Immigration
Mark Reckless:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will give consideration to requiring non-UK EU nationals to acquire residency
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cards before they may settle in Britain; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of a similar system in operation in Spain. [141621]
Mr Harper: Spain is one of a number of other EU member states that require EU nationals residing for longer than three months to register with their authorities. Registration confirms that an EU national is exercising rights of free movement which derive from EU law.
The UK does not operate a system of mandatory registration for EU nationals, though many EU nationals choose to apply to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) for documentation to evidence their rights. UKBA has strict requirements in place to ensure that those EU nationals who apply prove that they are exercising their treaty rights.
The Home Office regularly reviews the implementation of the free movement directive and as part of this process considers developments and practices in other member states.
Libya
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to seek out and return to Libya funds and assets held by members of the former Gaddafi regime in the UK. [140247]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Financial sanctions were introduced against institutions and individuals associated with the former Gaddafi regime in Libya in early 2011. Sanctions were extensively modified during 2011.
An asset freeze remains in force against 39 individuals and 21 entities, including the Libyan Investment Authority. A full list of the persons subject to the Libyan asset freeze is available on the HM Treasury website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_sanctions_libya.htm
While significant sums remain frozen under the extant Libyan sanctions, a large proportion of the sums originally frozen under Libyan sanctions were unfrozen and therefore available to the new Libyan authorities. A number of licences have also been granted allowing otherwise frozen funds to be used to fund humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, and to continue to allow Libyan investments to be managed and safeguarded.
In addition, the cross-Government Arab Spring Asset Recovery Task Force, which the Prime Minister announced at the UN General Assembly on 26 September 2012, is supporting Arab Spring countries, including Libya, seeking to recover their stolen assets.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to assist the Libyan Government to uncover the individuals who benefitted financially from the Gaddafi regime through monitoring their assets in the UK. [140248]
Mr Jeremy Browne: Financial sanctions were introduced against institutions and individuals associated with the former Gaddafi regime in Libya in early 2011. While these were modified later that year, an asset freeze remains in force against 39 individuals and 21 entities, including the Libyan Investment Authority. A full list of the persons subject to the Libyan asset freeze is available on the HM Treasury website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_sanctions_libya.htm
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The Treasury issued a notification of the sanctions on the HM Treasury financial sanctions web pages. In addition, an e-mail was sent to all of its subscribers. This included, but was not limited to, financial institutions that froze relevant assets. Assets can only be unfrozen with the HM Treasury's permission.
On 26 September 2012 the Prime Minister announced at the UN General Assembly that the UK would create a new cross-Government Task Force to return assets stolen by members of the former regimes of the Arab Spring countries, including Libya, and hidden in the United Kingdom. The Task Force is now operational and providing support to countries, including Libya, seeking to recover their assets.
Overtime
Chi Onwurah:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) average cost per member
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of staff and
(b)
total cost was of overtime payments in (i) her Department and (ii) each of its arm's length bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13 to date. [141481]
James Brokenshire: The following tables set out the information requested for the Home Office and its executive agencies and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). For the NDPBs information prior to March 2011 is not available and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
The figures for 2012-13 year to date are high compared to the previous year. This is due to increased levels of overtime required as a result of the Queen’s jubilee and the Olympic games.
The information provided is for staff at Grade 6 and below. Senior civil servants are not entitled to overtime payments.
