Young Offenders: Custodial Treatment
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people under the age of 18 years sentenced to immediate custody went on to serve a custodial sentence in each year since 2001. [148444]
Jeremy Wright: The number of juvenile offenders aged 10-17 sentenced at all courts to immediate custody, in England and Wales, over the period 2001 to 2011, is available in Table Q5.7 of the sentencing tables within the “Criminal Justice Quarterly Update to December 2011” publication, at the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-editions
All young people aged under 18 years sentenced to immediate custody will serve, or have served, their sentence in youth detention accommodation, i.e. a young offender institution, a secure training centre or a secure children's home.
Young Offenders: Reoffenders
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to reduce the binary reoffending rate of young offenders. [150672]
Jeremy Wright: Reducing reoffending by young people is a key priority for this Government which we are pursuing in a number of ways, including through:
the range of provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which promote more effective rehabilitation of young offenders. These include providing courts with greater flexibility in sentencing, and promoting the greater use of restorative justice;
the DCLG-led Troubled Families initiative, which has a specific youth offending indicator
our work to transform the youth secure estate, by placing education at the centre of our efforts to rehabilitate serious and persistent young offenders. The consultation period on our recent Green Paper ends on 30 April.
Young Offenders: Sentencing
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of young offenders from (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England have been given custodial sentences. [150676]
Jeremy Wright: The number of juveniles (10 to 17-year-olds) sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence and the proportion, by South Yorkshire police force area and England from 2007 to 2011 can be viewed in the tables.
Information available centrally does not allow a breakdown of cases by parliamentary constituency or local authority area.
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| Number of juveniles (10 to 17-year-olds) sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence and the proportion, by South Yorkshire police force area and England, 2007-11(1,2) | |||||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |||||||
| Sentenced | Immediate custody | Proportion % | Sentenced | Immediate custody | Proportion % | Sentenced | Immediate custody | Proportion % | |
| 2010 | 2011 | |||||
| Sentenced | Immediate custody | Proportion % | Sentenced | Immediate custody | Proportion % | |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | ||||||
Education
16-19 Bursary Fund: Barrow in Furness
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in Barrow and Furness constituency received funding through the Bursary Fund in the most recent year for which data are available; and what the average payment was under that fund. [150491]
Mr Laws: The 16-19 Bursary Fund began in September 2011. Local level information on the number of young people who have received Bursary Fund payments, and the amount paid to each recipient, is not held centrally. Information on payments made in Barrow and Furness will be held by the schools, colleges and training providers concerned.
Adoption: Lancashire
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were adopted in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [147886]
Mr Timpson: The number of looked after children in Lancashire local authority who were adopted in the years ending 31 March 2010, 2011, and 2012 is 60, 50 and 70 respectively. Information at constituency level is not available.
This information has been taken from table LAE1 of the Statistical First Release ‘Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)—year ending 31 March 2012’. This Statistical First Release can be found on the Department's website via the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00213762/children-looked-after-las-england
and copies of this report will be placed in the House Libraries.
Children in Care
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he first received the reports of the Task and Finish Working Groups on (a) the quality of residential children's homes and (b) placing children in care out of area; and when he proposes to publish these reports. [148066]
Mr Timpson: The report of the work of the Expert Group on Quality and of the Out of Area Task and Finish Group was received by Ministers just prior to the Christmas recess. This was a very helpful analysis which we will soon be publishing on our website. I announced next steps on children's homes reform in speeches at the vulnerable children's conference on 5 February, hosted by Barnardo’s. These include:
improved data collection about children who go missing;
removing regulatory barriers to make it possible to share information on the location of children's homes with the police; and
consulting on measures to strengthen the accountability of local authorities and children's homes for safeguarding vulnerable children, especially when they are placed significant distances away from their home communities.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he first received the findings of the working group on the quality of residential children's homes established in July 2012; and for what reasons it has not yet been published. [150510]
Mr Timpson: The report of the work of the Expert Group on Quality was received by Ministers just prior to the Christmas recess. We will be publishing it this month with a statement which sets out our immediate and medium-term plan on children's homes reform. We have held a number of helpful next steps meetings with representatives from local authorities and with children's homes providers about our plans.
