Billing

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department makes of a contractor's previous performance in paying sub-contractors when awarding that company further contracts. [169641]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department does not use a contractor's previous performance in paying sub-contractors into account when awarding contracts. However, if an existing contractor breached their contract conditions to pay sub-contractors on time then action would be taken to remedy the breach with the ultimate sanction of contract termination.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that all contractors shortlisted for the new schools framework comply with the Government's new contractual

8 Oct 2013 : Column 235W

requirements for suppliers' payments; and if he will take steps to ensure that all sub-contractors are also paid within their payment terms. [169642]

Elizabeth Truss: The standard form Design and Build contract used on the Education Funding Agency (EFA) Contractors Framework makes it obligatory for the contractor to comply with the Office of Government Commerce Fair Payment Guide. This requires the contractor to make payment to its supply chain with a total period not exceeding 30 calendar days. Furthermore, where the EFA is the procuring authority, the new Framework will provide for project bank accounts to be used where the scale and scope of the projects makes it reasonable to do so. Project bank accounts generally enable upper tiers of sub-contractors to receive payment at the same time as the main contractor.

The Department is not a party to contracts between contractors and their sub-contractors.

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to tackle duplicate payments to its suppliers. [169682]

Elizabeth Truss: By the end of the current financial year, the Department will have undertaken a spend recovery audit, which will identify any duplicate supplier payments so recovery action can be taken.

Buildings

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what refurbishments to his Department’s buildings have been carried out in the last 24 months; and at what cost. [168801]

Elizabeth Truss: The cost of refurbishments since May 2010 are a fraction of the cost of the £14.2 million refurbishment of sanctuary buildings undertaken by the previous Government between 2006 and 2010.

During the period 1 September 2011 to 1 September 2013, two refurbishments of the Department’s buildings were undertaken, both of which have resulted in substantial savings for the taxpayer:

1. A cost-saving measure at the National College for School Leadership’s Learning and Conference Centre, Nottingham to change from serviced to self-service tea-point areas for delegates. The project was completed between May and June 2012 at a cost of £17,000. The change to not providing free hot drinks to staff has saved approximately £34,240 a year. The cost of the refurbishment was therefore recouped within a year.

2. The Department’s office in Histon, near Cambridge, was refurbished between January and March 2012 at a project cost of £159,000. This project enabled the closure of another office in Ipswich, resulting in a saving of c£100,000 per annum. The cost of the refurbishment will be recouped after two years.

The cumulative savings generated by these two refurbishments already amount to c£192,800—more than the original up-front costs of £176,000.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many square metres of office space his Department (a) owns and (b) rents in London; and what the value is of that property. [169419]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not own any office space in London. Details of the office space it rents are shown in the following table.

8 Oct 2013 : Column 236W

LocationTotal (m2)Area occupied by DFE (m2)Area occupied by DFE sub-tenants (m2)

Sanctuary Buildings

21,098

18,624.50

2,473.50

33 Greycoat Street

1,591

1,381

210

As the Department does not own the properties, we do not know the current market value of the buildings.

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the expenditure on office refurbishment by (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each year since 2010-11. [169446]

Elizabeth Truss: The office refurbishments recently undertaken by the Department for Education (DFE) are set out in the following table:

 CostComments

2006-10

c£14.2 million

The total refurbishment of Sanctuary Buildings was c£14.2 million over a four year period. The project commenced from November 2006.

2010-11

c£60,000

Minor refurbishment of Castle View House, Runcorn.

2011-12

c£200,000

DFE ALB Reform Programme. This included the refurbishment of the Department's office in Histon, near Cambridge. Project cost of £159,000. This enabled the more efficient use of the Department's existing estate, resulting in a saving of c£100,000 a year. The cost of refurbishment will be recouped after two years.

2012-13

c£17,000

A cost-saving measure at the National College for School Leadership's Learning and Conference Centre, Nottingham, to change from serviced to self-service tea-point area for delegates. The project was completed between May and June 2012 at a cost of £17,000. The change to not providing free hot drinks to staff has saved approximately £34,240 a year. The cost of the refurbishment was therefore recouped within a year.

Recent known NDPB refurbishment costs are as follows:

 CostComments

2009-10

c£4.6 million

Refurbishment of the British Education Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) facility in the University Business Park Coventry and the TDA building in Manchester.

