copyright fees associated with the curriculum,
teaching materials,
television licence fees used for teaching purposes,
payments to alternative provision services, including pupil referral units (PRUs), non-maintained special schools (NMSS) and independent schools,
primary school PIP exam costs.
It is not possible to identify the costs for text books and other teaching material specifically from the data collected.
The expenditure figures for 2010-11 are taken from the Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) collection because the Section 251 data (S251) is still undergoing final data cleaning. The CFR is a school-based expenditure data collection whereas the S251 is a return made by local authorities on all its maintained schools but includes the same CFR codes.
Schools: Olympic Games 2012
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what correspondence his Department has issued to (a) the Scottish Government, (b) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, (c) Scottish colleges and (d) local authorities in Scotland on the operation in Scotland of the Get Set networks for schools. [88116]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has responsibility for schools in England. Scottish schools are the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has developed the official London 2012 Get Set education programme, which is free for schools and colleges to join. LOCOG has contacted all eligible schools across Scotland regularly since the programme was launched in 2008. This contact has increased over the last few months to promote applications for the Get Set network, the reward and recognition programme for schools that embrace Olympic/Paralympic values in their activity.
LOCOG has worked closely with the Scottish Government and Learning Teaching Scotland to promote the scheme. LOCOG has written to all Scottish local education authorities, and spoken at numerous key
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Scottish education conferences and events including the Scottish Learning Festival. I have recently written to all MPs across Scotland to encourage schools to sign up.
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools (a) in each local authority area in Scotland and (b) in Glasgow North constituency have joined his Department's Get Set network. [88117]
Tim Loughton: The Get Set programme, and the Get Set Network, are not run by the Department for Education, but by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). LOCOG publishes data on schools and colleges that have signed up both to the Get Set programme and Get Set network at:
www.london2012.com/getset
This is updated each week, and includes schools and colleges across Scotland and in each local authority, as well as listing individual schools and colleges. The scheme does not operate on a political constituency basis.
Schools: Sports
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps the Government are taking to improve the provision of sport within schools in Coventry. [87648]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 20 December 2011]: As part of the review of the national curriculum, Physical Education (PE) will remain compulsory for all pupils aged 5 to 16 across the country. The revised programme of study for PE will have a greater focus on competitive sport than previously.
All secondary schools in England with at least 20 secondary aged pupils, including 27 schools in Coventry, will receive £7,600 each year in 2011/12 and 2012/13 to release a PE teacher from timetable for one day every week. This teacher will work with local schools, including primary schools, to increase opportunities in competitive sport within and between schools.
In addition, the Department of Health and Sport England are funding 450 School Games Organiser posts across the country. These organisers work for three days a week and they will encourage greater take-up of the School Games and increase opportunities in competitive sport within and between schools. There are two School Games Organisers covering schools in Coventry.
Schools: Standards
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education following his decision to prioritise funding for pre-16 education and to re-distribute resources to areas of deprivation, how he will ensure standards are maintained in existing high quality post-16 education providers. [87761]
Mr Gibb: We are making record amounts of funding available for 16-to-19 education—over £7.5 billion in 2012-13. This is on top of a significant increase in 16-to-19 funding in recent years.
We want young people to reach the end of key stage 4 with the skills and knowledge that enable them to progress to more advanced education or training and equip them to compete in the labour market. The best
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determinant of achievement post-16 is achievement pre-16. That is why we have prioritised funding on pre-16.
We have made unit cost reductions in post-16 education and training in two ways:
by bringing the school funding rate down to that of colleges; and
by reducing funding for enrichment activities.
We are protecting the main education programmes post-16 and young people can be funded for a programme of 4.5 A-levels or their equivalent, if they are able to undertake such a programme—and this position has not changed. We have also protected, as far as possible, funding for tutorial provision.