I have already outlined next steps on children's homes reform as part of my speech on 5 February at the vulnerable children's conference hosted by Barnardo's. These include:
improved data collection about children who go missing;
removing regulatory barriers so Ofsted is enabled to share information on the location of children's homes with the police; and
consulting on measures to strengthen the accountability of local authorities and children's homes for safeguarding looked-after children placed in distant placements away from the authorities responsible for their care.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has received the findings of the working party on the placement of children in care out of area established in July 2012; and when he plans to publish the findings. [150511]
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Mr Timpson: The report of the work of the Out of Area Task and Finish Group was combined with the report of the Expert Group on Quality and was received by Ministers just prior to the Christmas recess. We will be publishing this on our website this month. I have already outlined next steps on children's homes reform in speeches at the vulnerable children's conference on 5 February hosted by Barnardo's. These include consulting on regulatory measures to strengthen the accountability of local authorities and children's homes for safeguarding vulnerable children, especially when they are placed significant distances away from their home communities.
Children: Day Care
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the level of provision of formal childcare during school holidays in Birmingham in each of the last three years. [150121]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department's Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the number of holiday clubs, nationally and by region. Estimates at a local authority level are not available.
The following table provides estimates of the number of holiday clubs in the west midlands for the last three years. Information for 2011 is the latest available.
| Number of holiday clubs in the west midlands for 2009, 2010 and 2011 | |||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| Note: Figures rounded to the nearest 50. Source: Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2009, 2010, 2011 | |||
Information on the number of child care providers, other than holiday clubs, offering formal child care during the school holidays is not readily available.
The 2011 Childcare and Early Years Providers survey can be accessed here:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00213767/childcare-early-vears-providers-survey-2011
Copies of this report will be placed in the House Libraries.
Children: Death
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many child deaths recorded in each of the years 2008 to 2011 were classified as (a) preventable and (b) non-preventable; [149317]
(2) in how many cases of preventable child death in each of the years from 2008 to 2011 lack of access to medical records was deemed a factor. [149318]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 21 March 2013]: The number of child death reviews which were completed by child death overview panels (CDOPs) between 2008-09 and 2011-12 are shown in the following table. From 1 April 2008, all Local Safeguarding Children Boards have had a statutory responsibility to review the deaths of all children from birth (excluding still born babies) up to 18 years, who are normally resident within their area; therefore the first data collected from CDOPs were for reviews completed in 2008-09.
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Until 31 March 2010 panels assessed if deaths were preventable (defined as events, actions or omissions contributing to the death of a child or to substandard care of a child who died, and which, by means of national or locally achievable interventions, can be modified). After this point panels assessed if there were modifiable factors in the death (defined as those which, by means of nationally or locally achievable interventions, could be modified to reduce the risk of future child deaths.)
Details of the reasons why deaths were assessed as preventable or having modifiable factors are not collected centrally, therefore data on the number of deaths where lack of access to medical records was a factor are not available.
| Number of child(1) death reviews which have been completed on behalf of Local Safeguarding Children Boards in the year ending 31 March(2) | ||||
| 2009(3,4,5) | 2010(3,4,5) | 2011(6,7) | 2012(6) | |
| (1 )A child for these purposes is defined as a child aged 0 up to 18 years, excluding still births. (2) Not all child deaths which occur each year will have their child death review completed by the 31 March. This is mainly because it may take a number of months to gather sufficient information to fully review a child's death. (3) The child death review process was introduced in April 2008, so data collected in the year ending 31 March 2009 and 2010 represent the first two years of this data collection. Please note that the number of reviews which were completed and the number of-deaths which were assessed as preventable in these two years may have been influenced by the issues which panels encountered as they introduced the process of reviewing child deaths. There may also be deaths which occurred in the year ending 31 March 2009 or early in the year ending 31 March 2010 which panels have either reviewed in less depth or felt unable to review as little data were available, which are not included in the tables above. (4) There may be additional deaths which were fully reviewed by a CDOP other than the CDOP where the child was normally resident which are not included in these figures. (5) One LSCB included child death reviews which had been completed in April 2009 in the data provided for the year ending 31 March 2009; therefore there are a small number of children included in both. (6 )These figures include reviews of child deaths which were completed where the child was not normally resident in the CDOP area. (7) One CDOP was unable to provide data which were consistent with the requirements of the data collection. However they estimate that the number of reviews reported above as being completed by 31 March 2011 is approximately correct. | ||||
Children: Protection
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children are on the at-risk register in each local authority in England. [147491]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 12 March 2013]:The number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2012 in each local authority in England are shown in the table.
