GCSE
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) boys and (b) girls (i) of each ethnic group, (ii) who were eligible for free school meals, (iii) who were looked after, (iv) in each local authority, (v) in each ward and (vi) in each secondary school did not have a statement of special educational needs and did not achieve five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents in the latest year for which figures are available. [135319]
Elizabeth Truss: The tables providing national and local authority information for pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs and did not achieve five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents in 2011 have been placed in the House Libraries.
As requested national breakdowns have been provided for:
boys and girls
boys and girls of each ethnic group
boys and girls who were eligible for free school meals
boys and girls who were looked after
Local authority figures have been provided for boys and girls as requested.
To provide this information at ward and school level would introduce disproportionate cost.
A range of local area education statistics are published on the Department's ‘In Your Area' website which you may find helpful. Ward level data on GCSE and equivalent results can be found at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/inyourarea/results/nat_921_wards_3.shtml
The Secondary School Performance Tables provide a wide range of performance information about schools; this includes the percentage of pupils in each school achieving five or more A*-C grades including English and maths GCSEs (including GCSEs only, therefore excluding equivalents), this information for 2011 can be found on our website here:
http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/group.pl?gtype=NAT&superview=sec&view=aat&set=2&sor= &ord=&tab=52&no=999&pg=1
Human Trafficking
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the system of placing child victims of trafficking in local authority care. [138422]
Mr Timpson: Lone migrant children, including those who may have been trafficked, come into care, and then receive the full range of support and care that all looked- after children are entitled to. Local authorities must allocate each child a social worker to assess his or her needs and draw up a care plan which sets out how the authority intends to respond to the full range of the child's needs. This includes ensuring they have the necessary legal and other support they need, including access to health, education and appropriate and safe accommodation, whether through a foster care arrangement, children's home, or supported accommodation. They also have an Independent Reviewing Officer to oversee their care arrangements, as well as access to an advocate and an independent visitor.
Some local authorities are very effective in supporting these vulnerable young people, and others less so. We want all local authorities to come up to the standard of the best. The Government, with support from the Office of the Children's Commissioner, have commissioned a piece of work to examine the practical care arrangements for looked-after children who have or may have been trafficked. This will identify good practice as well as issues to be considered.
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Physical Education: Teachers
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much of the sum his Department has provided to fund secondary PE teachers for one day a week to work with local primary schools has been allocated to projects in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands, (c) Dudley Metropolitan Borough area and (d) Dudley North constituency in the (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13 academic year. [137777]
Mr Timpson: The sums of PE teacher release funding paid out to date are as follows:
| £ | ||
| Academic year | ||
| 2011/12 | 2012/13 | |
We do not have the figures separated out to constituency level.
The figures quoted for academic year 2012/13 represent payments made to date. The final payment to local authority maintained schools and academies for the summer term will be made shortly after the start of April 2013, which falls in the next financial year.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average number of hours of training is in physical education provided to trainee teachers annually; and what consideration he has given to increasing the provision of such training. [137779]
Mr Timpson: The Department does not collect data on the hours spent by trainee teachers on PE. We are still exploring a range of measures to improve school sport with other Government Departments, including initial teacher training in physical education, and will make an announcement shortly.
Pupil Exclusions
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils under the age of 16 of (a) white British, (b) black Caribbean, (c) black African, (d) Pakistani, (e) Indian, (f) Bangladeshi and (g) other ethnic group origin were excluded from school in each year from 1997 to 2012. [136493]
Elizabeth Truss: Information for the years 1996/97 to 1997/98 (permanent exclusions only) and 2007/08 to 2010/11 is shown in the following tables. To provide further information on exclusions for pupils of compulsory school age only would incur disproportionate cost.
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Information on exclusions for pupils of compulsory school and above for the years 1998/99 to 2006/07 is published in a number of statistical publications. This published information for fixed period exclusions relates to the number of exclusions and not the number of enrolments. Data on fixed period exclusions were collected for the first time in 2003/04.