2010-11

c£50,000

Minor refurbishment work: The Office of Children's Commissioner. (OCC) carried out work to vacant DFE offices in Greycoat Street (£28,000) enabling them to move from London Bridge offices creating a saving of £150,000 a year. The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) spent £22,000 on refurbishing offices at Albion Street, Leeds.

2011-12

c£40,000

The Teaching and Development Agency moved from expensive premises in Buckingham Palace Road, London to Manchester Piccadilly Gate saving c£4 million a year.

The cumulative annual savings (to 30 September 2013) generated by these refurbishments since 2010-11 amount to £10.8 million—far higher than the upfront capital costs at £367,000.

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the number of office relocations made by staff of (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies (i) within the original building and (ii) to other buildings in each year since 2009-10; what the cost of (A) removals and (B) refurbishments related to such

8 Oct 2013 : Column 237W

moves has been; and on how many occasions offices refurbished by his Department in that period have been used by his Department's staff for less than four years before a further move. [169460]

Elizabeth Truss: Since 2009-10 the Department for Education has reduced the size of its office estate, enabling extra space to be sub-let. The Department does not hold details of the number of individual staff moves involved.

As part of its arm's length body (ALB) reform programme, the Department moved some 900 staff between its ALB properties and existing DFE sites. This enabled the Department to surrender six properties, delivering property cost reductions of in the region of £6 million a year. We also moved about 250 staff within the ALB properties enabling us to make more efficient use of space.

The Training and Development Agency (TDA) moved approximately 300 staff from central London to Manchester which achieved total savings of circa £4 million. The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) moved about 250 staff from central London to Coventry, which achieved total savings of circa £3.8 million.

(a) Removals

DFE removal costs since 2009-10 are:

 Cost (circa £)

2009-10

0

2010-11

0

2011-12

13,000

2012-13

20,000

2013-14

0

NDPB removal costs since 2009-10 are:

 Cost (circa £)

2009-10

185,000

2010-11

6,000

2011-12

0

2012-13

0

2013-14

0

1 The Department does not hold the costs for the TDA and QCDA moves in 2009-10. We have therefore used a cost of £150 per person for this calculation.

(b) Refurbishments

Recent DFE refurbishment costs are as follows:

 Cost (circa £)Comments

2006-10

14,200,000

The total refurbishment of the Sanctuary Buildings was circa £14.2million over a four year period. The project commenced from November 2006.

2010-11

60,000

Minor refurbishment of Castle View House, Runcorn.

2011-12

200,000

DFE ALB reform programme, including the refurbishment of the Department's office in Histon, near Cambridge. Project cost of £159,000. This enabled the more efficient use of the Department's existing estate, resulting in a saving of circa £100,000 a year. The cost of refurbishment will be recouped after two years.

8 Oct 2013 : Column 238W

2012-13

17,000

A cost-saving measure at the National College for School Leadership's Learning and Conference Centre, in Nottingham to change from serviced to self-service tea-point areas for delegates. The project was completed between May and June 2012 at a cost of £17,000. The change to not providing free hot drinks to staff has saved approximately £34,240 a year. The cost of the refurbishment was therefore recouped within a year.

Recent known NDPB refurbishment costs are as follows:

 Cost (circa £)Comments

2009-10

4,600,000

Refurbishment of the British Education Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) facility in the University Business Park Coventry and the TDA building in Manchester.

2010-11

50,000

Minor refurbishment work to DFE offices in Greycoat street costing £28,000 enabling staff to move from London Bridge offices creating a saving of £150,000 a year. The Children's Workforce Development Council spent £22,000 on refurbishing offices at Albion Street, Leeds.

2011-12

40,000

The Training and Development Agency moved from expensive premises in Buckingham Palace Road London to Manchester Piccadilly Gate saving circa £4 million a year.

The cumulative annual savings (to 30 September 2013) generated by these refurbishments since 2010-11 amount to £10.8 million—far higher than the upfront capital costs at £367,000.

The Department has made significant progress in reducing the size and cost of its estate. In April 2010, there were four buildings on the core DFE estate (London, Sheffield, Runcorn and Darlington) but including the ALBs (except for CAFCASS) the Department had a total of 30 properties with some £51 million per annum property costs. Over the last two and a half years we have reduced this to 12 occupied properties, saving £17.5 million a year.