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The latest figures on children who were the subject of a child protection plan were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 27/2012 'Characteristics of Children in Need, in England, 2011-12', available at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00215043/
| Number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2012 by local authority in England | |||
| Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2012 | Rate of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March per 10,000 children | ||
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| (1 )The total figures for England and regional totals include estimates for missing data and are rounded to the nearest 100. Sub totals may not add up to the England total and regional totals due to rounding. (2) Newham and Havering did not make a CIN return in 2011-12. (3) No data available. Source: 2011-12 Children in Need census | |||
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to publish the final version of the revised Working Together Guidance. [148067]
Mr Timpson [holding answer 14 March 2013]: We have been carefully reflecting on the feedback received through the consultation on the revised ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and have continued to work with interested parties to develop the guidance.
‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ was published on 22 March 2013 and can be found on the DFE website:
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00030-2013.
Copies of this guidance will be placed in the House Libraries.
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children are the subject of a child protection plan in each local authority in the London region. [150473]
Mr Timpson: The numbers of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2012 in each local authority in London are shown in the following table.
The latest figures on children who were the subject of a child protection plan were published in Statistical
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First Release (SFR) 27/2012 ‘Characteristics of children in need in England: year ending March 2012’, available at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00215043/
Copies of this document will be placed in the House Libraries
| Numbers of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2012 by local authority in London | |||
| Children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2012 | Rate of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March per 10,000 children | ||
| (1) The regional totals include estimates for missing data and are rounded to the nearest 100. Sub totals may not add up to regional totals due to rounding. (2) Newham and Havering did not make a CIN return in 2011-12. (3) No data available. Source: 2011-12 Children in Need census | |||
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Children: Speech and Language Disorders
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Better Communication Research Programme: Improving provision for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs report commissioned by his Department and published in December 2012, how he intends to implement the recommendation that all children are entitled to effective teaching to support speech, language and communication development. [137557]
Mr Timpson: It is up to schools to decide on the most effective ways of teaching children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The Department for Education has funded the development of online resources for teachers to support them in this.
The reports from the Better Communication Research Programme provides useful information to those who commission services for children with SLCN and those who provide them, including schools. They evaluate effective practices in promoting the best use of resources and better value for money and provide useful information on ways to improve the identification of SLCN, ensuring children and young people receive the right support based on individual need. The practical tools developed as part of the research programme, for example a classroom communication tool for teachers and a template for commissioners to evaluate the effectiveness of particular interventions, will be an asset to practitioners and commissioners in improving their services. Funding from the Department for Education for The Communication Trust is supporting the dissemination of the research to a wide range of audiences.
Curriculum
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria he is using to determine what to include in the basic curriculum in respect of his Department's consultation on the National Curriculum draft programmes of study. [145299]
Elizabeth Truss: The basic curriculum is legally defined in section 80 of the Education Act 2002 and sets out the curriculum that maintained schools should provide to pupils aged five to 16. It includes the subjects in the National Curriculum, religious education, and—for secondary schools—sex and relationship education. We have no plans to make any changes to this definition.