Statistics of Education Schools in England 2000
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000192/index.shtml
(Table 52—permanent exclusions in 1998/99)
Statistics of Education Schools in England 2001
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000288/sie2001v2.pdf
(Table 50—permanent exclusions in 1999/2000)
Statistics of Education Schools in England 2002
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000359/sese2002.pdf
(Table 51—permanent exclusions in 2000/01)
Statistics of Education Schools in England 2003
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000417/index.shtml
(Table 54—permanent exclusions in 2001/02)
Statistics of Education Schools in England 2004
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000495/index.shtml
(Table 54b—permanent exclusions in 2002/03)
Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England 2003/04
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000582/index.shtml
(Table 7)
Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England 2004/05
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000662/index.shtml
(Table 7)
Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England 2005/06
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000733/index.shtml
(Tables 12 and 13)
Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2006/07—Amended
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000793/index.shtml
(Tables 15 and 16)
The latest published information on permanent and. fixed period exclusions is available in the ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2010/11' Statistical First Release at
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001080/index.shtml
| Maintained primary, maintained secondary and special schools(1, 2) | ||||
| Number of permanent exclusions by ethnic group for pupils aged five to fifteen(3, 4) | ||||
| 1996/97 to 1997/98—England | ||||
| 1996/97 | 1997/98 | |||
| No. of permanent exclusions(3, 5) | % of school population(6) | No. of permanent exclusions(3, )(7) | % of school population(6) | |
22 Jan 2013 : Column 197W
22 Jan 2013 : Column 198W
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. (3) Includes permanent exclusions from pupils aged 5 to 15 at the start of each academic year only. Pupils may be counted more than once if they moved schools during the year, or are registered at more than one school. (4) Ethnic group is as at the time of the January School Census each year. (5) Includes 27 permanent exclusions of pupils unclassified according to ethnic group. (6) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils aged 5 to 15 (excluding dually registered pupils) in each ethnic group as at January each year. (7 )Includes 6 permanent exclusions of pupils unclassified according to ethnic group. Note: Numbers may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census. | ||||
| State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1, 2, 3, 4) | |||||||||
| Number of pupil enrolments with one or more fixed period exclusions by ethnic group for pupils aged five to fifteen(5, 6) | |||||||||
| 2007/08 to 2010/11—England | |||||||||
| Pupil enrolments with one or more fixed period exclusion | |||||||||
| 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | ||||||
| No.(5) | % of school population(7) | No.(5) | % of school population(7) | No.(5) | % of school population(7) | No.(5) | % of school population(7) | ||
22 Jan 2013 : Column 199W
22 Jan 2013 : Column 200W
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all through academies). (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 at the start of each academic year only. Pupils may be counted more than once if they moved schools during the year, or are registered at more than one school. (6) Ethnic group is as at the time of the January School Census each year. (7) The number of pupil enrolments with one or more fixed period exclusion expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils aged 5 to 15 (excluding dually registered pupils) in each ethnic group as at January each year. (8) Includes pupils whose ethnic information was not sought or was refused or could not be determined. (9) Pupils who have been classified according to their ethnic group, excluding White British. Note: Numbers may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | |||||||||
| State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schoos(1, 2, 3, 4) | |||||||||
| Number of permanent exclusions by ethnic group for pupils aged five to fifteen(5, 6, 7) | |||||||||
| 2007/08 to 2010/11—England | |||||||||
| Permanent exclusions | |||||||||
| 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | ||||||
| No.(5) | % of school population(8) | No.(5) | % of school population(8) | No.(5) | % of school population(8) | No.(5) | % of school population(8) | ||
22 Jan 2013 : Column 201W
22 Jan 2013 : Column 202W
| x = Less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5 exclusions. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including all through academies). (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes permanent exclusions from pupils aged 5 to 15 at the start of each academic year only. Pupils may be counted more than once if they moved schools during the year, or are registered at more than one school. (6) Figures relating to permanent exclusions for the years 2007/08 to 2009/10 are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (7) Ethnic group is as at the time of the January School Census each year. (8) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils aged 5 to 15 (excluding dually registered pupils) in each ethnic group as at January each year. (9) Includes pupils whose ethnic information was not sought or was refused or could not be determined. (10) Pupils who have been classified according to their ethnic group, excluding White British. Note: Numbers may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | |||||||||
Schools: Sports
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) of 22 November 2012, Official Report, column 561W, on schools: sports, on what date an announcement on the range of other measures to improve school sport for young people is now to be made. [137775]
Mr Timpson: The Department is still exploring a range of measures to improve school sport with other Government Departments and will make an announcement shortly.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent progress his Department has made on enabling community sports clubs to advertise their activities in schools. [137778]
Mr Timpson: We believe that it is for individual schools to choose what activities they promote. However schools are encouraged to work closely with their local community clubs to provide sporting opportunities for their pupils both in and out of school.