| NDPB average staff overtime costs | |||
| (£) | |||
| (A) March 2011 | (B) 2011-12 | (C) 2012-13 to date | |
| Notes: 1. Extract dates: Last calendar day of each month. 2. Periods covered: Data are given by financial year. For 2010-11 we only hold data for March 2011. Data for 2011-12 cover the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. Data for 2012-13 to date cover the period 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012. 3. Organisational coverage: Figures are provided for each individual NDPB. Please note that the ISA ceased to exist at the start of December 2012, therefore their 2012-13 figures only cover the period 1 April 2012 to 30 November 2012, At the start of December 2012 the ISA merged with the Criminal Records Bureau to form the DBS. Therefore DBS figures for 2012-13 only cover the period 1 to 31 December 2012. Since 4 September 2012 responsibility for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (a non-departmental public body), formerly within the Home Office, moved to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 4. Employee coverage: Average costs are calculated based on the full-time equivalent (FTE) headcount of payroll employees only (as supplied for the Workforce Management Information returns) as at 31 March 2011, 31 March 2012 and 31 December 2012 (for ISA 30 November 2012 was used instead of 31 December 2012). 5. Transparency agenda considerations: Figures provided are in line with those published in the Workforce Management Information returns on the Home Office website on a monthly basis. 6. Calculations: Average cost of overtime per member of staff has been calculated by taking the total cost of overtime payments for the period, and dividing by the average number of staff (full-time equivalent) in the Department within the period. E.g. Average FTE for 2011-12: (FTE at 31 March 2011 + FTE at 31 March 2012). Figures for March 2011 are based on the FTE at 31 March 2011 only. Source: Collated from submissions made by each non-departmental public body (NDPB) for inclusion in the Home Office's Workforce Management Information monthly return to Cabinet Office. | |||
| NDPB total overtime costs | |||
| (£) | |||
| (A) March 2011 | (B) 2011-12 | (C) 2012-13 to date | |
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7 Feb 2013 : Column 400W
| Notes: 1. Extract dates: Last calendar day of each month. 2. Periods covered: Data are given by financial year. For 2010-11 we only hold data for March 2011. Data for 2011-12 cover the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. Data for 2012-13 to date cover the period 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012. 3. Organisational coverage: Figures are provided for each individual NDPB. Please note that the ISA ceased to exist at the start of December 2012, therefore their 2012-13 figures only cover the period 1 April 2012 to 30 November 2012. At the start of December 2012 the ISA merged with the Criminal Records Bureau to form the DBS. Therefore DBS figures for 2012-13 only cover the period 1 to 31 December 2012. 4. Employee coverage: Overtime costs are for payroll employees only (as supplied for the Workforce Management Information returns). 5. Transparency agenda considerations: Figures provided are in line with those published in the Workforce Management Information returns on the Home Office website on a monthly basis. Source: Collated from submissions made by each non-departmental public body (NDPB) for inclusion in the Home Office's Workforce Management Information monthly return to Cabinet Office. | |||
| Home Department | ||
| (£) | ||
| (a) Average cost per member of staff | (b) Total cost of overtime payments | |
| Notes: 1. Extract date(s): 1 April 2010, 1 April 2011, 1 April 2012, 1 January 2013 2. Period(s) covered: Data for the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 cover the period 1 April to 31 March. A year to date figure is given for 2012-13 and covers the period 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012. 3. Organisational coverage: Figures include Home Office Headquarters (including Border Force and Government Equalities Office) and the Executive Agencies. For the period up to November 2012 this included the UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service, National Fraud Authority and Criminal Records Bureau. On the 3 December 2012 the Criminal Records Bureau left the Home Office to form part of the Disclosure and Barring Service and therefore they have been excluded from data in December 2012. Since 4 September 2012 responsibility for the Government Equalities Office (a unit within the Department), formerly within the Home Office, moved to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 4. Employee coverage: Average costs are calculated based on the full-time equivalent (FTE) headcount of all civil servants and non civil servants who were current members of staff as at 31 March 2010, 31 March 2011, 31 March 2012 and 31 December 2012. 5. Calculation(s): Average cost of overtime per member of staff has been calculated by taking the total cost of overtime payments for the period, and dividing by the average number of staff (full-time equivalent) in the Department within the period. E.g. Average FTE for 2010-11: (FTE at 31 March 2010+FTE at 31 March 2011-12. Source(s): Employee information from Data View—the Home Office's single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate human resources data. Data on overtime pay taken from monthly payroll information. | ||
Police: Public Appointments
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the candidates who have been interviewed for the post of Chief Constable or Deputy Chief Constable in UK police forces in each year since 2008 have been of (a) ethnic minority origin or (b) female. [139133]
Damian Green [holding answer 24 January 2013]: The figures are shown in the following table.