Education Maintenance Allowance: Barrow in Furness
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in Barrow and Furness constituency received educational maintenance allowance payments in 2010-11; and how many students were in each payment band. [150490]
Mr Laws: Information on education maintenance allowance (EMA) payments is not available at parliamentary constituency level as it is recorded centrally by local authority area. During the 2010/11 academic year, 5,125 students in the Cumbria local authority area received education maintenance allowance payments. 409 students were assessed as being in the £10 payment band; 483 were in the £20 payment band and 4,233 were in the £30 payment band.
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Free School Meals
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that children living in poverty are able to receive free school meals. [148826]
Mr Laws: The Government recognise the benefits of healthy school meals and is committed to continuing to provide free school meals to those pupils who need them most. Our priority is to make sure that the most disadvantaged children are able to get a nutritious meal.
We are working to encourage all families who meet the criteria to register for free school meals. We want disadvantaged children to benefit from a nutritious meal, and their schools to be able to receive pupil premium funding to help raise disadvantaged pupils' attainment.
Free school meals are not compulsory and there are many reasons why a family may choose not to claim a free school meal to which they are entitled. The fear of being stigmatised can prevent many children from taking a free school meal. We have however made progress in addressing this: for example, many schools now have cashless systems and other methods to ensure that it is not obvious which pupils are receiving a free school meal. The Department for Education's eligibility checking system, used by local authorities, has also made it much easier and quicker to check anonymously which families are entitled to free school meals. National free school meal take-up increased by 60,000 between 2010 and 2012.
The move to universal credit means that we need to introduce new criteria, but these will not reduce the number of children eligible for free school meals.
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce any social stigma attached to those children claiming free school meals. [149400]
Mr Laws [holding answer 25 March 2013]: There are many reasons why some pupils or parents decide not to claim the free school meal to which they are entitled. The Department encourages all schools to take any appropriate action to reduce the stigma which can be associated with free school meals, and to encourage all those who are eligible to apply.
The Children's Food Trust has produced a 'Free School Meals Matter Toolkit' which provides schools
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with information and advice to help them to ensure that all pupils entitled to free school meals register for, and take, the meal.
The Department's online Eligibility Checking Service enables parents to apply for school meals without having to give the school information about their income from benefits or earnings. We are encouraging local authorities to increase their use of this resource to encourage more parents to apply online.
A number of schools and local authorities have put in place cashless payment systems which helps to ensure that those children who are receiving free school meals cannot be identified.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which recipients of universal credit will qualify for free school meals. [149830]
Mr Laws: We are currently considering proposals for new eligibility criteria for free school meals under universal credit. We are working very closely with other Departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, to establish free school meals criteria under universal credit, while ensuring that free lunches continue to be available to the families who need them most.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to publish a consultation document on delivering free school meals through universal credit. [149866]
Mr Laws: We will allow good time to enable schools, local authorities and children’s charities to comment on our proposals before we introduce new eligibility criteria.
Free School Meals: Barnsley
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in Barnsley Central constituency are in receipt of free school meals. [150540]
Mr Laws: Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in Barnsley Central constituency, and comparable information for South Yorkshire and England, is shown in the following tables.
The latest published information on free school meal eligibility is available in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2012’ Statistical First Release.
| Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, special schools and pupil referral units(1,2,3,4): Number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(5,6,7), January 2012, Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England | |||||||||
| Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools(1,2) | State-funded secondary schools(1,3) | Special schools(4) | |||||||
| No. on roll(5,6) | No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(5,6) | % of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | No. on roll(5,6) | No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(5,6) | % of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | No. on roll(5,6) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(5,6) | % of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | |
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| Pupil referral units | Total(7) | |||||
| No. on roll(5,6) | No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(5,6) | % of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | No. on roll(5,6) | No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals(5,6) | % of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes all primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools. (4 )Includes maintained special schools, special academies and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarders. In pupil referral units includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (6) Pupils who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part lime attendance and are aged between five and 15. (7) Includes maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, special schools, and pupil referral units. Excludes pupils in alternative provision as full- and part-time status is not collected. (8) South Yorkshire consists of Barnsley, Doncaster. Rotherham and Sheffield local authorities. Note: National and total numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: School Census | ||||||
GCE A-level
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on (a) the proportion of young people entering for A-levels and (b) attainment at A-level by young people from different ethnic backgrounds. [149093]
Elizabeth Truss:
The Department holds information on the number of students entering and achieving A-levels
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in state-funded schools and further education sector colleges by ethnicity. The following table shows the number and percentage of pupils entering at least one
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A-level and, of these, those achieving three or more A*-E grades and those achieving three or more A*-A grades.