To help support this, Sport England is investing £9 million between 2013 and 2016 to recruit at least one club link maker in each county sport partnership. Their role will be assist national governing bodies of sport to develop satellite clubs in schools—helping pupils make the transition from school to community sport.
Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding will be made available to secondary schools to release PE teachers after August 2013. [138137]
Mr Timpson:
When the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced the introduction of the PE teacher release funding for secondary schools in October
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2010 he made clear that the funding would only be available for the two academic years 2011/12 and 2012/13.
His expectation was that, beyond then, schools should have embedded this practice into their core provision.
The Department is exploring a range of future measures with other Government Departments to improve school sport and will make an announcement shortly.
Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the breakdown of PE teacher release funding for schools in the academic year 2012-13. [138138]
Mr Timpson: Every state maintained school (including academies, free schools and special schools) with 20 or more secondary-aged pupils will receive PE teacher release funding of £7,600 for the academic year 2012/13.
Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of the funding in 2011-12 for PE teacher release has been spent by schools on releasing secondary school PE teachers one day a week. [138139]
Mr Timpson: The Department does not hold details of how schools have spent their PE teacher release funding. Although this funding was not ring-fenced, we gave clear guidance about its intended purpose. We trust head teachers to use their professional judgment about how best to spend the funding.
Special Educational Needs
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was allocated to the (a) School Action and (b) School Action Plus programmes in each of the last five years. [137554]
Mr Timpson: School Action (SA) and School Action Plus (SA+) are key elements of the overall system that we require schools to use in identifying and providing for children with special educational needs (SEN).
Local authorities support all schools in undertaking these requirements through providing delegated, notional SEN budgets. Each school's budget is determined by a local funding formula agreed with the Schools Forum.
Different LAs apply different formulae, but most comprise factors such as levels of deprivation and prior attainment which closely relate to levels of SEN. Most do not include factors such as the numbers of children identified at SA or SA+, as this can act as a perverse incentive to over-identify.
We do have information on the level of notional funding that is delegated to schools to support children with SEN. In 2012-13, this amount was £1.932 billion.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place a duty on local authorities to consult children and families on the development of the local offer in the Children and Families Bill rather than in the accompanying statutory guidance. [137556]
Mr Timpson:
The draft clauses of the Children and Families Bill relating to the reform of provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs were published in September 2012. They set out
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proposals requiring local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs. The local offer would set out what families can expect from local services across education, health and social care and the eligibility criteria for accessing those services where appropriate.
It is important that local authorities consult and involve local children, young people and families when developing their local offer to take account of their needs and aspirations. It is clear within the draft legislation that local authorities would be required to involve children, young people and families in the preparation of the local offer.
The Education Select Committee published the report of its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft special educational needs provisions on 18 December. The Government will give careful consideration to the Committee's report and publish their response in due course. They will also take the Committee's report into consideration when framing legislation on children and families for introduction to Parliament.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Evaluation of the SEND Pathfinder Programme Interim Evaluation Report published in October 2012, what recent assessment he has made of that report's conclusion that most pathfinder areas were still working through the complexities of how to engage providers effectively to support development of the local offer. [137559]
Mr Timpson: The interim evaluation report on the pathfinder programme, published in October 2012, gave a snapshot of progress up to the end of June 2012.
Since the report was published, pathfinders have worked hard to build capacity and establish positive working relationships across the voluntary, health, education and social sectors, as well as with children, young people and their families. This investment of time has been crucial in building consensus about what the local offer should contain and has allowed them to consult widely with interested parties.
On 6 November 2012, I announced an 18-month extension of the pathfinder programme, to September 2014. Groups of pathfinders have been selected to accelerate testing in key areas (including the development of the local offer) and I expect the first draft local offers to be published by spring 2013.
Communities and Local Government
Absenteeism
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the rate of absenteeism is in his Department; and what the cost to the public purse has been of such absence since May 2010. [135437]
Brandon Lewis:
For the 12 months to September 2012, our absence rate was 6.0 average working days lost; this is lower than the civil service average of 7.6 days and below the private sector average of 7.1 (based on the CIPD20 measure). I refer the hon. Gentleman to my
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answer of 7 November 2012,
Official Report
, columns 611-12W, on the steps we are taking to tackle such levels.
