Police: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of Metropolitan police staff lived in Greater London in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; [184633]

(2) what proportion of Metropolitan police staff live in Greater London. [184634]

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

Police: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Metropolitan Police Service has ever trialled or used any unmanned aerial surveillance system. [R] [185406]

Damian Green: Use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Metropolitan Police Service is an operational matter for the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime and the Commissioner. Any use of UAVs would, however, need to comply with existing Civil Aviation Authority regulations.

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Procurement

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of her Department's overall procurement spend for each of the last three financial years was spent (a) in joint procurement exercises with other Departments and (b) shared between different organisations within the same Department group. [185398]

James Brokenshire: The proportion of the Home Department's overall procurement spend for joint procurement exercises with other Departments and shared between different organisations within the same Department group for each of the last three financial years is not collated. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each of the last three financial years how much and what proportion of her Department's procurement was conducted using e-procurement tools; and what the value of such contracts was. [185404]

James Brokenshire: All of the Home Department’s procurement processes have been conducted using e-procurement tools (below restricted classification) for each of the last three financial years.

Information on the value of such contracts is unavailable as this is not recorded.

Re-employment

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff who have been made redundant or retired from her Department have subsequently been re-employed by her Department since May 2010. [185567]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has re-employed 23 staff who retired from the Department since May 2010. The majority are part of the frontline seasonal work force. The Department has not re-employed any staff made compulsorily redundant during this period.

Schengen Agreement

Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at how many meetings to discuss Schengen measures UK officials have been present since 2010. [185778]

James Brokenshire: Schengen issues arise across the whole range of EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) business. In particular the JHA Council receives a biannual report on the functioning of the Schengen area, as agreed at the March 2012 European Council.

The UK is routinely represented at such meetings in order to represent UK interests.

Special Constables: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables in the Metropolitan police there were in each London borough in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [184632]

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Damian Green: Figures for 2010 and 2011 are provided in the following table. Figures for 2012 and 2013 are unavailable.

Figures at basic command unit (London borough) level ceased to be collected from 2011-12 following Lord Wasserman's recommendation that the administrative burden on police forces be reduced.

Stop and Search: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will provide a breakdown by gender of all stop and searches by the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; [184617]

(2) if she will provide a breakdown by ethnicity of all stop and searches by the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; [184618]

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(3) if she will provide a breakdown by ethnicity of all stop and searches by the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 which led to an arrest; [184619]

(4) if she will provide a breakdown by ethnicity of all stop and searches by the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 which led to a conviction; [184620]

(5) if she will provide a breakdown by ethnicity of all stop and searches by the Metropolitan police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 which led to the individual being charged; [184621]

(6) what proportion of stop and searches conducted in Greater London led to a conviction in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; [184662]

(7) what proportion of stop and searches conducted in Greater London led to a charge in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; [184663]

(8) To what proportion of stop and searches conducted in Greater London led to an arrest in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; [184664]

(9) what proportion of stop and searches conducted in Greater London were carried out on black, Asian and minority ethnic people in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [184635]

Damian Green: Data on the main stop and search powers used by police in England and Wales are published by the Home Office on an annual basis in the National Statistics series ‘Police Powers and Procedures'. Latest published data cover the period up to the financial year 2011-12 and are available online via:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-powers-and-procedures-in-england-and-wales-201112

Data for 2012-13 are scheduled for publication in the spring of 2014.

Available data relate to the number of persons stopped and searched under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 2004 and section 44/47A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Data are provided on the number of persons stopped and searched and resultant arrests by the Metropolitan Police Service, broken down by self-defined ethnicity (Table 1), and proportions of searches conducted on minority ethnic persons by the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London police force areas combined and the proportion resulting in an arrest (Table 2).

Data on charges and convictions resulting from stops and searches, and breakdowns by gender cannot be provided as they are not held centrally by the Home Office.

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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library all assessments of new policy and legislation from her Department since January 2013 which give consideration to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. [185016]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is committed to considering the impact of all new policies and legislation, including where they impact specifically on children. The Home Office consults with a range of expert groups, including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Barnardo's, to ensure the best interests of a child are represented within our work.