| Number and percentage of students(1) entering at least one A-level(2) in 2011/12 and those achieving three or more A-levels (at grades A*-E) and three or more A*-A grades, by ethnicity(3), Year: 2011/12(4), Coverage: England, state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) and FE sector colleges | ||||||
| Entering at least one A-level(2) | Of those students entering at least one A-level, those achieving three or more A*-E grades | Of those students entering at least one A-level, those achieving three or more A*-A grades | ||||
| Number | Percentage(5) | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| (1) Students aged 16-18 at the start of the 2011/12 academic year attending state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) and FE sector colleges. (2) Includes GCE A-level, Applied A-level and Double Award A-levels. (3) Includes students of any other ethnic group; also those students for whom ethnicity was not obtained, refused, or could not be determined. (4) Figures are based on revised data. (5) Percentages based on students aged 16-18 at the start of the 2011/12 academic year attending state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) and FE sector colleges. Source: National Pupil Database (revised data). | ||||||
GCE AS-level
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the oral statement of 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 317, what the source was of the statistic on the proportion of universities using AS-levels when considering which candidates to make offers to. [150064]
Elizabeth Truss: The source of the statistic is the impact assessment of A level reforms commissioned by Ofqual and published in November 2012. The research found that around three quarters of the higher education institutions with whom the researchers spoke based their selection decisions on predicted A-level grades. The research is available on the Ofqual website.
Annual Leave
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies qualify for privilege days; and what the total cost to the public purse was of the number of privilege days utilised each year by such officials. [147736]
Elizabeth Truss: All staff on the Department's payroll qualify for one day's leave for the Queen's birthday and a further 1.5 days in addition to their annual leave entitlement and public holidays. This is consistent with most other Government Departments and is under review as part of a programme of Civil Service Reform.
The annual cost of this will vary from year to year according to the numbers and grades of staff in any given period.
The cost for 2012 has been calculated as £522,194 for the Queen's birthday and £783,290 for the further 1.5 days, giving a total cost of £1,305,484.
Local Safeguarding Children Boards
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what the status will be of the new national panel of independent experts set up to provide advice to local safeguarding children boards; and to whom it will be responsible; [150662]
(2) who will sit on the new national panel of independent experts to provide advice to local safeguarding children boards; and whether it will be in place to coincide with the new Working Together guidance due to come into effect from 15 April 2013. [150663]
Mr Timpson: The new national panel of independent experts on Serious Case Reviews will act in an advisory capacity to LSCB Chairs. The panel's members will be appointed by the Secretary of State but will work independently of Government. The panel will not be a statutory body but the new statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013)’:
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/safeguardingchildren/protection/a00210235/consultation
sets out its role and states that local safeguarding children boards should have regard to its advice. A copy of this document will be placed in the House Libraries.
The panel will be made up of individuals who are experts in their own fields and will be helpful to LSCB Chairs as they make decisions about commissioning and publishing SCRs. We do not expect the panel to be fully operational by 15 April when ‘Working Together’ comes into effect. We do, however, expect to be able to announce the names of the panel members shortly and we will confirm to LSCBs when and how they should begin to provide information to the panel.
Mobile Phones: Children
John Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with mobile device application developers on applications
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available to buy in the UK which are aimed at children and allow in-app purchases. [149582]
Mr Timpson: Through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), Ministers have put in place a series of sector-based project groups to address the availability and take-up of parental controls on internet-enabled devices. We have seen a number of manufacturers such as BlackBerry and Apple respond by developing systems that can allow parents to restrict children from downloading or using specific apps, including those that allow in-app purchases. In addition we have seen the development of similar tools with this functionality by third parties such as Vodafone and their Guardian parental control software.