Over the period May 2010 to December 2010, the Department spent an estimated £1,030,010 on sick pay arrangements; this compares to the Department's total pay bill of £109 million a year (in 2011-12).
Affordable Housing
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built in England as a result of section 106 agreements in each of the last 15 years. [137974]
Mr Prisk: Statistics on the numbers of affordable home built through section 106 agreements and without Government grant funding are published in Live Table 1000, to be found at the following link.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
The estimates exclude affordable homes built through section 106 supported with grant funding. The figures show the numbers peaked in 2007 and 2008 at the height of the housing bubble and then fell back. This reflects the fact that a large number of section 106 agreements were predicated on economic assumptions that were not sustainable.
By helping renegotiate unrealistic deals, our reforms will deliver more housing and more affordable housing than would otherwise be the case.
Car Allowances
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on mileage allowances since May 2010; and at what rate such mileage was paid. [135436]
Brandon Lewis: Reflecting our responsibilities for local government, housing, planning and communities, the work of the Department involves staff travelling to different parts of the country.
We reimburse staff for the cost of travel at the prevailing HMRC mileage rates.
Between 1 May 2010 and 31 December 2012, mileage costs totalled £302,888 representing 724,038 miles travelled by staff on departmental business over the two and a half years.
Notwithstanding, I also refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to him of 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 280W, on the steps we are taking to promote the use of video-conferencing.
Community Infrastructure Levy
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many community infrastructure levy fees have been charged on single dwelling developments to date. [138000]
Nick Boles: This information is not centrally held.
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Consultants
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff were employed on consultancy contracts in his Department on the latest date for which figures are available; how many such staff were employed on the same date 12 months ago; and if he will make a statement. [132203]
Brandon Lewis: As at 30 November 2012, there were no full-time equivalent staff employed by my Department on consultancy contracts compared with 31.9 full-time equivalent staff that were employed on consultancy contracts on the same date in November 2011.
The 31.9 full-time equivalent staff employed in 2011 were specialist roles: 16.4 staff on providing technical support for the Firelink radio system, and 15.5 staff for enhanced auditing of the European Regional Development Fund programme. These time-limited contracts have now ended.
The data comply with definitions on consultancy laid down by the Cabinet Office.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on external consultants since May 2010; and for what types of costs such expenditure was made. [135272]
Brandon Lewis: My Department has made significant reductions to spending on consultancy costs, as the following table illustrates:
| Amount (£) | |
The bulk of the 2010-11 spending was contractually committed under the last Administration, including consultancy on the last Administration's failed FiReControl programme.
More details of the spending over £500 (and from August 2012, over £250) can be found on my Department's website as part of our online transparency agenda.
Data Protection
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available. [137119]
Brandon Lewis: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.
EU Grants and Loans: Wales
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will discuss the effect of repatriation of EU structural funds with the Welsh Government. [138215]
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Brandon Lewis: Ministers within the Department regularly meet and correspond with representatives of the Welsh Government to discuss a range of matters.
I would note that there is a broader public debate about the future of EU Structural Funds, both in terms of the system that the European Union should adopt after 2020, and in terms of the United Kingdom's future relationship with the European Union.
Floods: Insurance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assistance his Department makes available for people affected by flooding who are uninsured. [132639]
Brandon Lewis: There is an agreement in place between the Government and the insurance industry to ensure that insurance remains available to those at flood risk to help prevent this from occurring. The agreement comes to an end in summer 2013 but negotiations are underway with the industry to ensure that there is a suitable replacement.
Government Procurement Card
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the reduction in expenditure on Government procurement cards in his Department between 2009-10 and 2011-12 led to an increase in other forms of expenditure. [135404]
Overall departmental procurement supplier spend is falling by 54% from £273 million in 2008-09 to £126 million (projected) in 2012-13.
Although there is a role for electronic payments using such cards, under this Administration, my Department has introduced new internal checks and audit trails on the use of the Government procurement card, from pre-approvals to requiring post- transaction reporting. We have significantly reduced the number of card holders. Our transparency agenda of publishing spending data online has also increased internal and external scrutiny of every single transaction on such charge cards.
Our departmental savings on such cards have been assisted by terminating ministerial group spending, as practised by the last Administration at taxpayers' expense, on the likes of the Cinnamon Club, the Wolseley, Brasserie 44, Boisdales, Sky City Casino, Inn the Park, Mango Tree, Shepherds, Incognico, Buffalo Bar, Tantric Jazz, Mr Chu's China Palace and Fat Tuesdays.