Schools: Transport
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received on withdrawals of discretionary school transport subsidies by local authorities. [87337]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 19 December 2011]: Department for Education officials have received a number of informal notifications regarding local decisions or plans to withdraw funding for discretionary transport and the issue has been raised in the margins of other discussions with Ministers. To date, there has been no formal requests for Ministers to take any further action.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what estimate he has made of the total expenditure by his Department on discretionary school transport subsidies in each of the last three years for which figures are available; [87451]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of children who have benefited from discretionary subsidies for home to school transport in the last three years for which figures are available. [87507]
Tim Loughton: [holding answer 19 December 2011]: Funding for home to school transport is provided by a combination of Revenue Support Grant paid via the Department for Communities and Local Government and locally collected taxes. Local authorities provide forecast and outturn data (which includes an element of home to school transport) through section 251 statements. The data, for home to school transport purposes, are split between mainstream, SEN and post-16 data but do not sub-divide to individual types of school transport. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), allocated £85 million to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duty in respect of extended rights to travel for 2011-12 and 2012-13.
We do not collect data from local authorities on the numbers of children in receipt of discretionary transport as it is for local authorities to use their discretionary power in deciding whether transport for a child not eligible for free transport is appropriate. Nor does the Department collect data on the numbers of representations received on individual areas of home to school transport.
Daniel Kawczynski:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding he plans to provide for students in sparsely populated rural areas to meet
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additional transport costs; and if he will refer to higher unit costs in scale and technologies required to educate learners in his report following completion of his 16-to- 19 funding consultation. [87696]
Mr Gibb: Local authorities have a duty to publish a statement each year that sets out the travel arrangements they consider necessary to enable young people of sixth form age to attend post-16 education.
The £180 million 16-19 Bursary Fund, which sits alongside the local authority duty, has the flexibility to help students to meet individual transport costs.
The recent consultation on the 16-19 funding formula review included options to simplify the system of weightings for programme funding without losing the principle that funding should reflect the cost of programmes that are more expensive to provide. The 16-to-19 participation budget does not cover transport costs and that will not change as a result of introducing a new 16-to-19 funding formula.
Teachers
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many new teachers in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools he expects to retire in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014. [86732]
Mr Gibb: The following table provides the headcount of regular teachers in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools by ages 51 to 59 and 60+ in service in publicly funded schools in England, November 2010. These figures show the total number of teachers who may be eligible to retire in the near future at the normal retirement age or by following processes for early retirement. It is not possible to identify which of these teachers are new teachers.
| Headcount of all regular qualified and unqualified teachers in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools and age (1) . Year: November 2010. Coverage: England | |||
| Age (2) | Nursery and primary | Secondary | Total nursery/primary and secondary schools |
| (1) Includes all full- and part-time teachers with a contract of 28 days or more on the census date, November 2010. (2) Age on the census date, November 2010. Source: School Workforce Census | |||
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Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers were (a) suspended from schools as a result of allegations by pupils and (b) subsequently permanently removed from their position in each of the last 10 years. [87070]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 19 December 2011]: The Department does not hold records of school level disciplinary action (including suspensions and sackings).
The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) currently administers the regulatory system for teachers who have been dismissed by their schools for reasons of incompetence or misconduct. From 2001 to the present day a total of 208 teachers have been suspended by the GTCE due to misconduct and 14 for incompetence. It is not possible to ascertain from GTCE records whether those suspended from teaching were suspended as a result of allegations from pupils.
Figures for each year are set out in the following table.
| Number of teachers suspended by the GTCE since 2001 | |
| Total | |
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| Source: General Teaching Council for England | |
Teachers: Qualifications
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people undertook a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course in England in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of them went on to jobs teaching in England. [87113]
Mr Gibb: In the 2009/10 academic year, 22,410 trainees undertook the final year of a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course in England. Six months after the course ended 81% were known to be employed in a teaching post in England.
By sector, this 81% was comprised of 70% known to be employed in a teaching post in the maintained school sector; 6% known to be in a teaching post in the non-maintained sector and 5% where the sector was not known.
Teachers: Scholarships
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers were awarded funding from the National Scholarship Fund for Teachers in (a) the south-east, (b) Berkshire, (c) Reading and (d) Reading West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the value was of such funding. [87236]
Mr Gibb: The £2 million National Scholarship Fund for teachers was set up to help existing teachers in England develop their skills and to help them deepen their subject knowledge. The first round of successful bids was announced on 12 December 2011.