| Total number of applicants for chief constable and deputy chief constable posts (or equivalent ranks) | Number of female candidates interviewed for chief constable and deputy chief constable posts (or equivalent ranks), where known | Number of ethnic minority candidates interviewed for chief constable and deputy chief constable posts (or equivalent ranks), where known | |
| Notes: 1. Information on the number of applicants obtained from the minutes of the Senior Appointments Panel meetings from January 2008 up to the last meeting held in July 2012. 2. Information on the number of female and ethnic minority candidates interviewed obtained from the Senior Appointments Panel database. Information only provided where known. | |||
Work and Pensions
Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's service standards are for processing appeals against decisions relating to individuals in receipt of employment and support allowance; and how it has performed against these standards in each of the last three years. [142005]
Mr Hoban: There are no headline targets for appeals, however the Department has an internal measure for appeals clearance. This measures the average appeals clearance time, in working days, from the date of receipt to the point at which it is submitted to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and is set at 50 working days for employment and support allowance. Data are gathered for a ‘reporting year’ which runs from April to March. Performance for the last three reporting years is as follows:
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| April to March each year | Days |
Foster Care: Housing Benefit
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many foster carers in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) South Lanarkshire are currently in receipt of housing benefit. [142083]
Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
Housing Benefit
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people will no longer be excluded from the housing benefit cap due to the change in retirement age. [137579]
Steve Webb: The equalisation of women's state pension age with men's, the legislated rise in state pension age to 66, and the announced rise to age 67 were factored into the updated Benefit Cap Impact Assessment, which was published on 16 July 2012, and the updated Equality Impact Assessment, which was published on 23 July 2012.
The Impact Assessment can be accessed at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf
and the Equality Impact Assessment at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-benefit-cap-wr2011.pdf
These changes in state pension age will not lead to the benefit cap affecting anyone who has reached state pension age on its introduction in April 2013.
Personal Independence Payment
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the requirement that individuals should be able to perform tasks reliably, safely, repeatedly and in a timely manner in terms of those who will undertake mobility disability assessments has been removed from the draft Personal Independence Payments scheme. [141922]
Esther McVey: We have always been clear that the assessment for Personal Independence Payment should not just consider whether an individual can complete an activity, but the manner in which they do so. This has always been a key principle of the assessment and will remain so.
Originally we had intended to include this in the guidance; however, recognising the strength of feeling on this important safeguard, the Government have agreed to include it in regulations. We will lay an amending regulation once the main PIP entitlement regulations are made by Parliament, ensuring that the change is included before the PIP regulations come into force from 8 April.
Mr Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) for what specific medical reason the maximum walking distance has been reduced
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from 50 to 20 metres for those who will apply for the mobility component of the draft Personal Independence Payments scheme; [141923]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the consequences for individuals who can walk without difficulty for more than 20 metres but less than 50 metres in terms of the mobility component of the draft Personal Independence Payments scheme. [141924]
Esther McVey: Under the ‘Moving Around' activity, it has always been the policy intent that individuals who are unable to walk more than 50 metres should be entitled to some rate of the Mobility component. Within this group we wanted to ensure that the enhanced rate was focused on those who face the greatest barriers to mobility, with the remainder receiving the standard rate.
In the second draft of the assessment criteria we intended to differentiate within the group of people who are unable to walk more than 50 metres by considering the types of aids that individuals used. However, it was clear that we did not succeed. The descriptors were unclear and resulted in misconceptions about how the activity would work. This was apparent from the responses we received to our consultation, which indicated that most people believed that only those people who used a wheelchair could receive the enhanced rate, which has never been our intention.
Therefore, we needed to change the criteria to make them clearer and easier to apply. We did so by differentiating within the eligible group by considering the distances that individuals can walk. We did this by introducing a 20 metre measure linked to the enhanced rate, ensuring it is focused on those who have the most limited mobility. We feel this is much clearer and achieves the original policy intent. By taking this approach, individuals who cannot walk 20 metres can be certain they will receive the enhanced rate, regardless of whether they need an aid or appliance. I must also stress that this must be looked at in context of whether individuals can complete the activities safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period.
Our analysis of the second and final drafts of the assessment criteria shows that the projected number of people who will score 12 points under the ‘Moving Around' activity will remain broadly the same, despite an overall component caseload reduction. This indicates that the changes made to this activity have not tightened the eligibility criteria.
Social Rented Housing
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a room of 70 square feet or less is classified as a bedroom for the purposes of the under-occupancy criteria. [141136]
Steve Webb: The size criteria rules for housing benefit have been successfully applied to tenants renting in the private sector since the 1990s. They will be extended to tenants renting in the social sector from April this year. Then, as now, classification of the size of the property will be a matter for individual landlords and their tenants.
