Details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale reporting system. The data may differ slightly to those of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date.
The above data include figures for cases attributable to Hull venue irrespective of where they were heard. The facility to provide this information has been available since February 2013 and has been applied retrospectively. Figures may therefore differ slightly to those provided previously.
The number of appeals received by the SSCS tribunal nationally has risen significantly: from 339,200 in 2009-10 to 507,100 in 2012-13 (an increase of 49%). In addition to local initiatives, such as identifying additional hearing venues across HMCTS estate, and increasing the use of Saturday sessions, HMCTS continues to respond strongly at a national level to continue to increase the capacity of the SSCS tribunal and reduce waiting times. Measures in place include ongoing recruitment of additional judges and medically qualified members and the review and continuous improvement of administrative processes both internally and between HMCTS and DWP. All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 465,500 in 2012-13 (an increase of 66%).
The average waiting time for all appeals heard by the SSCS has fallen nationally from 23 weeks in 2011-12 to 18 weeks in 2012-13. Within the overall national figures, there will be some hearing centres where practical constraints mean that it takes longer to deliver improvement.
In Hull the waiting time has increased from 19 weeks in 2011-12 to 22 weeks in 2012-13. The increased workload requires further venue space and tribunal medical members in Hull, both of which take time to put in place. The geographical position of Hull also makes it harder to offer alternative venues or to move resources.
A number of steps to improve this position have been taken. Specifically, the number of sessions listed at the Hull venue has increased by 10% over the period January - May 2013, compared to the previous five months. A different listing practice to be introduced in July, and an additional hearing room secured at Hull magistrates court from August, will increase capacity further. It is
9 July 2013 : Column 214W
anticipated clearances will be doubled in the short term. In addition, from October there will be newly recruited and fully trained medical and judicial members to allow increased listing of appeals including at a further additional venue in Beverley.
Fraud
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been prosecuted in magistrates courts for providing false information relating to their financial circumstances in each of the last five years; and how many of those prosecutions related to applications for legal aid. [159006]
Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to “dishonestly making a false representation to make a gain for oneself or another or to cause loss to another or to expose another to risk” in each of the last five years from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
However, it is not possible from centrally held data to separately analyse which of these prosecutions related to applications for legal aid.
| Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for dishonestly making a false representation to make a gain for oneself or another or to cause loss to another or to expose another to risk(1), 2008-12(2,3) | |
| Number | |
| (1) An offence under Section 2 of the Fraud Act, which came into force on 15 January 2007. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (5) Following further validation and receipt of additional magistrates court records, a number of revisions have been made to previously published 2011 information. As such, 2011 figures may not match what was previously provided. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |
Homicide
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on employment protection for people bereaved by a homicide. [161853]
Mrs Grant: Victim Support's national Homicide Service caseworkers provide support and guidance to bereaved families, including helping them inform employers about their situation and accessing legal advice. It is for the employers to decide, taking into account someone's contract of employment and any relevant legal requirements, the position they take in respect of employees who find themselves bereaved by homicide.
Legal Aid Scheme
Mr Nicholas Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his Department's transforming legal aid
9 July 2013 : Column 215W
proposals on the number of people in receipt of legal aid in
(a)
England and Wales,
(b)
the North East and
(c)
Newcastle upon Tyne. [156964]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the ‘Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system’ consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
Five impact assessments have been written in relation to this consultation and they address the numbers of legal aid recipients that would potentially be affected by these proposals. The impact assessments are as follows:
1) Civil Credibility Impact Assessment
2) Crime Credibility Impact Assessment
3) Civil Fees Impact Assessment
4) Crime Fees Impact Assessment
5) Criminal Litigation Price Competition Impact Assessment
They are all available to download from the Consultation webpage which can be found here:
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid
The analysis supporting this was undertaken at the national level, rather than at the regional level.
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total value of legal aid contribution orders made in the Crown court in each of the last five years was; and what proportion of those costs were successfully recovered. [159093]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is working to improve Crown court means testing performance, including encouraging greater compliance with evidential requirements, and improving collection and enforcement rates.