The number of teachers awarded scholarships and the total value of these awards in each constituency was:
| Applicants | £ | |
There were no successful applicants who live in Reading West.
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Women's Rights: Curriculum
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the provision of teaching of women's rights and gender equality in the national curriculum. [84256]
Mr Gibb: No assessment has been made of the provision of teaching of women's rights and gender equality in the national curriculum. These topics can be taught as part of citizenship education, which is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum in secondary schools. They can also be taught as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, which is non-statutory.
We are currently conducting reviews of the National Curriculum and of PSHE. The national curriculum review aims to reduce prescription and focuses on the essential knowledge that all children should acquire. The internal review of PSHE education will determine the core content and how to improve the quality of all PSHE teaching. Beyond that, it should be for individual schools to design a whole school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.
Young People: Sports
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to increase opportunities for young people in Coventry aged (a) seven to 12 and (b) 13 to 18 years old to play sport. [87647]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 20 December 2011]: As part of the review of the national curriculum, physical education (PE) will remain compulsory for all pupils aged five to 16 across the country. The revised programme of study for PE will have a greater focus on competitive sport than previously.
In addition, all secondary schools in England with at least 20 secondary aged pupils, including 27 schools in Coventry, will receive £7,600 each year in 2011/12 and 2012/13 to release a PE teacher from timetable for one day every week. This teacher will work with local schools, including primary schools, to increase opportunities in competitive sport within and between schools.
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Young People: Training
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria will be used to determine eligibility for the proposed fund to increase the participation of young people in education, training and work. [87735]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 20 December 2011]: On 25 November 2011, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a new Youth Contract worth almost £1 billion over the next three years. As part of this, we will invest £126 million in England to put in place a new programme of support to help vulnerable 16 to 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.
This programme will focus on disadvantaged young people who are more likely to face multiple challenges, which might include having low qualifications, a history of truancy or having been excluded from school.
We are currently developing the detail of this programme, including the target group, and will publish further information in due course.
Young People: Unemployment
Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which organisation he proposes will be responsible for (a) collecting and (b) monitoring information on the number of young people not in education, employment or training from 2012. [86164]
Tim Loughton: Estimates of the number of 16 to 18- year-olds in England who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) are published annually in June by the Department for Education in the statistical first release “Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16 to 18-year-olds in England”. Quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds and 16 to 24-year-olds, NEET in England are published by the Department in the statistical release “NEET Quarterly Brief”.
Local authorities are responsible for tracking young people's participation in education, training and employment and for recording this information for 16 to 19-year-olds resident in their authority. This forms a part of their statutory duty to encourage, enable and assist young people's participation in education or training.
The Department will continue to publish the information that local authorities collect, enabling local people to hold services to account.
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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Cabinet Office
Charity Commission: Public Appointments
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to appoint a new Chairman of the Charity Commission. [89059]
Mr Hurd: The current Chair of the Charity Commission's term of office is due to end on 31 July 2012. The recruitment of a successor will begin shortly. As a public appointment, the recruitment process will be conducted in line with the requirements of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Redundancy Pay
Mr Thomas:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was paid in lump sums from the Civil
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Service Compensation Scheme in
(a)
2009-10 and
(b)
2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [87138]
Mr Maude [holding answer 19 December 2011]: Lump sums payable under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme are recorded in the Notes to the Resource Accounts for Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation (which are available in the Library). The resource accounts for 2010-11 will be published in early 2012. The figure for lump sums payable includes any additional pension lump sums payable as a result of exits under the former compensation scheme terms.
Deloitte
John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, columns 537-8W, on Government departments: Deloitte, what the (a) net value and (b) individual value was of each of the Government contracts awarded to (i) Deloitte and (ii) associates of Deloitte since May 2010. [85945] [Official Report, 17 January 2012, Vol. 538, c. 1MC.]
Mr Maude: The following table summarises contracts that are listed on Contract Finder. The total potential value of these contracts exceeds £1.47 billion; actual net value will depend on usage, particularly of framework agreements. Further information is held by individual Departments.