To date, no offices were occupied for less than four years.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many Ofsted inspectors have been the subject of three or more complaints from childcare providers about the quality or result of an unscheduled inspection since August 2008; [168411]

(2) how many ex-gratia payments Ofsted has made with respect to upheld complaints from childcare providers downgraded after being subject to an unscheduled inspection in each month since August 2008; and what the combined value is of those payments. [168412]

Elizabeth Truss: These questions are for Ofsted to answer. I have asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the hon. Member. Copies of his replies will be placed in the House Library.

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister of 2 September 2013, how many children in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough

8 Oct 2013 : Column 239W

constituency and

(b)

North Yorkshire will be eligible for free childcare on 1 October (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014. [169363]

Elizabeth Truss: We have made no estimate of numbers of children likely to be eligible in each individual constituency. With reference to the 2 September 2013 announcement, we estimate that around 806 two-year-olds in North Yorkshire were eligible on 1 October 2013. We also estimate that a total of some 2,200 two-year-olds in North Yorkshire will be eligible on 1 October 2014.

Classroom Assistants: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teaching assistants there are in schools in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands. [169028]

Mr Laws: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants1 in service in publicly funded schools in Ashfield constituency2, Nottinghamshire local authority2, East Midlands region2 and England2 in November 2012.

 Teaching assistants

Ashfield

470

Nottinghamshire

3,040

East Midlands

17,200

England

232,270

1 Includes higher level teaching assistants. 2 The national and local authority figures include an estimate for those schools that did not make a return. This has not been done at constituency level. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Workforce Census

College of Social Work

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much central Government funding the College of Social Work has received to date by Department. [169571]

Mr Timpson: A total of £7.45 million has been provided to establish and fund the College of Social Work. The breakdown of this funding, provided by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education (DfE), is set out in the following table:

 DH (£000)DfE (£000)Total

2009-10

2,500

0

2,500

2011-12

0

2,500

2,500

2012-13

450

800

1,250

2013-14

600

600

1,200

Total

3,550

3,900

7,450

Communication Skills: Education

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps he has taken to promote the teaching of speaking and listening skills in schools at Key Stage 4. [168431]

8 Oct 2013 : Column 240W

Elizabeth Truss: We have ensured that the development of spoken language is well covered in the new national curriculum: it has its own section in English; its importance in the development of cognition is emphasised in the introduction to each of the primary English, mathematics and science programmes of study; and there is a separate section on literacy, spoken language and vocabulary development in the main framework document to emphasise the importance of developing language in all subjects.

Teaching and assessment of speaking and listening remains a compulsory part of all English and English Language GCSEs. Ofqual has said that speaking and listening will be reported separately on the GCSE certificate alongside the GCSE grade. We are currently considering responses to our recent consultation on the content of English Language GCSEs. We will be announcing the outcome of the consultation, including the place of spoken language assessment in the reformed GCSEs, in due course.

The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), published draft key stage 4 programmes of study for English, mathematics and science earlier this year for information. We will consult on them formally once we have finalised the GCSE subject content in these subjects, to ensure that the curriculum and qualifications are fully coherent.

Curriculum

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what guidance his Department will give to schools on changes made to the teaching of the curriculum following the National Curriculum Reform; and when such guidance will be given; [169518]

(2) what extra money he will provide to schools to prepare them for the changes made to the teaching of the curriculum following the National Curriculum Reform; and when he will decide on the level of any such budgetary support. [169519]

Elizabeth Truss: The Government recognise that the high expectations set by the new national curriculum will present some challenges for schools. However, it is expected that schools will identify their own priorities for action, and will identify appropriate sources of support.

To assist with this, existing opportunities funded by the Government in core subjects are being adapted to reflect the requirements of the new curriculum. For example, the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) has a range of support for schools on implementing the new curriculum, and Myscience, who run the Science Learning Centres, are also refocusing their support. The match funding scheme of £3,000 for phonics materials and training has been extended until the end of October 2013. We have made £2 million available to recruit 400 master teachers in computer science over the next two years. We also announced a further £2 million to support teaching schools to take forward the delivery of the new curriculum in their alliances; and in March we announced £150 million per year of ring-fenced funding for primary school sport.