Current proposals include the introduction of motor vehicle order (MVO) regulations and a new financial eligibility threshold in the Crown court of £37,500. The introduction of MVO regulations would allow the LAA to apply to the court for a clamping order and, subsequently, to apply for an order for sale of the vehicle if the defendant was convicted and had still not settled their liabilities. The new financial eligibility threshold of £37,500 or more annual disposable household income would ensure that wealthy individuals are no longer automatically provided with legal aid up-front at public expense.
As at 31 March 2013, the Crown court means testing scheme had successfully recovered £9.6 million (22%) of the £43.6 million total crystallised contribution order value, since its inception in January 2010.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many representations he has received from organisations, companies and individuals on his legal aid reform consultation in the last six months. [160946]
Jeremy Wright: For a list of meetings my ministerial colleagues, officials, and I have undertaken since October 2012 I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz), PQ 158068, 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 480-84W.
9 July 2013 : Column 216W
Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the desirable ratio of firms who provide legal aid to people seeking such aid. [162074]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
As set out in the consultation paper, in determining the optimum number of contracts in each procurement area we considered that the following were the key factors:
Sufficient supply to deal with potential conflicts of interest
Sufficient case volume to allow fixed fee schemes to work
Market agility
Sustainable procurement
The detailed rationale that underpins each of these four key factors is outlined in paragraph 4.64 of the consultation paper and we sought views on this element of the proposal.
This approach would entail a significant reduction in the number of contracts in each procurement area. A detailed breakdown of the illustrative number of contracts based on the LAA administrative data on legal aid claims in the period October 2010 to September 2011 in each procurement area is set out in the consultation paper.
It is important to highlight that while the proposal would entail a significant reduction in the number of contracts, under the proposed model applicants could be individual organisations, a joint venture or an alternative business structure. Applicants could choose to deliver the service themselves and/or through the use of agents. The LAA would ensure that all contractors are able to deliver the case volume capacity for which they have applied.
We are now carefully considering all responses to this proposal.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has given to the rights of children as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in developing his proposals for criminal legal aid. [162083]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
We are clear we will continue to uphold everyone's right to a fair trial. Quality assured lawyers will still be available—just as they are now. The Legal Aid Agency would ensure as part of the tendering process that all
9 July 2013 : Column 217W
providers are capable of delivering the full range of criminal legal aid services under contract across their procurement areas. We consider the proposals are in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he will take to ensure that child victims of trafficking have access to appropriately qualified solicitors under his proposals for criminal legal aid. [162341]
Jeremy Wright: Child victims of trafficking will continue to have access to criminal legal aid services if they are accused of committing a crime. In relation to civil legal aid only, we have proposed that in future applicants would have to satisfy a residence test in order to be eligible for civil legal aid. Immigrants, including victims of trafficking and domestic violence, would be exempted from the residence test in cases where they were seeking to claim asylum. The proposed residency test would not apply to applications for criminal legal aid.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of planned changes to legal aid on family courts. [162867]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation.
Five impact assessments were published alongside the consultation paper and these can be accessed online here:
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-legal-aid
The consultation asked for responses on where potential impacts may have been missed and officials are now analysing these responses.
The 2013 civil legal aid tender was heavily oversubscribed suggesting there remains a strong appetite to undertake legal aid work. The impact of the proposed reduction in the fixed representation fee paid to solicitors in public law family cases will depend on the individual reaction of individual solicitor firms. However, the current significant reduction in the average duration of care cases combined with the expected further reduction in the amount of work needed on each case as a result of reforms stemming from the Family Justice Review suggests that the fixed representation fee no longer represents value for money for the taxpayer.