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|
Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services(2) |
|||
| (1) No data (2) Framework agreements rather than individual contracts. | |||
Civil Proceedings
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which organisations that have received funding from his Department have brought legal proceedings against his Department in the last five years; which such organisations were not successful in their actions; and whether his Department (a) applied and (b) was paid for costs in respect of such cases. [83881]
Mr Maude: The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Judicial Review
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what applications for judicial review have been made against his Department (a) in the last Parliament and (b) since May 2010; whether each such application (i) succeeded, (ii) failed and (iii) remains pending; what legal costs were incurred by his Department for each such application; in each failed application whether he applied for costs against the applicant and whether they were (A) awarded and (B) paid; whether his Department (1) paid for and (2) offered to pay for the legal costs incurred by each such applicant; and what the total cost to the public purse was of payment of the legal costs for each such applicant. [80707]
Mr Maude: During the relevant period, Treasury Solicitors has moved from paper to electronic record keeping. Records indicate that during the relevant time period, there have been 13 judicial review cases against the Cabinet Office recorded on the electronic system and nine using the older recorded paper filing system.
The additional information requested on cases held using the older paper filing system could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The following information is provided in relation to the 13 applications for judicial review mentioned above. These 13 cases are comprised of:
three cases where judicial review was threatened, but not subsequently pursued,
one case was withdrawn,
five applications against the Department were unsuccessful,
two applications against the Department were successful,
one case was settled,
two cases are either pending or awaiting an appeal (this includes one unsuccessful application which is being appealed).
The legal cost incurred for each, to date, for the Cabinet Office is shown in the following table. (Fee notes are outstanding in many of these cases, the figures do not include estimates for accruals, and in many cases the legal costs were split between several Departments, as the case had multiple defendants. The figure given is for the Cabinet Office share of the costs where known.)
| £ | |
Costs were applied for in all five of the unsuccessful applications, and were awarded in total or in part for all five.
Costs were ordered against the Department in respect of the two successful applications.
Departmental Manpower
Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many people were working in his Department on (a) 11 May 2010 and (b) 8 December 2011; [87355]
(2) how many people were working at No. 10 Downing street on (a) 11 May 2010 and (b) 8 December 2011. [87356]
Mr Maude: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and is included in the figures for the Cabinet Office.
Our records report upon the position at the end of any given month and, on that basis, the number of staff working in my Department is shown in the following table.
| Cabinet Office total | Prime Minister’s Office | |
The rise in total headcount for the Cabinet Office should be set in the context of machinery of government changes that took place during the intervening period resulting in the transfer of 1,187 additional staff from other Government Departments into the Department.
Departmental Temporary Employment
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many temporary staff have been recruited to his Department between September and November 2011. [87965]
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Mr Maude: Cabinet Office recruited 25 temporary employees during the period 1 September to 30 November 2011 of which 10 were graduate interns and five were apprentices.
Disadvantaged
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what representations his Department received from voluntary and community organisations on social exclusion. [88758]
Mr Hurd: I receive numerous representations from voluntary and community organisations that cover a wide range of topics. The information sought is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he had with external organisations on social inequality between June and December 2011; and with which organisations any such discussions took place. [88778]
Mr Hurd: I meet with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss different policy priorities, including relating to social inequalities.
The latest details available of meetings between Ministers and external organisations are on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations-april-june
Electoral Register
Ms Buck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of the eligible population was registered for voting purposes in each English local authority in 2005-06; and what the percentage change in registration was between 2005-06 and 2010-11. [88349]
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 December 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of the eligible population was registered for voting purposes in each English local authority in 2005-06; and what the percentage change in registration was between 2005-06 and 2010 (88349).
The table shows the number of people aged 18 and over who were registered to vote in local government elections as a percentage of the estimated resident population aged 18 and over for each local authority in England in 2006 and 2010. The percentage change between these two time points is also given. Copies of the table have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
The estimated resident population aged 18 and over is the closest available approximation of the population eligible to vote in each English local authority. However, these figures should not be interpreted as the electoral registration rate as the population eligible to vote excludes foreign citizens (from outside the British Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland and European Union) resident within the UK.