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, currently before Parliament, was published in draft in December 2012.The European Human Rights Convention Memorandum accompanied the publication of the draft Bill and was updated following introduction of the Bill into Parliament. The memorandum assessed the proposed new orders to be used for tackling antisocial behaviour

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in England and Wales for compliance with both the European Human Rights Convention and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child requirements.

More widely, the coalition Government are due to report to the UN Committee responsible for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child shortly. The Department for Education is co-ordinating the response with contributions from other Government Departments, including the work that the Home Office has undertaken. Once the Government have submitted their response to the UN Committee a copy of the response will be placed in the House Library.

Vetting

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) standard and (b) enhanced disclosure Criminal Record Bureau checks were requested in 2013. [185278]

James Brokenshire [holding answer 30 January 2014]: The following table sets out the number of applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for standard and enhanced disclosure checks for the full calendar year 2013:

Treasury

Bitcoin

Karl McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on levying VAT on the trade of the Bitcoin digital currency. [184480]

Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs has held constructive meetings with stakeholders about the VAT treatment of trades of Bitcoin digital currency. This is a new and complex issue and the appropriate VAT treatment is currently being considered. HMRC will publish guidance shortly.

Business: North East

Pat Glass: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new loans have been made to small businesses in north east England through the Funding for Lending scheme; and which participating building society or bank provided each such loan. [185474]

Sajid Javid: The Bank of England publishes net lending data for the UK for each participating bank under the Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) on a quarterly basis. Decisions about whether to lend to specific businesses in specific locations remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies.

In November 2013, the Government announced that the scheme extension will be re-focused on business lending, SMEs in particular. Recent evidence shows that credit conditions have improved significantly for businesses, including small businesses.

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Capital Gains Tax

John Stevenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue accrued to the Exchequer in 2013 from capital gains tax. [184128]

Mr Gauke: The information requested is not available. Information on revenue accrued to the Exchequer for the latest available year, 2011-12, is published at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/capital-gains-tax/table14-1.pdf

Civil Servants: Pay

Mr McCann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the Government's policies have had on the take-home pay of officials across the civil service compared to May 2010. [185223]

Danny Alexander: Civil service pay policy is set annually by the Government, but responsibility for setting pay for employing Departments and arm's length bodies is the responsibility of the relevant Secretary of State. The pay and reward for individual employees will vary depending on criteria set by the Department, including location and performance.

Moreover, the effect of Government policies on civil servants' take-home pay will have varied depending on the circumstances of individual employees. These will have affected their liability for tax and national insurance and their pension contributions.

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out his Department's priorities for discussions with the European Commission over its 2014 work programme; and if he will make a statement. [185321]

Nicky Morgan: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), gave on 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 625W.

Government Departments: Property

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the value for money of applying for a change of use application on Government-owned properties before selling such properties. [184974]

Mr Maude: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

The Government property unit or the appropriate owning Department makes an assessment of value achievable from applying for a change of use on a case-by-case basis.

Government Securities

Mr Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the issuance of Government bonds with a fixed maturity where the bondholder receives no capital on maturity but in return receives a higher coupon. [185683]

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Sajid Javid: The previous Government consulted on issuing annuity-type gilts in 2004-05. Little support was expressed for their introduction.

This Government have no current plans to issue gilts in this format. However, they keep an open mind on the introduction of new debt instruments.

Income Tax

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of changes in the revenue accrued to the Exchequer (a) to date, (b) by 31 March 2014 and (c) by 31 March 2015 as a result of changes to the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p in the pound. [185127]

Mr Gauke: The forecast Exchequer revenue effect of the change in the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p is as follows:

The revenue effects detailed above are set out in the 2013 Budget document, available at;

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/221885/budget2013_complete.pdf

The HMRC report “The Exchequer effect of the 50% additional rate of income tax” details the rationale for the rate change. The report is published and available at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/excheq-income-tax-2042.pdf

The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently endorsed this as the best available evidence.

This was recently endorsed by the independent IFS.