In addition, family public law proceedings currently represent the largest area of expert fee spend. It is anticipated that there will be a reduction in the need for experts resulting from reforms stemming from the Family Justice Review. It is possible, therefore, that fewer experts will be needed. The reaction of the market to this expected reduction is unclear but it is also possible that there will be more competition between experts for the reduced work that will remain available. Overall we are currently satisfied that sufficient experts are likely to remain in the market to satisfy expected future demand. However, we are in the process of analysing the responses to the consultation and will consider all views before final decisions are taken.
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what date he plans to bring forward
9 July 2013 : Column 218W
secondary legislation to implement policy changes arising from his Department's consultation, Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system. [163007]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including the nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
The indicative timetable for implementation of the proposals for crime competition is set out in paragraph 4.153 of the consultation document. We will ensure all necessary legislation is introduced in time to implement the final proposals.
The timetable for reducing the fixed representation fees paid to solicitors in family cases covered by the Care Proceedings Graduated Fee Scheme is set out in paragraph 6.13 of the consultation document.
If the proposals on which we consulted were to be implemented, we anticipate laying the necessary legislation in autumn 2013. We are currently considering all responses to the consultation before final decisions are taken and no firm dates have yet been set.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the reforms to legal aid proposed in his Department's consultation on transforming legal aid. [163058]
Jeremy Wright: Between 9 April and 4 June 2013 the Government consulted on a number of proposals to reform legal aid via the “Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system” consultation. This included a proposed model of competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including nearly £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer.
The Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Education have not had a meeting together where the Transforming Legal Aid consultation was discussed. However, the Secretary of State for Education was consulted—in writing—in advance of the consultation being published through the normal Cabinet clearance mechanisms.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration he has made of future changes in fees for experts within the legal aid budget. [163375]
Jeremy Wright: With pressure to meet continuing fiscal challenges, and the need to deliver further savings in legal aid, we proposed that fees to experts be reduced by 20% as part of our recent consultation on Legal Aid Transformation. This proposal was based on consideration of fees paid to experts elsewhere in Government which suggested that legal aid fees were generally higher than elsewhere.
9 July 2013 : Column 219W
The Legal Aid Transformation consultation exercise closed on 4 June. A significant number of responses were received to the consultation and analysis of those responses is currently under way. Final decisions have yet to be reached on any of the proposed reforms, including that proposed to expert fees.
Magistrates Courts: Coventry
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what factors he took into account in the decision to close Coventry magistrates court; and if he will make a statement. [163340]
Mrs Grant: No decision has been taken about the future of Coventry magistrates court. HMCTS continues to keep the use of its estate under review to ensure it meets operational requirements.
Misconduct: Sentencing
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what sentences have been imposed on people found guilty of committing an offence of (a) misconduct in public office and (b) conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office since 2005. [154294]
Jeremy Wright: A breakdown of those found guilty and sentenced, with sentence breakdown by disposal, for offences of “misconduct in public life by act or omission” in England and Wales for 2005-12 can be viewed in the table.
Misconduct in public office is unacceptable and this Government are committed to ensuring that all those guilty of this offence are brought to justice.
| Offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences of 'misconduct in public office by act or omission'(1,2), England and Wales,2005-12(3,4) | ||||||||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008(5) | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| (1) An offence under Common Law In England and Wales. (2) All attempts to commit offences, conspiracies to commit offences, charges of participation in offences as accessories after the fact and charges of participation in offences by impeding the apprehension or prosecution of the offender should be classified under the heading of the offence itself, except in certain cases where separate headings are given in the list. (3) The figures given in the table 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. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | ||||||||
9 July 2013 : Column 220W
Parole
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on seeking input from families of victims when an application for parole has been considered. [163290]
Mrs Grant: Victims who have opted in to the statutory Probation Victim Contact Scheme for victims of serious violent and sexual offences where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more, will be informed of a Parole Board review and offered the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS). The VPS provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the offence has affected them or their family, both at the time it was committed and since, and how they think the offender's release would affect them. The VPS can contribute to a better and more informed hearing, as it may enable more robust questioning of the offender about the offence, remorse and victim empathy.