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In addition, figures for the registered electorate may be inflated because people who have more than one address may register in more than one place (e.g. students may register at parental and term-time addresses) and electoral registration officers vary in how quickly they remove people from the registers after they have moved away from an area or died. This may lead to percentages of over one hundred per cent and can affect the comparability of figures across local authorities.
Ms Buck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of eligible households were registered for voting purposes in each English parliamentary constituency in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010. [88350]
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 December 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of eligible households were registered for voting purposes in each English parliamentary constituency in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010 (88350).
ONS does not have the data required to answer your question. To calculate the requested proportion, both the number of households registered to vote and the number of households eligible to vote are required by parliamentary constituency.
ONS collect data on the number of individuals who are registered to vote in each English parliamentary constituency, but no data are collected on the number of households registered to vote.
The Department for Communities and Local Government produce projections of the number of households at local authority level but these are not available by parliamentary constituency as they are based on the ONS subnational population projections which are only available down to local authority level. Furthermore, any estimate of the number of households could only provide an approximation for the number of, households who are eligible to vote as some households where no one is eligible to vote will be included.
Employment: Private Sector
Phil Wilson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the net change in the number of private sector jobs was in each region in the third quarter of 2011. [87951]
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 December 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the net change in the number of private sector jobs was in each region in the third quarter of 2011 (87951).
The table below contains the non-seasonally adjusted quarterly growth in private sector jobs between Q2 and Q3 2011. These figures are derived using total employment for each region and official regional public sector employment data.
| Private sector employment quarterly change by region 2011 Q2 to 2011 Q3 | |
| Thousands | |
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| Notes: 1. Derived from LFS total regional employment estimates and public sector employment 2. Based on non-seasonally adjusted data. 3. Rounded to the nearest thousand. Source: Business Statistics Division, ONS | |
Food: Prices
Laura Sandys: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the proportion of November 2011's inflation rate which can be attributed to the rising cost of food. [88327]
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 December 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the proportion of November 2011's inflation rate which can be attributed to the rising cost of food (88327).
The consumer prices index (CPI) 12-month rate stands at 4.8 per cent for November. Food, excluding non-alcoholic beverages, contributed 0.37 percentage points or around 8 per cent of this total.
You may be interested to know that this data is available for high level series in table 11 of the detailed briefing tables on our website. The tables for November can be found at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cpi/consumer-price-indices/november-2011/consumer-price-indices--detailed-briefing-note.pdf
Job Creation: Private Sector
Frank Dobson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many of the additional jobs in the private sector in 2010-11 were transfers from the public sector; and what the equivalent figure is for 2011 to date. [87521]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many of the additional jobs in the private sector in 2010-11 were transfers from the public sector; and what the equivalent figure is for 2011 to date (87521).
Estimates of labour market flows, that is, the measurement of people moving between different labour force categories, are derived from Labour Force Survey (LFS) longitudinal datasets.
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Unfortunately estimates of flows between sectors are not sufficiently reliable for measuring the number of people moving from the public sector into the private sector.
Public Sector: Females
Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2011, Official Report, column 760W, on private and public sector: females, how many women who work in the public sector in Wales earn (a) below and (b) above £21,000; and how many women who earn above £21,000 have reached the top of their pay band. [87803]
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 3 January 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question which was pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2011, Official Report, column 760W, on private and public sector: females, how many women who work in the public sector in Wales earn (a) below and (b) above £21,000; and how many women who earn above £21,000 have reached the top of their pay band. (87803)
Annual levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay who have been in the same job for more than a year. ASHE methodology cannot be used to provide estimates of the numbers of employees whose earnings is less than a specific amount, but can be used to provide estimates of percentage of employees in that category.
In April 2011, 58 per cent of all female employees working in the public sector in Wales earned less than £21,000 and 42 per cent earned above £21,000.
ONS does not collect data on employees that have reached the top of their pay band.
Public Sector: Morale
Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the level of morale among public sector workers. [88718]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office does not collect information on the level of morale among all public sector workers.