Homelessness
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has (a) taken since May 2010 and (b) plans to take in the next 12 months to tackle homelessness; and if he will make a statement. [137877]
Mr Prisk:
At the beginning of this Parliament we established a Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness to tackle the complex drivers of homelessness. The group has published two reports so far: ‘Vision to end
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rough sleeping’ and ‘Making every contact count’, which are available via the Department's website at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/vision-to-end-rough-sleeping--2
www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-every-contact-count-a-joint-approach-to-preventing-homelessness
We have since made common-sense changes to the rules to enable local authorities to help families quickly into settled homes in the private rented sector and we are tackling affordability by increasing supply of affordable and market rent housing. And despite the difficult climate, we have invested £470 million over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) to help local authorities prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions. We have also increased the discretionary housing payments pot to around £400 million over the spending period to help families and those in vulnerable situations with the transition of welfare reform changes.
We supported the Mayor of London to develop the No Second Night Out scheme to ensure nobody new spends a second night sleeping rough on London's streets. The principles are being rolled out across the country backed by a new £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund.
We have also supported the voluntary sector to develop a new service—Streetlink, which offers a hand-up, rather than a handout. Streetlink provides a central point of contact that anyone who wants to get help for rough sleepers across England can call. The national telephone line (0300 500 0914) was launched last year.
Over the next 12 months we will continue to invest in preventing homelessness and implement and develop policies via the Ministerial Working Group and our partners.
Housing: Construction
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average annual number of new homes built in England was between (a) 2000 and 2010 and (b) 2010 and 2012. [137975]
Mr Prisk: Statistics on house building by year can be found on my Department's website:
www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
I would add that this Government inherited a situation where house building under the last Administration had fallen to its lowest peacetime levels since the 1920s, thanks to the last Administration's ‘boom and bust' handling of the economy and housing market.
Housing: East Yorkshire
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses were built in Haltemprice and Howden constituency in the last four years. [138724]
Mr Prisk: Data on house building by local authority district can be found in live table 253 at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
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Data are collected only at local authority district level and are not available by parliamentary constituency.
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes which benefit from flood defences have been built in Haltemprice and Howden constituency in the last four years. [138727]
Mr Prisk: The number of new homes which have benefited from flood defences in Haltemprice and Howden in the last four years is not available centrally.
Housing: Fire Extinguishers
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of housing developed on the Olympic site will have fire sprinklers. [135910]
Mr Foster: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Housing: Owner Occupation
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total number of owner-occupied homes was in England in each of the last 15 years. [137976]
Mr Prisk: Data on dwelling stock by owner-occupied tenure can be found in live table 104 at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
I observe that the last Administration had a target to increase home ownership by one million over the last Parliament (Labour party, “Britain forward not back”, 2005, p.78). Yet the number of owner occupiers in England fell by 302,000 from 2005 to 2010.
Local Government Finance
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 December 2012, Official Report, columns 103-4WS, on local government finance, what estimate he made of the effect of the local government finance settlement by (a) class of authority and (b) region in each year from 2014 to 2018. [135951]
Brandon Lewis: We have proposed a fair settlement for 2013-14 and 2014-15. The settlement allows local government to keep nearly £11 billion of business rates and to keep the growth on that share of business rates, providing a direct financial incentive to councils delivering growth. We estimate that the local retention of business rates could deliver around an extra £10 billion to the wider economy by 2020.
Local Government: Pay
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what guidance his Department issues to local authorities and local government bodies on senior executive pay; [138605]
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(2) what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on pay levels for senior executives in local government. [138606]
Brandon Lewis: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government are in regular contact with colleagues from the devolved Administrations to discuss a range of matters.
The Localism Act 2011 includes measures that require councillors to take a greater role in determining senior pay, ensuring that these decisions are taken by those who are directly accountable to local taxpayers. These measures are applicable to local authorities in England and Wales. The Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to issue or approve guidance to which authorities in England must have regard when exercising their functions on pay accountability. The Act provides the same power for Welsh Ministers in relation to Welsh authorities.