If an oral hearing is held, the victim or their family members may request to attend to read their VPS in person, or, where the facilities are available, may request to read their VPS via videolink.
Under the new Code of Practice for Victims of Crime due for publication later in the year, probation trusts will have a duty to ensure that victims are offered the opportunity to make a VPS and that it is forwarded to the Parole Board in time for it to be read by the panel, and the Parole Board will have a duty to read the VPS when making the decision.
If victims have evidence that the offender may present an ongoing risk to them, they can submit this through their probation victim liaison officer, who will pass that evidence to the offender manager to be addressed in the offender manager's report to the Parole Board, which is one of the key documents used to assess the prisoner's suitability for release. The Parole Board must consider any information about the victim which relates directly to the current risk presented by the offender.
Victims are also statutorily able to make representations to the Parole Board about the licence conditions to which an offender will be subject on release, such as a condition prohibiting the offender from contacting them or their family members, or an exclusion zone prohibiting them entering areas in which they live or work for example. If the Parole Board does not include a condition which was requested by the victim, they must provide reasons for this.
The purpose of a review is to assist the Parole Board determine whether the risk presented by a prisoner, including to victims, is such that he may be safely managed in the community. If the Parole Board is not so satisfied, it will not direct the release of the offender.
Prisoners’ Release
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on informing the family of a murder victim about the release from custody of the person convicted of that murder. [163309]
Mrs Grant:
The families of murder victims have a statutory right to be offered access to the Probation Victim Contact Scheme. The Scheme is for victims
9 July 2013 : Column 221W
bereaved by murder, as well as for victims of violent and sexual offences where the offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, or a hospital order. The Scheme is delivered by victim liaison officers employed by probation trusts.
Victims who opt in to the Victim Contact Scheme are told of key stages in the offender's sentence, such as the offender's forthcoming parole review, and the outcome of that review, whether the Parole Board has directed the offender's release, recommended his transfer to open conditions or declined to do either.
Victims also have a statutory right to make representations about licence conditions to which the offender will be subject on release. These can include a no-contact condition and an exclusion zone prohibiting the offender from entering areas where victims live, work and into which they travel frequently. Victims will be told which conditions included on the licence relate to them.
9 July 2013 : Column 222W
Prisoners’ Transfers
Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoner transfers were made from each prison establishment in England and Wales in each week from November 2012 to May 2013. [158153]
Jeremy Wright: The information available on transfers to court from individual prison establishments in each month during the period 1 November 2012 to 30 April 2013 is set out in the following table. Figures are not collected centrally on a weekly basis and obtaining them would incur disproportionate cost. The table also includes total monthly figures for the number of transfers from one prison establishment to another during the period; however, figures disaggregated to establishment level are not readily available and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. Figures for May 2013 are not yet available.
| Prisoner transfers from prison to court, by establishment, and total inter-prison transfers, November 2012 to April 2013 | |||||||
| Prisoners delivered to court from HMP | |||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | ||||||
| Prison | November | December | January | February | March | April | Total |
9 July 2013 : Column 223W
9 July 2013 : Column 224W
9 July 2013 : Column 225W
9 July 2013 : Column 226W
Prisons: Visits
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoner-to-prisoner visits there were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [161365]
Jeremy Wright: Inter-prison visits are only allowed in exceptional circumstances, and no conjugal visits are permitted. All visits are risk assessed and prison governors reserve the right to refuse any application. Any costs relating to inter-prison visits are met locally by individual prisons.
The number of inter-prison visits from establishments in England and Wales recorded as having taken place in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 are set out in the following table.
| Number of inter-prison visits completed from prison establishments in England and Wales for 2010, 2011 and 2012 | |
| Total | |
Data have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
Procurement
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the suspension of his Department's end user computing and common services contract on the proposals in the Transforming the Criminal Justice System strategy. [163249]
Damian Green:
The impact of the cancellation of the procurement of a new end user computing contract for the Department has been assessed and it is anticipated
9 July 2013 : Column 227W
that there will be a minor delay in contracting for these services. It is planned for some if not all of this delay to be recovered in the transition phase from our old contracts to the new contract, and therefore impact on the wider Transformation programme is expected to be minimal.