We are also working with subject experts, publishers, educational suppliers and others to identify what support for schools is already in place, identifying any gaps that

8 Oct 2013 : Column 241W

need to be filled and how that might be achieved. This will also support providers in adapting their initial teacher training to take account of the new curriculum from 2013/14 onwards. In addition, we have given prominence to national curriculum subjects in our bursaries for teacher training commencing in September 2013.

Drinking Water

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and its predecessors spent on bottled water in each of the last five years. [168880]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education and its predecessors have not spent any money on bottled water in the last five years.

Dyslexia

Sir James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department has issued to (a) schools and (b) education authorities on the (i) identification and assessment of and (ii) provision for children with dyslexia. [168859]

Mr Timpson: Guidance on identifying and supporting pupils with special educational needs (SEN), including those with dyslexia, is set out in the statutory SEN code of practice.

The Department for Education will publish a new SEN code of practice for consultation this autumn. It will include guidance for identifying, assessing and supporting children and young people with SEN including those with dyslexia. Subject to the passage of the Children and Families Bill, the new code will be laid before Parliament in early 2014 with the aim of it being approved by spring 2014.

The Department for Education funds the Dyslexia-SpLD Trust to support schools, professionals and local authorities to improve the support available to dyslexic pupils, drawing on the evidence of effective programmes. This includes a professional development framework to help teachers of all levels assess their skills and knowledge and access training and support materials. Information is available at:

www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk

Education: Databases

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of records held on Edubase that are out-of-date or inaccurate. [168960]

Mr Laws: No estimate has been made of the proportion of records held on Edubase that are out-of-date or inaccurate.

Edubase records are maintained by data owners located within their relevant policy areas. Information is also received from a number of sources including schools, local authorities, data collections and external partners.

Free Schools: East Sussex

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what expressions of interest his Department

8 Oct 2013 : Column 242W

has received on opening a free school in

(a)

East Sussex,

(b)

Brighton and Hove and

(c)

Brighton, Kemptown constituency. [169217]

Mr Timpson: Since the launch of the free schools programme in June 2010, the Department for Education has received 14 applications to establish free schools in Brighton and Hove, six of which have indicated that their proposers hoped to open a school in the Brighton, Kemptown constituency. Five applications to establish free schools in the East Sussex local authority area have been received in the same time frame.

In the most recent round of applications, we received one application to establish a free school in Brighton and Hove.

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average GCSE results are of (a) boys and (b) girls from low income families; and if he will make a statement. [169063]

Elizabeth Truss: The requested information can be found in Table 1 of the following Statistical First Release: “GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics in England: 2011 to 20121”. There is a drop down box in the top right hand corner of Table 1 which allows a filter on gender. Table 1 can be found under the section “National and local authority tables”.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics-in-england

GCSE: English Language

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of Ofqual's decision to remove the Speaking and Listening Assessment from GCSE English and GCSE English Language; and if he will make a statement. [168432]

Elizabeth Truss: The assessment of speaking and listening has not been removed from GCSE English and English Language. Ofqual has said that speaking and listening will be reported separately on the GCSE certificate alongside the GCSE grade. Ofqual took the decision having found that current arrangements for speaking and listening do not produce fair outcomes for students.

Ofqual is the independent regulator of qualifications, with a statutory responsibility to secure standards in qualifications. It must be able to do that free from political interference so the Department for Education has not made an assessment of Ofqual's decision.

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ask Ofqual to meet representatives of the speech, language and communication needs sector to discuss the decision to remove the Speaking and Listening Assessment from GCSE English and GCSE English Language. [168452]

Elizabeth Truss: The assessment of speaking and listening has not been removed from GCSE English and English Language. Students' speaking and listening skills will be reported separately on the GCSE certificate

8 Oct 2013 : Column 243W

alongside the GCSE grade, giving a more detailed picture of students' achievements than under the previous arrangements.

Representatives from Ofqual met representatives from the speech, language, and communication needs sector during its consultation on speaking and listening in GCSE English and English Language GCSE. Ofqual has been in touch with stakeholders since the announcement.

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children studying GCSEs have met the English Baccalaureate performance measure in (a) Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency, (b) North Yorkshire and (c) England in 2013 to date. [168922]

Elizabeth Truss: The requested information on the proportion of children achieving the English Baccalaureate in 2013 is not available as official statistics have not yet been published.

Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency figures will be available within the school performance tables which are scheduled to be published in January 2014. The requested information for North Yorkshire and England will be published in the Statistical First Release ‘GCSE and equivalent results (provisional) and national curriculum teacher assessments at key stage 3 in England' which is scheduled to be published in October 2013.

The specific release dates will be published on the Department's website later in the year1.

1Note:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/statistics

James O'Shaughnessy

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions Mr James O’Shaughnessy has been registered as a visitor to his Department’s main building since January 2012. [169405]

Elizabeth Truss: Mr James O’Shaughnessy is not recorded as having visited the Department’s main building, sanctuary buildings, within the last month.

The Department does not hold records prior to this as visitor records are only retained for one month.

Legislative Reform (Regulation of Providers of Social Work Services) (England and Wales) Order 2013

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to proceed with the Legislative Reform (Regulation of Providers of Social Work Services) (England and Wales) Order 2013. [169393]

Mr Timpson: Following the procedure set out in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, the Government can only take forward the legislative reform order, should they choose to do so, once the statutory scrutiny period ends on 12 October.

If the Government should wish to withdraw the order, they can only do so once the House of Lords returns from recess.

8 Oct 2013 : Column 244W

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to publish the responses to its consultation on the Draft Legislative Reform (Regulation of Providers of Social Work Services) (England and Wales) Order 2013. [169677]

Mr Timpson: It is not the Department's normal practice to publish individual responses to consultations. Aggregated responses to this consultation and the Government's planned next steps were published on 13 May this year.

Meetings

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will place in the Library a list of departmental meetings attended by each non-executive board member of his Department; and what the purpose of any such meetings attended in the last six months was. [169683]

Elizabeth Truss: Information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Press: Subscriptions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which newspapers, periodicals and trade profession publications his private ministerial office subscribes to on a (a) daily, (b) weekly, (c) monthly and (d) quarterly basis. [168697]

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Member to the response of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 383W.

Primary Education: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the cost was of closing all primary schools closed in Leeds in 2003-04; what the annual cost of maintaining and securing the empty buildings is; and what additional cost is generated through a shortage of places in primary schools in Leeds. [168959]

Mr Laws: The Department collects information from all local authorities about the number of school places available each year, but does not hold or collect information on the cost of closing primary schools or the annual cost of maintaining empty school buildings. It is the responsibility of each local authority to balance the supply and demand for primary and secondary school places in their area and to ensure there are sufficient schools to meet local demand.

The most recent data available from Leeds local authority relate to the position at May 2012 and show that they were anticipating a shortfall of primary places in the present academic year and expected this to continue over the next few years. The Department continues to provide capital funding to ensure there are enough school places and monitors the situation with local authorities. We have allocated £84.6 million to support the provision of new school places in Leeds in this spending period (2011-12 to 2014-15), compared to £15.9 million in the previous four year period.

8 Oct 2013 : Column 245W

Procurement

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department makes of the (a) payment of minimum wage, (b) payment of living wage and (c) use of zero hours contracts when tendering for public procurement contracts. [169317]

Elizabeth Truss: UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money. We expect, and it is a contract condition, that contractors comply with current legislation and pay the minimum wage.

Public Expenditure

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on (a) stationery and (b) printing costs in the last four years. [169367]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department's accounting category of ‘stationery’ also includes publications and IT consumables.

£
 2009-102010-112011-122012-13

Stationery, publications and IT consumables

    

DFE (excluding executive agencies)

1220,117

116,840

128,201

2269,976

Executive agencies

0

0

11,791

86,799

     

Printing

    

DFE (excluding executive agencies)

160,602

164,622

120,146

156,153

Executive agencies

0

0

0

23,984

1 Includes £44,000 on publications in the Department's library. 2 Includes £32,000 on publications in the Financial Times and the Department's library.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on (a) conferences and (b) newspapers in each of the last five years. [169544]

Elizabeth Truss: The amount that the Department has spent on conferences and newspapers in each of the last five years is provided in the following table:

£
 2008-092009-102010-112011-122012-13

Conferences

978,338

1,524,568

588,406

22,486

1,667,110

Newspapers

8,192

17,703

15,730

18,276

18,669

The figures for 2012-13 are not comparable with earlier years as they include spend by Executive Agencies whose roles were previously fulfilled by non-departmental public bodies, which were brought within the Department from April 2012.