The Cabinet Office carries out an annual survey of staff attitudes across the civil service. The high-level results of the 2011 Civil Service People Survey were published on the civil service website on 23rd November 2011:
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/improving/employee-engagement-in-the-civil-service/people-survey-2011
Public Sector: Pensions
Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to meet representatives of public sector staff to discuss proposed changes to their pensions. [86056]
Mr Maude: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), and I have been jointly leading discussions with a TUC delegation, as representatives of public sectors workers, since February 2011.
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I refer the hon. Member to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s statement to the House on 20 December 2011, Official Report, columns 1201-17, regarding 2011 the conclusion of public sector pension talks.
Public Sector: Procurement
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to review the level of private sector involvement in the procurement of public services; and if he will make a statement. [88775]
Mr Maude: The Government are committed to implementing best practice throughout public sector procurement. To that end, I recently announced a package of measures that will change how Government buys from the private sector, to support business and promote growth.
In implementing these measures, we will provide an open door for current and future suppliers to discuss upcoming procurement opportunities; we will publish rolling medium-term pipelines of procurement opportunities (pipelines for ICT, facilities management, construction and infrastructure are already online); and we will work with industry to identify and address any key capabilities needed to meet future demand.
In addition, we have implemented a two-way commercial interchange pilot programme with industry to bring private sector expertise into government and interchange with our procurers who will benefit from experience of private sector best practices.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish information on how his Department intends to break down public service procurement contracts into smaller contracts and ensure that voluntary and community organisations benefit from any such activity. [88776]
Mr Maude: The decision to break up contracts into lots has to be taken on a case by case basis. In this respect, the Cabinet Office will work with Departments to look at their future contract pipelines to see what can or should be broken down.
From January 2012 Departments will be introducing lean procurement techniques to both speed up Government procurement and drive greater value. This will include greater focus on pre-procurement activities including looking at opportunities to break contracts down to ensure that SMEs, and voluntary and community organisations can compete for more Government contracts.
Public Sector: Stress
Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment has been made of the rates of (a) stress, (b) depression and (c) anxiety disorders among public sector workers. [88708]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office does not collect the information requested for the public sector. With regard to the civil service, this is a matter which is delegated to individual Departments to determine.
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Public Sector: Trade Unions
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 272W, on public sector: trade union officials, when he expects the consultation to commence; whether the consultation will be open to the general public; when he expects to publish his recommendations for change to be included in the consultation document; and when he expects a new framework for facility time to be implemented. [86325]
Mr Maude: The Government intend to commence consultation in the new year with civil service trade unions on facility time.
Third Sector
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what visits (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department made to voluntary and community organisations in each month between June and December 2011. [88785]
Mr Hurd: As the Minister for Civil Society, I frequently visit voluntary and community sector organisations across all regions of the country. I also host regular meetings with various organisations as well as continuing the practice of inviting all MPs to bring local voluntary sector organisations to the Cabinet Office for meetings. Between June and December, I have visited over 35 such organisations in the UK.
The latest details of meetings between Cabinet Office Ministers and external organisations are available on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations-april-june
Trade Unions
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what meetings he had with representatives of trades unions in 2011. [87544]
Mr Maude: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations
Voluntary Work: Young People
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the proportion of young people eligible to take part in National Citizen Service pilots who have taken part in such pilots; and if he will make a statement. [87957]
Mr Hurd: Approximately 8,400 young people took part In the first National Citizen Service pilots in 2011. In August 2011 there were an estimated 619,000 16-year-olds in England. In 2012, there will be 30,000 places on National Citizen Service and in 2013 there will be 60,000 places. The Government are committed to expanding the number of places available every year in order for an increasing proportion of 16-year-olds to be able to take part in National Citizen Service.
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Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of young people from hard-to-reach families eligible to take part in National Citizen Service pilots that have taken part in such pilots. [87958]
Mr Hurd: Officials are currently working with the independent evaluation team to compile data on the numbers, profile and background of young people taking part in NCS in 2011. This information will be published as part of the independent research findings in February 2012.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the (a) socio-economic background, (b) gender and (c) region of residence of participants in the National Citizen Service; if he will publish the results of that assessment; and if he will make a statement. [87959]
Mr Hurd: Officials are currently compiling data on the numbers, profile and background of young people taking part in NCS in 2011. This information will be published as part of the independent research findings in February 2012.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the (a) social and (b) ethnic backgrounds of those who participated in the National Citizen Service in 2011. [88768]
Mr Hurd: Officials are currently compiling data on the numbers, profile and background of young people taking part in NCS in 2011. This information will be published as part of the independent research findings in February 2012.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has any plans to encourage representatives from voluntary and community organisations to visit schools and further education colleges to raise awareness of volunteering amongst students. [88782]
Mr Hurd: Promoting social action amongst all age groups, including volunteering, is a key part of the Government's vision for the big society.