Income Tax: Newport

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) higher rate taxpayers and (b) individuals who earn over £1 million there were in Newport East constituency in the last year for which figures are available. [185608]

Mr Gauke: Reliable estimates for taxpayer marginal rate bands are not available at the parliamentary constituency level due to greater uncertainties for smaller geographical areas.

The total tax for the number of individuals in Newport East constituency can be found in HMRC's National Statistics table 3.15:

www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/income-by-year/table3-15.pdf

Estimated numbers of taxpayers in Newport East constituency with total income over £1 million are not available due to insufficient sample sizes.

Income Tax: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) higher rate taxpayers and (b) individuals who earn over £1 million there are in Wales in the last year for which figures are available. [185536]

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Mr Gauke: Estimated numbers of higher rate taxpayers in Wales are published on the HMRC National Statistics table 2.2 which is available from the following internet address:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-statistics/table2-2.pdf

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect that the reduction in the additional rate of income tax has had on taxpayers in Wales. [185784]

Danny Alexander: An estimate of the impact of reducing the additional rate of income tax to 45% for Wales alone is not available. This is because the costing includes a significant behavioural response associated with changes in personal tax rates which is only estimated for the UK as a whole.

For more details see the HMRC report “The Exchequer effect of the 50% additional rate of income tax”, available at:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/excheq-income-tax-2042.pdf

Money Laundering: Trusts

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to tackle the abuse of trusts for money laundering. [185555]

Sajid Javid: The UK is committed to implementing measures to prevent potential misuse of trusts for illicit purposes. We support mandatory requirements on trustees to hold beneficial ownership information on their trusts and together with the new automatic exchange of tax information agreements there will be more transparency and information exchange on trusts than ever before.

Pay

Mr McCann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what effect changes in pensions contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials at senior civil service grades in his Department compared to May 2010; [185219]

(2) what effect changes in pensions contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials at HEO and equivalent grades in his Department compared to May 2010; [185221]

(3) what effect the change in pension contributions has had on the take-home pay of officials at Grade 7 and equivalent grades in his Department compared to May 2010; [185225]

(4) what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials at AO, LO2 and equivalent grades in his Department compared to May 2010; [185226]

(5) what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials at AA and equivalent grades in his Department compared to May 2010; [185230]

(6) what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials at EO, LO1 and equivalent grades in his Department compared to May 2010; [185234]

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(7) what effect changes in pension contributions have had on the take-home pay of officials at SEO and equivalent grades in his Department compared to May 2010. [185237]

Nicky Morgan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd).

PAYE

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals subject to the additional rate of income tax pay tax through PAYE. [185821]

Mr Gauke: As published by HMRC, in the income tax year 2013-14 there are an estimated 287,000 taxpayers liable at the additional rate of tax. 246,000 of them have income which is taxed under the PAYE system.

These estimates are based on the 2010-11 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2013-14 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.

Revenue and Customs

Andrew Percy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average response time was for a letter sent to HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) customer service in each of the last 12 months; what the longest such response time was; and how many complaints about letter response times have been received by HMRC in that period. [184175]

Mr Gauke: HMRC periodically publishes its performance statistics, including post handling at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators

HMRC does not hold the data for how many complaints were received in response to the delays in post handling and could supply these data only at disproportionate cost.

HMRC also does not hold an average for the department in dealing with correspondence.

Social Security

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the annual savings to the Exchequer as a result of (a) withdrawing housing benefit entitlement for young people aged under 25 and (b) evicting households with annual incomes of £60,000 from council tenancies. [181678]

Danny Alexander: The latest housing benefit data can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

The Government recently consulted on proposals to charge higher rents to social tenant households on high incomes. A summary of responses, including updated

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estimate of the number of social tenant households on high incomes, can be found here

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225313/High_Income_Social_Tenants_-_Pay_to_stay.pdf

Stamp Duties

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount of stamp duty accruing from leasehold property transactions has been in each of the last 10 years. [185034]

Mr Gauke: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) receipts from new leases can be found in table 1.1 of the HMRC publication ‘UK Stamp Tax Statistics 2012-13', available here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/stamp-duty.htm

Transfers of leaseholds are included in the ‘Land and property other than new leases' column. This information is not readily available from HMRC's systems.