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Social Security Benefits: Greater London
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to trial the benefit cap in the London boroughs of Haringey, Enfield, Bromley and Croydon. [136360]
Mr Hoban: The benefit cap will be implemented from 15 April 2013 in the London boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Enfield and Haringey. We plan to implement the Benefit Cap in all other local authorities during the summer and as such all households identified as being appropriate to be capped will, in line with existing plans, have been capped by the end of September 2013. DWP will be working closely with the four boroughs, to support them with the implementation of the cap. There will also be a dedicated helpline available and Jobcentre Plus will have named account managers working specifically with each of the four LAs rolling out in April 2013.
Social Security Benefits: Uprating
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people in the (a) support group and (b) work-related activity group will see a reduction in their benefit as a result of the Welfare Benefits Up-Rating Bill in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16; [142018]
(2) what estimate he has made of the average (a) monthly and (b) annual reduction in entitlement of a claimant in the (i) support group and (ii) work-related activity group as a result of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill in 2015-16. [142088]
Steve Webb: The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill will not lead to a reduction in benefits since those benefits within the scope of the Bill will be increased by 1% in 2014-15 and 2015-16. All members of the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group and Work-Related Activity Groups will be affected by the Bill.
The average changes to entitlement for the Work Related Activity Group and the Support Group, compared to up-rating by the Consumer Prices Index (consistent with the Impact Assessment published alongside the Bill), are as follows:
| £ | ||
| Monthly change | Annual change | |
| Note: Monthly figures are presented to the nearest £1 and yearly figures to the nearest £10. | ||
Many claimants will not be on ESA for a year—for instance, more than half of current new ESA claims leave the benefit within a year.
Work Programme
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reports he has received about Work programme providers encouraging participants to submit fraudulent claims for working tax credit on the basis of non-existent self-employment; and if he will investigate any such reports of this practice. [142070]
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Mr Hoban: Self-employment can be an appropriate route for many jobseekers to move off benefits and into work, and it is right that Work programme participants should be encouraged to consider whether it is appropriate for them.
We have tough controls in place to make sure taxpayers' money is protected, so providers will only get payments for helping people into self-employment when their claims have passed the Department's validation checks, which include checking that the individual has stopped claiming benefits. Any evidence of fraudulent activity would be investigated rigorously.
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many postponements of referrals to the Work programme have occurred since the programme commenced; and for what reasons such postponements have taken place. [142079]
Mr Hoban: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how frequently Work programme referrals and outcomes statistics will be published in 2013; who decides on the frequency and dates of publication of those statistics; and what the next release dates are for (a) referrals and (b) outcomes data. [142085]
Mr Hoban: The frequency of publication and release dates of Work programme referrals and outcome statistics are currently under consideration. Decisions are ultimately for Ministers.
Education
Academies
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the powers available to local education authorities to intervene in failing academies; and if he will make a statement. [140527]
Elizabeth Truss: It is not the role of local authorities (LAs) to intervene in underperforming academies. Academies are autonomous from LAs and their performance is a matter for the Department through the Office of the Schools Commissioner. If a local authority (LA) has concerns about an individual academy, we expect the LA to raise these concerns with the Academy Trust in first instance. If the LA feels that the Academy Trust is failing to take sufficient action concerns can be raised with Ofsted or the Secretary of State.
Aviation
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions he has taken a domestic flight within his official capacity since May 2012; how many such flights were (a) charter flights, (b) first or club class and (c) by helicopter; and who accompanied him on each such trip. [141631]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 5 February 2013]: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not taken domestic flights for official trips since May 2012.
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Children: Day Care
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons his Department has not published the report compiled by Professor Helen Penn on childcare costs; and whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department had any input into the conclusions of that report. [141596]
Elizabeth Truss: The ‘Costs of Childcare’ report, compiled by Professors Helen Penn and Eva Lloyd, will be published in accordance with the Government Social Research protocol on the publication of research reports.
As is standard practice with the management of commissioned research projects, officials have commented on the factual accuracy of the report, but the conclusions are the authors' own.
The report was commissioned as part of the Childcare Commission, and will be published with other documents relating to the Childcare Commission.