Guidance for authorities in England can be accessed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/openness-and-accountability-in-local-pay-guidance
Guidance for authorities in Wales can be accessed at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/finandfunding/publications/payaccount/;jsessionid=0EDA04B1E3C185F888B6310CEEFCSFBF?lang=en
For authorities in England, the Secretary of State has been clear that authorities should ensure that local taxpayers have access to all the information they need to see how their money is spent on rewarding senior staff in local government. This includes the publication of information under the Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency.
Market Towns
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to support market towns. [138804]
Mr Prisk: We are offering hundreds of towns in England—including market towns such as Barnsley—support that will help them revitalise their high streets and town centres. We have shared a multi-million pound fund among over 330 town team partners and 27 Portas pilots. 100 of the most deprived high streets benefited from our High Street Innovation Fund, and we will be rewarding exceptional nominations from our High Streets X Fund.
I also refer the hon. Gentleman to the Government's Response to the Portas Review, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Overpayments
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) number and (b) cost has been of duplicate payments made by his Department since May 2010. [135402]
Brandon Lewis: In “50 ways to save”, we asserted that councils could save money by conducting audits of potential duplicate payments and reforming accounts payable processes. This was based on research by Experian of both local and central Government bodies; a summary of its research can be found online:
http://publicsector.experian.co.uk/~/media/PressReleases/Experian_procurement%20insight_October2010.ashx
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My Department quarterly undertakes such best practice, and from May 2010 to date, we have recovered £48,186 of taxpayers' money which had been paid out from duplicate payments; a sum of £257 was not recoverable. This sizeable saving endorses what we said in “50 ways to save”: systematically addressing duplicate payments is a common-sense way of saving taxpayers' money.
We believe there may be potential to make further taxpayer savings in our spending. Accordingly, my Department has commissioned business analytics and information services firm, PRGX, to carry out a full spend-recovery audit on our accounts payable system. This audit will analyse data on our finance system to identify unclaimed credits and duplicate payments on all supplier accounts and then to undertake the recovery of these amounts. We believe this will help save taxpayers' money and help us to further improve and reform administrative processes to stop such payments happening in the first place.
Every Whitehall Department is now undertaking a spend-recovery audit; we would encourage local government to do the same.
Procurement
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has facilitated the collective buying of goods and services with other Government Departments. [135401]
My Department has facilitated the sharing of services for audit and estates functions with other Whitehall Departments and IT services with the Planning Inspectorate and is moving towards a shared service for legal advice. In addition we buy common commodities (travel, stationery and training for instance) with other Departments using centrally negotiated agreements. Beyond these arrangements my Department utilises central ‘framework' agreements operated by the Government Procurement Service for services including consultancy and interim services.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many procurement officers are currently employed by his Department; [135669]
(2) how many civil servants in his Department regularly deal with procurement services; [135670]
(3) how many procurement officers in his Department have relevant procurement qualifications. [135671]
Brandon Lewis: We have interpreted the questions in relation to staff working under the direct management of the head of procurement.
We currently have 18 permanent staff and two interims who regularly deal with procurement services and help oversee £155 million of departmental procurement spending in 2011-12. Among them, there are 11 permanent procurement staff who are members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, plus two civil servants who have Foundation Level qualifications and are studying for full membership.
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Railways: Radlett
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), made an assessment of the Radlett Rail Freight site proposal. [138307]
Nick Boles: My hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) assessed the proposal in his capacity as a Planning Minister.
Planning Ministers act in accordance with ‘Guidance on Planning Propriety Issues’, which is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-propriety-issues-guidance
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his letters of 19 September 2012 and 14 December 2012, for what reasons he has decided he can determine the Radlett proposal on the basis of the evidence before him. [138490]
Nick Boles: The reasons are set out in the decision letter of 14 December 2012.
Redundancy
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many civil service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of redundancies in each such year. [135468]
Brandon Lewis: My Department includes the cost and number of early departures in its published resource accounts. Figures for years up to and including 2011-12 are therefore accessible from these accounts.
Based on current budgets, the DCLG Group is making a 44% real term saving against its running costs over this spending review period by 2014-15. This equates to savings of over £570 million by 2014-15. This includes savings of around £420 million from the closure of the Government offices for the regions.
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Redundancy Pay
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount of redundancy pay paid to civil servants in his Department was in each month from July to December 2012. [135220]
Brandon Lewis: Figures on departure arrangements in 2012-13 will be published in our annual accounts in due course.