Tax Allowances

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for each of the last six years, (a) how many double tax treaty claims for relief from UK withholding tax on interest were granted, (b) what the total value was of those claims, (c) how many claims were refused by HM Revenue and Customs on the basis that the non-resident claimant was not beneficially entitled to the interest in respect of the relief that was claimed and (d) the total value of those claims. [184889]

Mr Gauke: Where payments of interest are made by UK residents to overseas lenders, the payers are required by law to deduct withholding tax from the payments at the basic rate of income tax. This general rule is subject to a number of exceptions and to the possible application of a double taxation treaty which provides full or partial relief from withholding tax.

The information requested is not available centrally, and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.

Tax Avoidance

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how many taxpayers will be affected by the measures on accelerated payments in follower cases announced in the Autumn Statement in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17, (d) 2017-18 and (e) 2018-19. [181129]

Mr Gauke: It is estimated that around 4,000 taxpayers that have used avoidance schemes sufficiently similar to ones that the tribunal has determined as being ineffective will be issued with accelerated payment notices across 2014-15 and 2015-16. Estimates for future years are not available.

The vast majority of people in this country pay the right tax at the right time. The Government have made clear that all tax avoidance is unacceptable, and have been relentless in taking action against it to protect the Exchequer, and to ensure fairness for the vast majority who do not try to avoid.

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Taxation: Wales

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Office for Budget Responsibility about publication of a Welsh taxes forecast. [185785]

Danny Alexander: As the Government announced in their response to the Silk Commission's part I report, we will be formally asking the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish forecasts of Welsh taxes.

Owen Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has asked his officials, HM Revenue and Customs or the Office for Budget Responsibility to undertake a behavioural analysis of the effect of the Government's proposed changes to a future Welsh tax rate on (a) basic, (b) higher and (c) additional rate taxpayers in (i) Wales and (ii) the rest of the UK. [185786]

Danny Alexander: The potential behavioural response of particular groups of taxpayers would depend on the policy decisions made by the Welsh Government following the devolution of income tax rate-setting powers.

Risks of behavioural responses that would be to the detriment of the UK as a whole would be mitigated by the design of the system of income tax devolution included in the draft Wales Bill.

Tobacco: Packaging

Ian Paisley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment she has made of the effect on the trade of illicit tobacco of the introduction of standardised packaging in the UK. [183560]

Nicky Morgan: Sir Cyril Chantler is carrying out an independent review of the public health impact of standardised packaging. HM Revenue and Customs officials have been interviewed as part of this review.

The Government will consider the impact on the illicit tobacco trade as part of the wider issues raised by standardised packaging.

VAT: Tourism

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on a VAT reduction for the tourism sector; and if he will make a statement. [185379]

Mr Gauke: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir) on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 161W.

National Insurance Fund

Mr Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the accumulated surplus was in the National Insurance Fund was (a) in May 2010 and (b) on the last date for which data are available. [184935]

Mr Gauke: The appropriate level of the balance of the National Insurance Fund (NIF) is recommended by the Government Actuary. The NIF has no borrowing powers and so historically the Government Actuary has

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recommended a balance for the NIF of at least 16.6% (two months or one sixth) of projected benefit expenditure to ensure that the NIF maintains a working balance and can deal with short term fluctuations.

When necessary, additional funding in the form of a Treasury grant from the Consolidated Fund can be made to the NIF. The maximum Treasury grant that can be made available in any one tax year is set by primary legislation at 17% of the National Insurance Fund's annual benefit expenditure.

The balance of the NIF on (a) the 31 May 2013 was £28.48 billion and (b) on 31 December 2013 was £21.39 billion. This reply assumes that ‘accumulated surplus’ refers to the balance in the NIF at the dates stated.

Education

Curzon Institute

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent contact his Department has had with (a) Curzon Education and (b) the Curzon Institute; what contracts his Department holds with those bodies; and what the value of those contracts is. [184996]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has not had any recent discussions with Curzon Education or the Curzon Institute and does not hold any contracts with these bodies.

European Commission

Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will set out his Department’s priorities for discussions with the European Commission over its 2014 work programme; and if he will make a statement. [185308]

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 625W.