Education: Qualifications
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of year 11 pupils (a) in total, (b) in each non-academy school, (c) in each converter academy, (d) in each sponsor-led academy and (e) for all academies achieved at least (i) five A* to C GCSEs, (ii) five A* to C GCSEs excluding any other qualification judged to be equivalent, (iii) five A* to C GCSEs including English and mathematics, (iv) five A* to C GCSEs including English and mathematics but excluding any other qualification judged equivalent and (v) attained the English Baccalaureate in 2011-12; and how many and what proportion of such pupils were eligible for free school meals. [141006]
Elizabeth Truss:
Information on pupil attainment for those pupils who are eligible for free school meals is not
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published at school level. Information on pupil attainment at the end of Key Stage 4 by school type and for disadvantaged pupils for the schools requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
GCE AS-level
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 750W, on AS level reform, what views were expressed by university representatives of (a) the Russell Group, (b) Universities UK and (c) 1994 Group on the future of AS levels. [141396]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 4 January 2013]: Since the publication of the White Paper, “The Importance of Teaching”, in November 2010, a range of views on AS level reform have been expressed by university representatives in the Russell Group, 1994 Group and Universities UK. It is for those individuals and groups to decide whether to make public their views and any responses to Ofqual's consultation on A levels.
GCSE: Lancashire
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in state schools in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire achieved five GCSE passes, including mathematics and English in each of the last five years. [141839]
Elizabeth Truss: Information on the number and percentage of pupils in state-funded schools in Pendle constituency and Lancashire local authority achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A* to G or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs (or iGCSEs) can be found in the following tables.
| Number and percentage of pupils(1,2) at the end of Key Stage 4 (KS4) achieving 5+ GCSEs at grade A*-G or equivalent including English and mathematics GCSEs(3,4) in Pendle constituency and Lancashire local authority(5), years: 2007/08 to 2011/12(6) | |||||||||
| 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |||||||
| No of pupils at the end of KS4 | No gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | % gaining 5* GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | No of pupils at the end of KS4 | No gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | % gaining 5* GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | No of pupils at the end of KS4 | No gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | % gaining 5* GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | |
| 2010/11 | 2011/12 | |||||
| No of pupils at the end of KS4 | No gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | % gaining 5* GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | No of pupils at the end of KS4 | No gaining 5+ GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | % gaining 5* GCSEs at A*-G inc English and maths | |
| (1) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (2) Figures include all state-funded schools (including CTCs and academies). (3) From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. (4) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (5) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. Local authority figures are based on the local authority maintaining the school, or in the case of CTCs and Academies, the Local Authority in which the school is situated. (6) Figures for 2007/08 to 2010/11 are based on final data, figures for 2011/12 are based on revised data. Source: National Pupa Database (2007/08 to 2010/11) and Key Stage 4 attainment data (2011/12) | ||||||
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Ministers' Private Offices and Advisers
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what external funding he receives for the funding of his (a) private ministerial office and (b) advisers; and what the (i) source and (ii) amount is of any such funding. [141630]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 5 February 2013]: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), does not receive any external funding for his ministerial office or advisers.
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Overtime
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the (a) average cost per member of staff and (b) total cost was of overtime payments in (i) his Department and (ii) each of its arm's length bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13 to date. [141476]
Elizabeth Truss: Figures for the Department for Education and its two arm's length bodies are as follows:
| £ | |||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012 to 31 December 2012 | |
|
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) | |||
|
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) | |||
Ofsted and Ofqual are non-ministerial bodies and should be contacted directly for any information.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether male-targeted education on the consequences of rape is included in (a) the National Curriculum and (b) personal, social and health education. [141513]
Elizabeth Truss: All maintained secondary schools are required to provide sex education as part of the basic curriculum; and academies are free to do so as part of the requirement on them to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.
When delivering sex education, all schools must have regard to the Government's guidance on sex and relationships education. The guidance encourages teachers to help pupils develop the self-esteem to value themselves and others, and requires that pupils be taught how the law applies to sexual relationships.
The guidance advises teachers to plan a variety of activities which will help to engage boys as well as girls and states that programmes should focus on boys as much as girls.
The non-statutory curriculum for personal, social and health and economic education, includes sexual exploitation among the areas to be covered. Schools are free to design their PSHE education according to the needs of their pupils.