Repossession Orders
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken since 2010 to reduce the number of home repossessions in (a) Southend, (b) Essex and (c) England. [137876]
Mr Prisk: Left unchecked, the last Administration's deficit would have forced up interest rates, meaning more expensive mortgages and other borrowing, more repossessions and fewer first time buyers; this would have been compounded by the fact that household debts were the highest in our history
Under this Government, homeowners are benefiting from lower interest rates; we have effectively reduced the cost of mortgages thanks to the action taken to tackle the deficit: just a 1% rise in market interest rates would have added almost £100 extra on a typical family's mortgage bill each month.
The Government are committed to working closely with lenders, debt advice agencies and local authorities to ensure that repossession is only ever a last resort and that effective help and advice for homeowners at risk of repossession is available.
www.gov.uk/repossession/get-advice
outlines the options available to households.
A range of Government support is in place to help homeowners at risk of repossession. Targeted support includes the Department of Communities and Local Government-funded £221 million Mortgage Rescue Scheme, aimed at vulnerable homeowners at risk of repossession, which has been improved to deliver better value for money for the taxpayer. Applications for the scheme are considered by local authorities across England as part of their duties to prevent homelessness. Support for mortgage interest, paid as part of DWP benefits, remains available to help eligible out-of-work households meet their monthly interest payments.
The Department of Communities and Local Government announced £20 million funding for preventing repossessions in February last year, which provides additional options for local housing authorities to tackle repossessions in their local area. Southend-on-Sea borough council received £39,875 for a Preventing Repossessions Fund which can be used to offer small interest-free loans or grants to households at risk of repossession to address immediate short- term financial difficulties and avoid households becoming homeless due to mortgage possession.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported that repossessions in the last full calendar year (2011) were at their lowest annual level since 2007. Moreover, in the
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most recent quarter (July to September 2012), repossessions were down 4% on the previous quarter and down 15% on the same quarter in 2011.
Shops: Empty Property
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the shop vacancy rate was in Barnsley Central constituency in each of the last five years. [138805]
Mr Prisk: My Department does not produce statistics on shop vacancy rates.
Staff
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months. [125674]
Brandon Lewis: We have interpreted recruitment agency fees to mean companies (third party suppliers) that we engage in recruiting permanent staff for the Department. Our procurement records show that there has been no expenditure with recruitment agencies in the last 12 months to September 2012.
On outplacement agency fees, the following table sets out the expenditure made by the Department in each of the last 12 months to September 2012.
| Outplacement Agency fees | |
| Month | Amount (£) |
It would involve disproportionate cost to identify spend on staff training in each of the last 12 months as this information is not readily available. Information on training spend is recorded under the wider heading of development. The total spend on development in the period October 2011-September 2012 was £737,000 in comparison with the total pay bill cost for 2011-12 of £109 million. This total covers a variety of vocational and non-vocational training as well as other development interventions, the scope of which is wider than staff training. The Department publishes data on training spend over £500 as part of the “Transparency in Government” agenda; details can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/dclg-spending-over-250
Temporary Employment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what amount his Department spent on interim staff as defined by the National Audit Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [135160]
Brandon Lewis:
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones), PQ 135435. The answer uses the
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Cabinet Office definition for contingent labour (temporary staff) which includes admin and clerical agency staff, interim managers and specialist contractors.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what costs his Department has incurred through employing agency staff since May 2010. [135435]
Brandon Lewis: As we stated in “50 ways to save”, there is scope for savings from reducing spending on consultants and agency staff.
My Department has cut spending on contingent labour from £17.4 million in 2008-09 and £14.4 million in 2009-10 to £4.0 million from May 2010 to March 2011 and down to £2.9 million in 2011-12. This represents a saving of £15 million a year (2011-12 compared with 2008-09).
Across Whitehall, in 2011-12 alone, through the work of Efficiency and Reform Group, Government Departments reduced their spend on consultancy by 85%, saving £1 billion compared with 2009-10. This is in addition to £870 million saved on consultancy in 2010-11.
Justice
Asbestos
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure companies being pursued by a civil action for negligence in respect of asbestos-related illnesses do not cause unnecessary delay when admitting liability. [138504]
Mrs Grant: On 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 95WS, the Government announced that we will consult on a package of reforms to improve and speed up the procedures governing mesothelioma claims. The consultation will be issued by spring 2013.
The aim of the reforms is to ensure that claims for mesothelioma are processed and settled as quickly as possible and without unnecessary delays.