Sexual Offences: Trials
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to introduce specialist courts to try offences (a) of child sexual abuse and (b) all sexual offences. [163332]
Mrs Grant: The Ministry of Justice published a Transforming the CJS Strategy and Action Plan on 28 June 2013. As part of this, the Government have committed to consider the way sexual offences are investigated and prosecuted and to identify what further action is required to improve the CJS response to these crimes. We will report on our considerations by November 2013.
Church Commissioners
Churches: Bats
Miss McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what the policy of the Church Commissioners is on dealing with bats in churches; and if he will make a statement. [164276]
Sir Tony Baldry: The Church of England has some 6,400 churches with bats living in them. While small numbers of bats can easily co-exist with church congregations, where there are large roosts the effect on the congregation and fabric of the building can be intolerable.
The Church recognises that for an increasing number of parish churches many bat roosts have now become so large that they are disruptive to the life of the parish and the wider community who regularly use the building. In these situations extensive and regular cleaning is required to allow the church to continue to be in active public use at great expense to the parish. Sensitive cleaning and conservation work is also required to protect nationally important monuments and treasures from becoming stained or corroded.
The Church encourages all parishes to engage productively with all interested parties; however, recognition needs to be made that these buildings are open to the public on a daily basis, are places where food is often served and an appropriate level of hygiene will be expected.
St Hilda’s, Ellerburn is one of the worst affected churches in the country. In 2011 the parish took the unprecedented step of closing the church and worshipping in a tent in the churchyard, having come to the view that the church building was no longer a clean and welcoming environment. This situation is not one the Church of England would like to see replicated in other churches and it is attempting to seek resolution through ongoing conversations with the Government and Natural England.
9 July 2013 : Column 228W
Education
Academic Year
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the expected benefits of allowing schools to vary term dates are. [163716]
Elizabeth Truss: This freedom will enable all schools to organise the school year in a way that best suits the education of their pupils. It will also allow them to be more responsive to parents' needs.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received regarding concerns over proposals to allow schools to vary term dates. [163718]
Elizabeth Truss: The Department consulted informally with head teachers, local authorities and head teacher unions. There was support for the proposals, but recognition that schools will need to act reasonably. This included considering parents' views before making any changes, giving sufficient notice of those changes, and putting local co-ordination arrangements in place.
Academies Capital Maintenance Fund
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each school has received under the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund in each year of that fund's operation; and in which parliamentary constituency is each such school based. [163582]
Mr Laws: 967 academies have received allocations totalling over £430 million through the first two years of the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund. I have placed details of the individual amounts allocated to academies to date in the Library.
A further £325 million has also been allocated to 789 academies in the current financial year 2013-14. The Department will publish details of these allocations in the autumn. A second round of this year's fund is currently open for applications from the most recent converter academies.
Children: Day Care
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department will spend on free child care for disadvantaged two-year-olds in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16. [163969]
Elizabeth Truss: Following the conclusion of the spending round on 26 June 2013, we will finalise the Department's 2014-15 budgets and set 2015-16 budgets as part of our internal business planning process. The 2014-15 local authority funding allocations for early learning for two-year-olds will be published later in the autumn.
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the value of local authority Early Years advisers to private, voluntary and independent Early Years child care providers. [163971]
9 July 2013 : Column 229W
Elizabeth Truss: The Department recently consulted on the role of the local authority in early years and child care. We received a large number of responses from a range of organisations and local authorities, including on the role of early years advisers. We will publish our response in due course.
Departmental Responsibilities
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent priorities have been set for his Department by the Prime Minister; and if he will make a statement. [164157]
Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education provided a list of the Department's priorities to the Education Select Committee earlier this year(1). A copy will be placed in the House Library.
(1) http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselec t/cmeduc/writev/ministerialpriorities.pdf