Primary Education
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on allowing prematurely-born children to delay or defer entry to primary school. [140984]
Mr Laws [holding answer 1 February 2013]: Bliss—the charity for premature babies—wrote to the Minister of State for Schools about this subject last year and Department for Education officials will be meeting representatives of Bliss shortly. My hon. Friend the Member for Chippenham (Duncan Hames) also asked a question at Education Questions, on 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 21.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has issued to (a) primary schools and (b) local authorities on allowing prematurely-born children to delay or defer entry to primary school. [140985]
Mr Laws
[holding answer 1 February 2013]: We want every child to thrive irrespective of their background and circumstances. That is why our drive is to place our trust in education and other professionals to decide how best to meet the needs of every child. The Department has not issued any guidance, over and above the requirements in the School Admissions Code, on the admission of prematurely-born children. The School Admissions Code requires school admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Paragraph 2.17 of that code makes it clear that parents may defer their child's entry to school, or request that they attend part-time, until they reach compulsory school age at the start of the term following their fifth birthday. Children whose entry to school is deferred continue to be entitled to 15 hours a week of funded early education until they reach compulsory school age. Where a parent requests
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that their child is educated out of their normal age group, the code requires admission authorities to make a decision based on the circumstances of each case.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to support prematurely-born children starting primary school. [140986]
Mr Laws [holding answer 1 February 2013]: We want every child to thrive irrespective of their background and circumstances. That is why our drive is to place our trust in education and other professional to decide how best to meet the needs of every child. We set out, in December 2012, reforms to the education and health support for children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. Within this, to help premature babies, who often have a learning need, but not necessarily a special educational need, we will:
Extend the Achievement for All programme so personalised support is mainstream in all schools.
Facilitate the transition to the open market of Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Talker and Every Child Counts programmes to help those children struggling with early communication, reading and mathematics.
Introduce phonics-based training to support children who need additional help in reading.
Work with SEN specialists as we develop the Reading Progress Check for six-year-olds to help identify children who require additional support.
Introduce a new performance table indicator to give parents clear information on the progress of the lowest attaining pupils.
Direct funding to the most deprived pupils—a third of whom are currently identified as having SEN—through the pupil premium.
School Meals
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether he has assessed the effect of nutrition on learning and information uptake in schools; [141295]
(2) what recent steps he has taken to improve the nutritional content of school food. [141296]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department has not undertaken its own assessment but is aware of other research covering the impact of good nutrition on education.
The current school food standards have been fully in place since September 2009. Research published by the School Food Trust shows that whilst the nutritional content of school lunches has improved since then, there is also room for further improvement in all schools.
The Government want all pupils to have the opportunity to select a healthy, balanced school lunch. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has appointed Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent as independent reviewers to examine school food across the country, in order to produce an action plan for schools. The reviewers are expected to present their findings shortly.
Schools: Snow and Ice
Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average net cost per day to a local authority of a (a) primary school and (b) secondary school having to close due to inclement weather. [139868]
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Mr Laws: The Department does not collect the required data to assess the cost of a school closing due to inclement weather. We cannot, therefore, provide the figures requested.
While we cannot give an accurate assessment, local authorities may incur costs in relation to the services they provide to schools, such as school transport and catering services.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to support and encourage schools to remain open in adverse weather conditions. [140233]
Mr Laws: In the event of adverse weather conditions such as heavy snow, the Department expects head teachers to keep schools open for as many pupils as possible whenever it is reasonable for them to do so. In September 2010 the Department made changes to the law to address the perverse incentive for head teachers to close the entire school if a proportion of their pupils could not travel in because of adverse weather. Where a pupil is unable to get in the school can mark the register using absence code ‘Y', which means that the pupil's absence will not affect the school's absence figures.
The Department has revised its advice to schools setting out our expectations and dispelling a number of myths around health and safety and staffing issues relating to adverse weather conditions. The advice, which was e-mailed to local authorities on 29 January, can be found on the Department's website at:
http://tinyurl.com/37k7vmp
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect on pupil absence figures of adverse weather conditions. [140234]
Mr Laws: The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the effect on pupil absence figures because of adverse weather conditions in particular. Pupils marked with the ‘Y' code are not treated as absent. The ‘Y' code denotes circumstances when a pupil is unable to attend school due to exceptional circumstances such as national or local emergencies. This may include pupils unable to attend school due to adverse weather but may also include a wider range of exceptional or unplanned circumstances, such as strike action resulting in school closure or transport infrastructure failures.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department has issued to Ofsted on accounting for pupil absences owing to adverse weather conditions when assessing a school's overall pupil absence record. [140235]
Mr Laws: Ofsted is an independent inspectorate and it is for Her Majesty's chief inspector to provide guidance to inspectors on how to take account of such matters. Ofsted, as part of routine inspection as set out in its framework, will consider a school's overall pupil absence record and, where it is low compared to the national average, will make recommendations for improvement. In doing so, it will take into account any exceptional circumstances that might have contributed to levels of pupil absence.