Free School Meals

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2013, Official Report, column 63W, on school meals, what support his Department will give to primary schools in providing universal free school meals to all children up to the age of seven; and what additional support his Department will give those primary schools without kitchen facilities. [185453]

Mr Laws: In addition to the £1 billion of new revenue funding that we will be providing to schools to support this policy between 2014 and 2016, we will be offering a comprehensive package of implementation support to help schools overcome the practical and logistical challenges involved in providing universal infant free school meals. We will announce further details about this support shortly.

The Department for Education has also allocated £150 million capital funding in 2014-15 to assist schools in providing universal infant free school meals through investment in kitchen and dining facilities. Details of the capital allocations we are making to individual local authorities were announced on 18 December 2013, as

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well as the fact that additional capital funding would be made available for academies and free schools through the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund (ACMF).

Further Education: Finance

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in levels of funding for 18-year-olds in full-time education on educational attainment. [184248]

Matthew Hancock: With the move to funding per student, we no longer fund on the basis of individual qualifications and it is for schools and colleges to determine the programme that best meets the needs of their students. Many 18-year-olds have already had two years of post-16 education. Even after this change, from 2014/15, full-time 18-year-olds will attract the same or more funding as the average 18-year-old attracted for the core element of the programme they undertook in 2012/13, before the change in the funding formula in 2013/14. As such, we do not expect this to have a significant impact on educational attainment.

GCSE

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in England and Wales achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C in any subject in 2013. [184803]

Mr Laws: 81.8% of pupils in England at the end of key stage 4 achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C in the 2012/13 academic year.

The requested information is published in the “GCSE and equivalent results in England, 2012 to 2013 (revised)”¹ statistical first release. The information on the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C is available in table 1a in the “National tables: SFR01/2014” document.

The Department for Education produces statistics on England only. The responsibility for education statistics in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales lies with each devolved Administration.

¹ Available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2012-to-2013-revised

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in England and Wales achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C, of which two were English and mathematics, in 2013. [184804]

Mr Laws: 59.2% of pupils in England at the end of key stage 4 achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C in the 2012/13 academic year.

The requested information is published in the “GCSE and equivalent results in England, 2012 to 2013 (revised)”¹ statistical first release. The information on the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C including English and mathematics is available in table 1a in the “National tables: SFR01/2014” document.

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The Department for Education produces statistics on England only. The responsibility for education statistics in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales lies with each devolved Administration.

¹ Available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2012-to-2013-revised

Mr Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in England and Wales achieved no GCSEs at grade A* to C in 2013. [184807]

Mr Laws: 5.2% of pupils in England at the end of key stage 4 achieved no GCSEs at grade A*-C in the 2012-13 academic year.

The requested information is published in the ‘GCSE and equivalent results in England, 2012 to 2013 (revised)’ statistical first release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2012-to-2013-revised

The information on the percentage of pupils achieving no GCSEs at A*-C is available in table 3a in the ‘National tables: SFR01/2014’ document.

The Department for Education produces statistics on England only. The responsibility for education statistics in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales lies with each devolved Administration.

Kings Science Academy

Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons his Department did not provide further information to Action Fraud when that body reported on 5 September 2013 via email that they did not have enough information to progress the case further on Kings Science Academy. [185718]

Mr Timpson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bradford West (George Galloway) on 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 829W.

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, column 100W, on pre-school education and with reference to his Department's press release on free early years education for disadvantaged two-year-olds issued on 22 January 2014, what the statistical basis is for the statement in that press release by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Childcare that 90% of two-year olds were in good or outstanding settings; what the reason is for the time planned to be taken to publish the data gathered in the Early Years and Schools Censuses; and if he will publish all available data on the proportion of disadvantaged two-year olds receiving early years education in settings rated as satisfactory or requiring improvement. [184936]

Elizabeth Truss: The statement to which the question refers stated that nearly 90% of providers delivering two-year-old places were good or outstanding. The information was based on local authority reports to the

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Department for Education implementation support provider, ‘Achieving Two Year Olds’, on the number of settings delivering places for funded two-year-olds in autumn 2013. This provides a strong indication that local authorities understand the importance of using good and outstanding provision to deliver two-year-old places wherever possible.