Public Relations

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department and its associated public bodies spent on (a) external public relations consultants and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the past three years; and for what purposes such consultants were engaged. [168660]

8 Oct 2013 : Column 246W

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has spent no money from central budgets on external public relations or public affairs consultants in the last three years. This compares to £1.88 million on public relations consultants in 2009-10.

In support of the teacher recruitment campaign and other policy areas, the former Training and Development Agency/Teaching Agency spent the following on external public relations consultants:

 £

2010-11

82,145

2011-12

219,842

2012-13

88,815

These fees were to cover time spent developing and delivering aspects of the agency's PR strategy, plans and tactics. Our records do not show any spend for public affairs consultants during this period.

The expenditure above compares with the following for public relations consultants in earlier years:

 £

2007-08

462,816

2008-09

728,983

2009-10

445,217

In 2010-11, the former National College for School Leadership (NCSL) spent £33,911 on fees for a PR agency to support its school business management campaigns. In the same year it spent £10,424 on an external consultancy working on the NCSL engagement strategy. Comparative figures are not available for work in earlier years.

Central records are not held for the Department's arm's length bodies, and this information could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Publications

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department in each year since 2010. [168783]

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Printing

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent in each of the last three years on hard copy printing of documents for external audiences. [168625]

Elizabeth Truss: In order to reduce costs the Department for Education now adopts a policy of publishing digitally by default, with information made available through our website instead of being printed. In each of the last three years, the Department for Education has spent the following (excluding VAT) on hard copy printing of documents for external audiences:

8 Oct 2013 : Column 247W

 £

2012-13

16,484

2011-12

209

2010-11

102,630

This compares with spend under the former Administration of £1.07 million on hard copy printing in the first three months of 2010 alone.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether, in taking its recent decision to restrict the rights of parents to obtain permission to take their children to visit historic cultural sites abroad during school terms, the Government took account of the higher costs of overseas travel during school holidays. [169576]

Elizabeth Truss: There is clear evidence that any absence from school can and does impact on a child's attainment. That is why it is a Government priority that children of compulsory school age who are registered at school attend regularly and absence is reduced to unavoidable causes.

8 Oct 2013 : Column 248W

There has never been a parental right to take children of compulsory school age out of school during term time. There has been a misconception by some parents and schools that the previous regulation governing term time leave gave parents an entitlement to take their children out of school for family holidays for up to two weeks every year.

The Government changed the law, which came into effect on 1 September 2013, to remove any ambiguity. Parents are still able to apply for a leave of absence to take their children out of school during term time. The school can only grant such a request in exceptional circumstances. The school determines how many days a pupil can be away from school once leave is granted.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will rank the 50 state secondary schools in England with the (a) highest and (b) lowest entitlement to free school meals; and in each case what the type of school is. [169277]

Mr Laws: The requested information has been provided in the following table.

State-funded secondary schools: Lowest 50 and highest 50 schools ranked by free school meal eligibility—England, January 2013
RegionLA numberLA nameSchool numberSchool nameSchool typeAdmissions policyNumber of pupils3Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals3

50 lowest ranked:

        