Official Engagements
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to paragraph 10.17 of the Ministerial Code, whether he has been accompanied by his spouse or partner on official duties on any occasion when the expenses relating to his spouse or partner were paid from public funds since May 2010; and what the cost of those expenses was on each occasion. [149062]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 19 March 2013]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's wife does not accompany him on his official duties.
Official Gifts
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has (a) received and (b) retained any gifts given to him in his ministerial capacity since May 2010 that were (i) under the value of £140 and (ii) over the value of £140 but purchased by him in accordance with paragraph 7.22 of the Ministerial Code. [149059]
Elizabeth Truss [holding answer 19 March 2013]: The Department does not hold information regarding gifts of a value less than £140. Information about gifts received that are valued at more than £140 is available on the Department's website at:
www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/b0065263/ministers-quarterly-returns
This information is published on a quarterly basis. Information for the period from September 2012 to December 2012 is currently being collated and will be published in due course.
Orphans: Education
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial assistance his Department provides to orphans from the age of 16 to allow them to continue in full-time education. [150073]
Mr Timpson: 16 and 17-year-old young people who are in the care of local authorities, or who have left care, receive support to address their full range of needs, including education. They will receive support from a social worker, as well as from carers and a range of other professionals including teachers. Care leaver entitlements include:
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a 16-19 Bursary scheme which began at the start of the 2011/12 academic year. Care leavers, and also young people who are still looked after, are guaranteed a £1,200 bursary if they continue in full-time education;
a setting up home allowance;
a £2,000 Higher Education Bursary for all eligible care leavers;
consistent personal support from a suitably qualified personal adviser up to age 21 or beyond if in education (this includes providing access to careers advice); and
for care leavers up to age 25 who return to education or training, the support of a personal adviser while they are on their agreed course.
Pay
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how much was paid to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each of the last five years; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest payments made in each year; [148023]
(2) what allowances and subsidies in addition to salary were available to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of such payments and allowances in each such year. [148042]
Mr Laws: We use a non-consolidated (non pensionable) amount of our pay bill to reward exceptional performance. The following table shows the amounts paid with respect to non-consolidated performance related pay in each of the last five financial years for the current Department for Education and its predecessor, the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The top 20 of these awards also form the 20 largest payments made in each of the last five years.
The Department is able to pay a range of allowances to staff to enable delivery of departmental business and to recognise and retain specific skills. This includes payments to acknowledge staff who undertake temporary periods of additional duties and payments to enable recruitment for posts which are hard to fill, or require particular specialisms.
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The following table shows the Department's policies for its key allowances in terms of the amounts paid.
The Department's spend on allowances does not vary greatly from year to year unless there are big changes in headcount. Spend for each of the financial years from 2007/08 to 2011/12 is around £300,000 each year.
The Department also makes a number of non cash payments to eligible staff in the form of child care vouchers. These can be used by staff to pay for registered and approved child care and the value varies depending on the age of the child and location. The amounts range between £39 to £200 for staff out of London; £45 to £230 for London staff; and £90 to £460 for staff with children with special needs. The amount spent on these vouchers was £390,000 in 2007/08, £380,000 in 2008/09, £600,000 for 2009/10 (including payments for staff in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills), £460,000 for 2010/11 and £660,000 2011/12.
Information on the public servants employed in the Department's NDPBs is a matter for them and is not held centrally.
Photographs
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many posters and displays there are in the offices of his Department and its agencies displaying the names and photographs of Ministers; and how much his Department has spent on producing such posters and displays since May 2010. [149452]
Mr Laws: The names and photographs of current Ministers, as well as former Secretaries of State since the formation of the Department for Education, are displayed in the reception area of our London headquarters. This display is produced in-house by civil servants at minimal cost.