From this summer, the Department will publish statistical data which will include information on two-year-olds benefitting from funded early education by provider type and by Ofsted inspection rating, as it currently does for three- and four-year-olds.

The Early Years and Schools censuses collect information from individual settings in a particular week in January. The deadline for the return of information to the Department is in April. Data needs to be checked to ensure that they are accurate. They are then analysed and prepared for publication in a statistical first release published in the summer. The statistical first release is published as early as practically possible to ensure that published data meets the requirements of the UK Statistics Authority's code of practice.

Primary Education: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many additional primary school places were created in each London borough in each of the last 10 years. [184658]

Mr Laws: The Department collects information from each local authority (LA) on the number of available school places (school capacity) in state-funded primary

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and secondary schools (except special schools) through an annual survey. We do not collect the actual number of additional school places that have been added during an academic year or the number of places that have been removed.

The capacity figure that is reported and published shows the number of available school places as at May in the academic year of the survey. The most recent data available relate to the position at May 2013 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-capacity-academic-year-2012-to-2013

The data show that 260,000 additional places have been created nationally in state-funded primary and secondary schools since 2010, which includes just over 59,000 primary school places being added in the London local authorities. The opening of 50 free schools in London has created 30,412 primary and secondary places since 2010.

We continue to provide capital funding to local authorities to assist in providing additional school places and monitor the situation regularly to ensure there are sufficient places to meet local need. Since 2011-12 we have made available £6.36 billion to fund school places in England, with London LAs receiving a share of £2.24 billion. We are also investing an additional £820 million for schools in England over the remainder of this Parliament through the Targeted Basic Need Programme. The programme will fund the provision of over 70,000 new, high quality school places nationally in the areas that need it most.

The following table shows the number of school places in state-funded primary schools in the London LAs in each academic year from 2004 onwards:

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Private Education: Offences Against Children

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether any inspectors working for the Independent Schools Inspectorates (a) have been accused of child abuse and (b) have been in a position of responsibility in schools with a reported history of child abuse allegations in their careers. [185579]

Mr Timpson: This is a matter for the inspectorates concerned, but we have been given information by them.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) has procedures in place for checking the suitability of inspectors on appointment. Any subsequent concern about safeguarding, whether in relation to an individual or a school with which they are associated, is considered carefully and can result in that inspector no longer being deployed. The inspectorate works closely with local safeguarding agencies to ensure appropriate action is taken in all cases. In recent years a number of inspectors have ceased to be deployed for reasons connected with statutory notices being served on schools they are connected with; parental complaints; and underperformance. In addition, one individual team member has been subject to direct allegations and was suspended immediately when ISI was informed.

Both the School Inspection Service (SIS) and Bridge Schools Inspectorate (BSI) also have extensive procedures for checking suitability, under their agreements with the Secretary of State for Education. They have both reported that they are not aware of any accusations or connections with relevant schools for any of their inspectors. If any allegations were made about an individual they would be suspended, and the Department informed.

Procurement

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award. [183910]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education's 10 largest contracts (excluding executive agencies) let since the financial year 2010-11, savings and level of overspend and underspend are as detailed in the following table.

The Department's policy is to assign a contract manager to oversee and monitor performance of the contract, which includes putting in place regular quality assurance meetings and assessment of progress against key performance measures/milestones.

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Pupils

Mary Macleod: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the effect of poor behaviour and absenteeism on pupil attainment. [185114]

Elizabeth Truss: The data for 2011/12 academic year show clear evidence of a link between poor attendance at school and low levels of achievement:

1. Of pupils who miss more than 50% of school, only 3% manage to achieve five A* to Cs including English and maths.

2. Of pupils who miss between 10% and 20% of school, only 37% manage to achieve five A* to C GCSEs including English and maths.

3. Of pupils who miss less than 5% of school, 73% achieve five A* to Cs including English and maths.

The Department's publication ‘Pupil Behaviour in Schools in England'¹ established the link between poor behaviour and lower attainment.