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

4505

Sir William Borlase's Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

656

0.0

South East

886

Kent

5416

Cranbrook School

Secondary converter

Selective

445

x

West Midlands

332

Dudley

5400

Old Swinford Hospital

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

361

x

West Midlands

894

Telford and Wrekin

5400

Adams' Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

520

x

London

305

Bromley

5410

St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School

Maintained secondary

Selective

596

0.5

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

4061

Dr Challoner's High School

Secondary converter

Selective

750

0.5

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

4504

Dr Challoner's Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

909

0.6

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

4500

Aylesbury Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

909

0.6

London

305

Bromley

5405

Newstead Wood School

Secondary converter

Selective

675

0.6

South West

916

Gloucestershire

5403

Pate's Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

623

0.6

South East

886

Kent

5418

The Skinners' School

Maintained secondary

Selective

600

0.7

East of England

881

Essex

5410

Chelmsford County High School for Girls

Secondary converter

Selective

600

0.7

South West

865

Wiltshire

5413

Bishop Wordsworth's Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

600

0.7

South East

870

Reading

5401

Reading School

Secondary converter

Selective

599

0.7

8 Oct 2013 : Column 249W

8 Oct 2013 : Column 250W

West Midlands

937

Warwickshire

4601

King Edward VI School

Secondary converter

Selective

408

0.7

North West

358

Trafford

5404

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

Secondary converter

Selective

932

0.8

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

5402

Beaconsfield High School

Maintained secondary

Selective

745

0.8

East of England

881

Essex

5443

Colchester Royal Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

493

0.8

North West

888

Lancashire

5403

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

599

0.8

South East

870

Reading

5413

Kendrick School

Secondary converter

Selective

476

0.8

East of England

881

Essex

5411

King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford

Secondary converter

Selective

559

0.9

South East

871

Slough

4700

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School

Maintained secondary

Selective

629

1.0

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

4079

Chesham Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

837

1.0

East of England

919

Hertfordshire

4614

St George's School

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

939

1.0

South West

916

Gloucestershire

4002

High School for Girls

Secondary converter

Selective

606

1.0

South West

865

Wiltshire

5412

South Wilts Grammar School for Girls

Secondary converter

Selective

639

1.1

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

5404

The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe

Secondary converter

Selective

977

1.1

North West

355

Salford

4018

Beis Yaakov High School

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

257

1.2

West Midlands

937

Warwickshire

4620

Lawrence Sheriff School

Maintained secondary

Selective

576

1.2

West Midlands

861

Stoke-on-Trent

5901

St Joseph's College

Secondary converter

Selective

654

1.2

London

302

Barnet

5401

Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet

Secondary converter

Selective

896

1.2

South East

825

Buckinghamshire

4501

Royal Latin School

Secondary converter

Selective

880

1.3

East of England

881

Essex

5454

Colchester County High School for Girls

Secondary converter

Selective

558

1.3

West Midlands

937

Warwickshire

4002

Stratford Girls' Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

396

1.3

East Midlands

925

Lincolnshire

5406

Caistor Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

474

1.3

East Midlands

925

Lincolnshire

4501

Bourne Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

776

1.3

North West

909

Cumbria

5401

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

608

1.3

South East

886

Kent

4622

The Judd School

Maintained secondary

Selective

649

1.4

South West

916

Gloucestershire

4001

Sir Thomas Rich's School

Secondary converter

Selective

572

1.4

South East

850

Hampshire

4175

Thornden School

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

1,402

1.4

West Midlands

894

Telford and Wrekin

4364

Newport Girls' High School

Secondary converter

Selective

280

1.4

8 Oct 2013 : Column 251W

8 Oct 2013 : Column 252W

East of England

882

Southend-on-Sea

5401

Westcliff High School for Boys Academy

Secondary converter

Selective

766

1.4

South East

886

Kent

5443

Tonbridge Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

762

1.4

East of England

919

Hertfordshire

5427

Hockerill Anglo-European College

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

602

1.5

London

303

Bexley

5403

Beths Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

800

1.5

North West

358

Trafford

5407

Altrincham Grammar School for Girls

Secondary converter

Selective

925

1.5

South East

886

Kent

4043

Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School

Maintained secondary

Selective

724

1.5

Yorkshire and The Humber

815

North Yorkshire

4215

Ripon Grammar School

Maintained secondary

Selective

588

1.5

South West

836

Poole

4181

Broadstone Middle School

Maintained secondary

Not applicable

646

1.5

South East

886

Kent

5406

Dartford Grammar School

Secondary converter

Selective

775

1.5

         

50 highest ranked:

        

North West

352

Manchester

6912

The East Manchester Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

547

53.0

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4722

Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

964

53.3

London

210

Southwark

6906

Harris Academy at Peckham

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

757

53.6

North West

890

Blackpool

4059

Unity College Blackpool

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

754

53.7

North West

341

Liverpool

6905

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

820

53.8

North West

353

Oldham

6906

The Oldham Academy North

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

767

53.8

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4008

Saltley School and Specialist Science College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