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Special Educational Needs
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils were statemented in each of the last 30 years. [139509]
Mr Timpson: Information for the years 1992 to 2012 is shown in the table. Comparable information is not available prior to 1992.
The latest special educational needs information is published in the 'Special Educational Needs in England, January 2012' Statistical First Release at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001075/index.shtml
| All schools(1): pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN), as at January each year: 1992 to 2012, England | |||
| Sole registration only(2) | Sole and dual main registration(3,4) | ||
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| n/a = Not available. (1) Includes maintained nursery, direct-grant nursery, maintained primary, primary academies (including free schools), maintained secondary, secondary academies (including free schools), city technology colleges, maintained special, non-maintained special, pupil referral units and independent schools. (2) Prior to 2003 information is only available for pupils with a sole registration status. Sole registration status refers to a pupil only registered at one school. Dual main registration status refers to a pupil who is registered at more than one school, pupils are classed as a dual main registration at their first school and as a dual subsidiary registration at the second school. (3) Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. (4) Information on pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and in further education colleges. Prior to 2010 includes dual subsidiary registered pupils. (5) Incidence of pupils—the number of pupils with statements expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils on roll. (6) From 1996 onwards information for pupils attending pupil referral units has been included. (7) Estimates were made for January 2001 because the data for SEN were incomplete in that year. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census | |||
Students: Vetting
Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what publications his Department issues on the need for Criminal Records Bureau checks for all adults in families who host foreign exchange students; whether schools are expected to carry out such checks; and if he will provide guidance on that matter from his Department. [141603]
Elizabeth Truss: The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides criminal records checks; it has replaced the former Criminal Records Bureau.
Schools or FE colleges will generally not have to carry out DBS checks when arranging (for example on a school exchange) for a child to stay in England or Wales with a “host family” (private fostering) for under 28 days. There will be no duty to do a barred list check on such short term foster carers so long as the child's parents approve the choice of carers, and carers are unpaid volunteers, although they can carry out criminal records and barred list checks on the carers if they wish to do so. A barred person would be committing an offence if they provided foster care.
The above exemption for schools from the new duty to check those providing overnight care was in publications issued in 2009 and 2010. The publications are the response to “Drawing the line” (December 2009) and the Vetting and Barring Scheme guidance (March 2010). We intend to consult soon on an update to “Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education” which will cover this area.
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Travel and Subsistence Payments
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many senior officials of his Department's arm's length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability in respect of travel and subsistence payments for attending meetings at the offices of the arm's length body; [141140]
(2) how many senior officials in his Department's arm's length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of employment that specify that their main place of employment is their home address and that they are entitled to claim travel and subsistence expenses for visiting the offices of the arm's length body; [141141]
(3) how many chairs in his Department's arm's length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability in respect of travel and subsistence payments for attending meetings at the offices of the arm's length body. [141142]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department has two arm's length bodies.
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) has 60 offices across England and senior staff cover services nationally. There are three senior staff who are home workers. All CAFCASS staff can claim travel and subsistence in accordance with the organisations Expense Reimbursement Policy. CAFCASS have no chairs or senior officials paid on the basis that they are personally exempt from tax liability.
The Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) has no officials or chairs covered by the criteria.
Ofsted and Ofqual are non-ministerial bodies and should be contacted directly for any information.
Justice
Driving under Influence
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people were given multiple custodial sentences for drink driving in each year since 2000; [139797]
(2) how many people with a conviction for drink driving had previously been caught for the same offence within the last 10 years in each year since 2000; [139799]
(3) how many people sentenced to a custodial sentence for drink driving had previously been caught for the same offence within the last 10 years in each year since 2000. [139800]
Jeremy Wright: The Police National Computer (PNC) came into existence in 2000 and information prior to this is not considered reliable so data before July 2001 are not available. The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, (PNC) which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
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Drink driving offences presented in the table include the following offences:
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 4(1) Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment).
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 5(1)(a) Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit.
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 7(6) Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle and failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath.
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 4(2) In charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment).
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 5(1)(b) In charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit.