Aviation
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity. [137097]
Damian Green: Any air miles accrued by the Department in respect of Ministers’ and officials’ travel are used by the Department towards the cost of official travel.
Bill of Rights
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) when he expects to respond to the Commission on a Bill of Rights' Report, “A UK Bill of Rights?: The Choice Before Us”; [138213]
(2) what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the report of the Commission on a Bill of Rights; and if he will make a statement. [138216]
Damian Green: The Government are currently giving careful consideration to the Commission's final report which will help inform Government thinking in this area. No formal response will be made.
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Data Protection
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available. [137116]
Damian Green: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with government guidance.
DNA
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many criminals have been convicted following a review of their case made possible due to advances in DNA forensic testing in each of the last 10 years. [138420]
Jeremy Wright: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case, beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information whether or not the offender was convicted following a review made possible due to advances in DNA forensic testing.
Drugs: North West
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in the north-west were convicted of drug offences in the north-west in each of the last five years. [138116]
Jeremy Wright: The number of persons convicted of drug offences in the north-west of England, for the years 2007 to 2011 (latest available), can be viewed in the table.
Court proceedings data for 2012 are planned for publication in May 2013
| Number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug offences(1) in the north-west Government office region (GOR)(2) and England and Wales, 2007-11(3,4) | |||||
| Area | 2007 | 2008(5) | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1) Includes sections 12, 13, 19(a), (b) Criminal Justice Co-Operation Act 1990, RR.6(5), 7, 8, and 9(2) Controlled Drugs (Drug Precursors) (Community External Trade) Regs 2008, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (ss.50(2), (3) and (5), 68 (2) and (4) and 170(1), (2), (3) and (4) and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 ss.327-330, 333, 334 (1,2) and 336 (5) and (6). (2) Includes the following police force areas: Cheshire Cumbria Greater Manchester Lancashire Merseyside. (3) The statistics 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 the principal offence 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. (4) 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 that data-collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||
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National Offender Management Service
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff at each grade have left the National Offender Management Service under the voluntary early departure scheme since May 2010. [138507]
Jeremy Wright: The number of staff who have left the National Offender Management Service between May 2010 and 30 September 2012 through a voluntary early departure scheme is 1,775, which equates to a full-time equivalent of 1,661. The breakdown of staff by grade is shown in the following table.
| Grade | Headcount | Full-time equivalent |
Offenders: Assets
Mrs Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether he has any plans to seize and sell the assets of offenders sentenced to community penalties; [137334]
(2) whether his Department (a) has commissioned and (b) is aware of research to determine what assets are possessed by offenders sentenced to supervision orders in the community, and the average value of such assets; [137336]
(3) what mechanisms will be used to determine the extent of assets of offenders sentenced to community penalties; [137338]
(4) what mechanisms will be used to determine whether the assets of an offender sentenced to a community penalty with an order that his or her asset be seized are stolen assets; [137339]
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(5) what estimate he has made of the likely cost of bailiffs employed to seize assets of offenders who are given community penalties. [137337]
Jeremy Wright: In the consultation ‘Punishment and reform: Effective Community Sentences’, the Government sought views on whether to create a sentencing power to seize offenders’ assets. However, the responses to the consultation highlighted some difficulties with such a power and as a result, the Government decided not to take the proposal forward at this time. Instead, the Government introduced provisions in the Crime and Courts Bill to make it clear that when fixing the level of a financial penalty courts can require offenders to provide information about their assets as well as their income. In this way, courts will be able to take into account an offender's assets when setting the value of a fine.
No research into offenders’ assets has been commissioned.
Prisoner Escapes
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders absconded from prison in each of the last three years; and what offences each such absconded offender was sentenced for. [138148]
Jeremy Wright: The annual number of absconds has reduced significantly over the last several years with the number of absconds in 2011-12 being at the lowest level since central records began. Of those prisoners who do abscond, the majority are quickly recaptured, returned to closed conditions and referred to the police for prosecution.
The following table (Table 1) shows the number of absconds from prisons broken down by financial year for the last three financial years.
| Table 1: Absconds from establishments, by year, from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2012 | |
| Number of absconds | |
The following table (Table 2) shows the number of absconders, by index offence and financial year for the last three financial years.
| Table 2: Absconds from establishment, by index offence of the absconder and year, from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2012 | |||
| Index offence | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
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| Note: These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. | |||