The Giving White Paper, published in May 2011, outlined a number of measures that will support the creation of a culture of giving both time and money among all age groups. These include over £40 million of funding over the next two years to support volunteering, giving and volunteering infrastructure by way of the Social Action Fund, Challenge Prizes and Local Infrastructure Fund. Furthermore there is £1 million to support Youthnet which runs the volunteering website:
www.do-it.org.uk
Through National Citizen Service we are providing support to young people to participate in .a programme of personal and social development culminating in a social action project which they design and deliver in their local area. This rewarding experience has awakened in many an interest in contributing to the life of their community through voluntary activity. Schools also encourage their pupils to participate in activities in and out of school, as part
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of their own development and engagement with the community but it is for them to decide which organisations they wish to work with.
The Department is also continuing to provide core funding to the Citizenship Foundation to enable it to continue its work to help build a culture of giving in schools through its Go-Givers programme, for primary age school children, and Giving Nation Challenge programme aimed at secondary schools.
Wales
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many posts in Wales in departments which are the responsibility of the UK Government there were on 5 May (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and what estimate he has made of the number of such posts in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014. [88440]
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 January 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many posts in Wales, in departments which are the responsibility of the UK Government, there were on 5 May (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and what estimate he has made of the number of such posts in (i) 2012, (ii) 2013 and (iii) 2014. 88440
Estimates of regional Civil Service employment are published annually by the Office for National Statistics on the National Statistics website. The data available refer to the survey reference dates as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011.
The number of people employed in Wales by home Civil Service departments, excluding Welsh Government and Estyn, was 29,254 in 2010 and 27,581 in 2011.
The Office for National Statistics is unable to provide forecasts for future years.
Justice
Chief Coroner
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the public purse per annum of the post of Chief Coroner. [87857]
Mr Djanogly: We are still in discussions with the judiciary about the implementation of the office, including whether the Chief Coroner will be a High Court judge or a Circuit judge and what support he or she will require, which will determine the annual running costs.
Bail and Accommodation Support Service: Thanet
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has let any contracts for (a) approved premises and (b) bail accommodation and support services for the re-homing of ex-offenders in Thanet. [88519]
Mr Blunt: The information is as follows:
(a) I can confirm that there are no approved premises in Thanet.
(b) The contract for the bail accommodation and support service is a national contract. I can confirm that there is no property for this service available in my hon. Friend’s constituency.
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Contempt of Court: Non-Molestation Orders
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what arrangements his Department makes to record the numbers of (a) convictions, (b) prosecutions and (c) arrests for an offence of contempt of court where the offence related to a breach of the terms of a non-molestation injunction order; [88133]
(2) how many (a) convictions and (b) prosecutions for offences of contempt of court where the offence related to a breach of the terms of a non-molestation injunction order there were in each year since 2001; [88138]
(3) how many (a) convictions and (b) prosecutions for breach of a non-molestation injunction order there were in each year since 2005. [88139]
Mr Blunt: Information on proceedings and findings of guilt are routinely collected by the individual magistrates courts and the Crown court. This information is then collated centrally to provide an overall picture for England and Wales. However, as in the answer I previously gave on 16 November 2010, Official Report, column 669W, there were issues in the central recording of offences resulting from a breach of a previously imposed court order. These issues have now been resolved allowing information on prosecutions and convictions for breach of a non-molestation order to be collated from 2009 onwards.
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The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. From these centrally reported categories it is not possible to separately identify offences relating to breaches of non-molestation orders. Offences of contempt of court are summary offences and do not form part of the arrests collection.
There are currently no plans to record the number of arrests for breaches of the terms of non-molestation orders.