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 7(6) In charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle and failing without reasonable excuse to provide a for a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath.
Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec. 6(4) Failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary test.
Failing to allow specimen of blood to be subjected to laboratory test. Road Traffic Act 1998.
Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment)—drink. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(2).
Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment)—drugs. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(1)
Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs, (impairment)—drink. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(2)
Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment)—drugs. Road Traffic Act 1988 S.4(2)
Table 1 shows the number of offenders given multiple custodial sentences for a drink driving offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, in England and Wales.
| Table 1: Number of individual offenders given multiple custodial sentences for a drink driving offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales | |
| Year ending | Number of offenders |
| Source: Ministry of Justice | |
Table 2 shows the number of offenders convicted of a drink driving offence during the 12 months ending June for each year who have previously been convicted of a drink driving offence.
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| Table 2: Number of offenders in each year convicted for a drink driving offence, who have previously been convicted for a drink driving offence, for the 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales | |
| Year ending | Number of offenders |
| Source: Ministry of Justice | |
The number of previous convictions given in Table 2 are based on individuals in each 12 month period and therefore an individual may have been counted more than once if they had been convicted in a different period.
Table 3 shows the number of offenders sentenced to custody for a drink driving offence who had previously been caught for the same offence within the last 10 years in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012 in England and Wales.
| Table 3: Number of offenders sentenced to custody for a drink driving offence who had previously been caught for the same offence within the last 10 years in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales | |
| Year ending | Number of offenders |
| Source: Ministry of Justice | |
ICT
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) planned start date, (b) original planned completion date, (c) current expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) current estimated cost is for each information technology project over £1 million undertaken by his Department and its agencies since 2010; and if he will make a statement. [141815]
Jeremy Wright: In the context of this answer, information technology projects over £l million since 2010 is interpreted as projects that were authorised for delivery after 1 April 2010 that are delivering ICT infrastructure or new or significantly enhanced applications. Costs incurred prior to authorisation for delivery are not included. The following table details the information requested.
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| All IT projects that entered delivery phase from 1 April 2010 | ||||||
| Ref | Initiative Name | Actual Start Date | Baselined Finish Date | Actual Finish Date | Baselined Budget (£) | Actual Outturn (£) |
| (1) Project had a dependency on a business project and was rescoped and rescheduled to reflect changes to the business project. (2) Project had to reschedule some installations due to court sittings. (3) Project had to reschedule some installations due to court sittings. (4) Roll-out completed to original schedule. Project was extended for a month to ensure support for courts at the end of the roll-out. (5) Project was late due to supplier delay. (6) Project was extended to agree a commercial approach through the ICT service catalogue for any further roll-out of the service. (7) Agreement over the corporate telephony policy has taken longer to resolve and implement. (h) Project extended to include additional scope to save costs incurred from running a separate project. | ||||||
Offenders: Deportation
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the legal aid used by foreign national offenders to prevent deportation via the automatic deportation criteria has cost since those criteria's inception; and if he will make a statement. [140993]
Jeremy Wright: The information is not available. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) funds legal services within broad categories of law, such as public law and immigration and asylum. Spending on foreign national offenders to challenge automatic deportation cannot be disaggregated from other spending on immigration and asylum matters.
Plants
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment. [139947]
Jeremy Wright: Our accounting systems do not record expenditure in sufficient detail to allow us to extract the cost of indoor and outdoor plants and trees from other miscellaneous expenditure.
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Prisoner Escapes: Greater London
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have escaped from prisons in London in each of the last five years. [141328]
Jeremy Wright: Between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012 there were two escapes from prisons in London, details are provided in the following table.
| Establishment | |
Figures for escapes from all prison since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/prison-probation-performance-stats/prison-performance-digest-2011-12.xls
Prisoners
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were in prison on 1 January 2013; how many such people were foreign nationals; and what the (a) nationality and (b) recorded country of origin was of each such foreign national. [141730]
Jeremy Wright: Data are held centrally on the prison population on the last day of each month, so figures have been provided for 31 December 2012.
On 31 December 2012 there were 10,592 foreign nationals in the prison population. The following table shows a breakdown by country of nationality. This information is published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics bulletin, available on the Department's website. Information is not held centrally on the country of origin of prisoners.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
| Population in prison, by nationality, 31 December 2012, England and Wales | |
| Nationality | Total |
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