952

54.0

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4220

Aston Manor Academy

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

748

54.0

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4150

Morpeth School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

1,170

54.0

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4284

Bethnal Green Academy

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

743

54.1

North West

340

Knowsley

4610

Christ The King Catholic and Church of England (VA) Centre for Learning

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

428

54.2

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4241

Holyhead School

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

1,012

54.6

London

213

Westminster

6906

Westminster Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

853

54.7

London

316

Newham

4034

Eastlea Community School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

919

55.1

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

6909

North Birmingham Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

800

55.3

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4242

Mulberry School for Girls

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

1,048

55.4

8 Oct 2013 : Column 253W

8 Oct 2013 : Column 254W

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4000

Wapping High School

Secondary free school

Comprehensive

36

55.6

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4507

Central Foundation Girls' School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

1,179

55.6

London

210

Southwark

6907

Harris Academy Bermondsey

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

889

55.8

London

206

Islington

4112

Holloway School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

775

56.4

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4801

Cardinal Wiseman Catholic Technology College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

591

57.0

South West

801

Bristol, City of

6905

The City Academy Bristol

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

752

57.6

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4297

Swanlea School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

1,015

57.6

North East

391

Newcastle upon Tyne

4500

All Saints College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

436

57.8

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4276

Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

867

57.9

North East

806

Middlesbrough

4122

Ormesby School

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

746

57.9

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

6908

St Alban's Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

441

58.0

North East

806

Middlesbrough

4703

Oakfields Community College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

999

58.1

London

206

Islington

6906

City of London Academy—Islington

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

595

58.5

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4244

The International School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

591

58.7

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

5412

George Dixon Academy

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

825

59.0

London

205

Hammersmith and Fulham

4314

Phoenix High School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

873

59.1

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4505

George Green's School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

942

59.2

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4323

Park View School the Academy of Mathematics and Science

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

615

59.8

London

208

Lambeth

4322

Platanos College

Secondary converter

Comprehensive

987

60.3

North West

341

Liverpool

4425

Broadgreen International School, A Technology College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

1,071

60.3

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4063

Kings Heath Boys Mathematics and Computing College

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

511

60.5

North West

352

Manchester

6905

Manchester Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

822

60.9

London

309

Haringey

6905

Greig City Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

930

61.2

London

208

Lambeth

6906

Evelyn Grace Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

808

61.6

London

309

Haringey

4033

Gladesmore Community School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

1,248

61.8

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

4002

Perry Beeches II the Free School

Secondary free school

Comprehensive

101

62.4

North East

806

Middlesbrough

6905

Unity City Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

699

62.8

8 Oct 2013 : Column 255W

8 Oct 2013 : Column 256W

North East

391

Newcastle upon Tyne

6905

Excelsior Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

995

63.3

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4277

St Paul's Way Trust School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

874

63.4

London

211

Tower Hamlets

4105

Langdon Park Community School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

870

63.9

West Midlands

330

Birmingham

6905

Heartlands Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

743

65.7

North West

341

Liverpool

4000

University Academy Liverpool

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

529

70.9

London

208

Lambeth

4321

Lilian Baylis Technology School

Maintained secondary

Comprehensive

627

72.9

North West

352

Manchester

4000

Manchester Creative Learning Academy

Secondary sponsored

Comprehensive

17

88.2

x = 1 or 2 pupils or a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils. 1 Includes maintained secondary schools, secondary academies, city technology colleges, studio schools and university technical colleges. Excludes Post-16 schools. 2 Includes pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarders. 3 Pupils who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between 5 and 15. Source: School Census

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will rank every state secondary school in London by level of entitlement to free school meals; and in each case what the type of school is. [169278]

Mr Laws: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.

Satellite Broadcasting

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what subscriptions his Department has for premium satellite television channels; and what the cost of each such subscription was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [168642]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not have any subscriptions to premium satellite television channels.

School Meals: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of children in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands who eat school-provided dinners instead of packed lunches. [169030]

Elizabeth Truss: The requested data are not collected at constituency level.

Estimated figures for school meal take-up for Nottinghamshire and east midlands, drawn from the most recent available data (Seventh Annual Survey of take up of school lunches in England for 2011-12), are:

Nottinghamshire

Primary schools: 43.2%

Secondary schools: 32.9%

East midlands

Primary schools: 40.6%

Secondary schools: 34.9%

The survey was completed on a voluntary basis and therefore these figures reflect a percentage of the completed returns and are indicative.