The offence of breaching a non-molestation order under section 42A of the Family Law Act 1996 as added by section 1 of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 states: sub-section (3) where a person is convicted of an offence under this section in respect of any conduct, that conduct is not punishable as a contempt of court; and (4) a person cannot be convicted of an offence under this section in respect of any conduct which has been punished as a contempt of court.
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for breach of a non-molestation order in England and Wales in 2009 and 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.
| Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for breach of a non-molestation order (1) , England and Wales, 2009 and 2010 (2,) () (3) | ||
| Proceeded against | Found guilty (5) | |
| (1) Includes offences under Family Law Act 1996, S.42A as added by Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, s.1. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Following publication of Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 2009 data have been revised. (5) Persons found guilty in a given year may exceed those proceeded against as a defendant may be prosecuted for a different offence at the magistrates court from that which they are later found guilty of at the Crown court. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | ||
Co-operatives
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps (a) his Department and (b) those bodies for which his Department is responsible are taking to mark UN Year of Co-operatives 2012; and if he will make a statement. [88600]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The Ministry of Justice will work closely with Cabinet Office, the Mutuals Taskforce and Co-operatives UK to develop and celebrate the achievements of co-operative organisations during the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.
The Mutuals Taskforce recently indicated it will play a co-ordinating role for Government Departments to support the International Year of Co-operatives, with Co-operatives UK leading the taskforce’s work in this area. The National Offender Management Service is working with Co-operatives UK on the support of mutuals and has had regular meetings with the Mutuals Taskforce, including the chair and vice chair.
The Ministry of Justice is actively exploring opportunities to encourage public service mutuals across its services.
Courts
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of trial outcomes were (a) effective, (b) ineffective and (c) cracked in each year from 1997 to 2010. [87925]
Mr Djanogly: Table 1 provides the percentage of all listed trials that were recorded as either “cracked”, “ineffective” or “effective” for each year from 2003 to 2010 for the magistrates courts. Table 2 provides the same statistics for the Crown court from 1997 to 2010. Data prior to 2003 were not recorded for the magistrates courts and are therefore not available.
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| Table 1. The magistrates court | |||||||
| Proportion of listed trials which were “ineffective”, “cracked” or “effective”, England and Wales, 2003 to 2010 | |||||||
| Ineffective trials | Ineffective trial rate | Cracked trials | Cracked trial rate | Effective trials | Effective trial rate | ||
| Total listings for trial | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Note: Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding and those that would round to 0% have been given to one decimal place. Source: Cracked and ineffective trials monitoring form. Business information Division, HM Courts and Tribunals Service HM Courts and Tribunals Service Performance Database (OPT) | |||||||
| Table 2. The Crown court | |||||||
| Proportion of listed trials which were “ineffective”, “cracked” or “effective”, England and Wales, 1997 to 2010 | |||||||
| Ineffective trials | Ineffective trial rate | Cracked trials | Cracked trial rate | Effective trials | Effective trial rate | ||
| Total listings for trial | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Note: Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding and those that would round to 0% have been given to one decimal place. Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service CREST system | |||||||
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the recommendation in the Civil Justice Council's recent report on Access to Justice by Litigants in Person that the Personal Support Unit network should be extended to more courts across England and Wales. [87940]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice is currently considering the Civil Justice Council's recent report and is also liaising with the council on how best to take forward its recommendations for dealing with litigants in person, including those relating to the Personal Support Unit.
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average unit cost of a sitting day in each court for which his Department is responsible in the latest period for which figures are available. [88344]
Mr Djanogly: Cost is not available by individual location but the average costs of a sitting day in the courts for which Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the year ended 31 March 2011 were as follows:
| £ | |
Costs comprise all judicial and administrative costs directly incurred by courts, including accommodation.
In addition HMCTS is responsible for the operation of the High Court and Court of Appeal comprising the Royal Courts of Justice. The management structure of the Royal Courts of Justice and the complexity of cases heard make it difficult to attribute costs to the specific divisions comprising the Court of Appeal and High Court. As a result HMCTS does not evaluate average costs for the divisions and an overall Royal Courts of Justice average is not considered meaningful.