1. The attainment of schools with an outstanding behaviour judgment from Ofsted in 2008/09 was just four GCSE points higher (i.e. around half a grade per pupil) than schools with a Good behaviour judgment.

2. The difference between a school with an Outstanding behaviour judgment compared with a school with a Satisfactory or Inadequate behaviour judgment was more than nine GCSE points (i.e. more than a full grade per pupil).

3. Pupils who self-reported in Longitudinal Study of Young People in England as misbehaving in most or all of the classes were associated with significantly lower key stage 4 attainment than their peers. On average, pupils who said they misbehaved in most or all of their classes were estimated to achieve 29 fewer GCSE points (a grade lower in five GCSE subjects) than those who said they do not misbehave.

¹ Available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/184078/DFE-RR218.pdf

Re-employment

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff who have been made redundant or retired from his Department have subsequently been re-employed by his Department since May 2010. [185562]

Elizabeth Truss: Since May 2010, no members of staff who have been made redundant or retired from the Department for Education have subsequently been re-employed.

Schools: West Midlands

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce funding gaps between schools (a) in the county of Staffordshire and (b) in the local authority areas of Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Birmingham. [185122]

Mr Laws: The Chancellor announced in June that we would consult on how best to introduce a national fair funding formula, which will mean that all areas receive a fair allocation of school funding. We will announce the next steps shortly.

Secondary Education: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many additional secondary school places were created in each London borough in each of the last 10 years. [184657]

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Mr Laws: The Department collects information from each local authority (LA) on the number of available school places (school capacity) in state-funded primary and secondary schools (except special schools) through an annual survey. We do not collect the actual number of additional school places that have been added during an academic year or the number of places that have been removed. The capacity figure that is reported and published shows the number of available places as at May in the academic year of the survey. The most recent data available relate to the position at May 2013 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-capacity-academic-year-2012-to-2013

The data show that 260,000 additional places have been created nationally in state-funded primary and secondary schools since 2010, which includes over 31,000 secondary school places being added in the London local authorities. The opening of 50 free schools in London has created 30,412 primary and secondary places since 2010.

We continue to provide capital funding to local authorities and monitor the situation to ensure there are sufficient school places. Since 2011-12 we have made available £6.36 billion to fund school places in England, with London LAs receiving a share of £2.24 billion.

The following table shows the capacity of state-funded secondary schools in the London LAs from 2010 onwards. Prior to 2010, the Department did not collect data on the number of available places in academies.

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Special Educational Needs

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers have accessed the National Scholarship Fund for the purpose of undergoing training to become a teacher of specific learning difficulties and dyslexia in the last five years. [184230]

Mr Laws: The National Scholarship Fund provides opportunities for teachers and special educational needs (SEN) support staff to apply for funding to undertake postgraduate qualifications and training in supporting children with SEN and disabilities, including specific impairments such as dyslexia.

In three rounds of the National Scholarship Fund, 309 scholars accessed funding specifically for training in specific learning difficulties and dyslexia.

To support the Government's SEN reforms, the Department for Education is funding Nasen to develop a SEN Gateway. This will provide simple online access to a range of information and training materials for schools.

The Gateway will include access to training materials previously developed by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) including introductory training for teachers on dyslexia and specific learning difficulties (developed originally as part of the Inclusion and Development Programme) and advanced level online modules on dyslexia, to enhance teachers' specific knowledge, understanding and skills.

Funds from this and the previous government have been made available for 3,200 teachers to study for advanced qualifications approved by the British Dyslexia Association.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what mechanisms are in place to support maintained schools which do not have a special educational needs co-ordinator; [185390]

(2) what measures are in place to ensure that all maintained schools receive the required level of support from a special educational needs co-ordinator. [185393]

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Mr Timpson: All mainstream schools are required to identify a member of staff as special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). They must have qualified teacher status and have specified qualifications or experience.

It is the responsibility of a school's governing body to ensure that they have a suitable SENCO. Further guidance on the role is set out in the draft Special educational needs code of practice. Consultation on the code closed on 9 December 2013 and the Department for Education is currently considering the responses received.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what plans he has to discuss the draft special educational needs code of practice with disability charities and other stakeholders before publication of the final version; [185391]

(2) for what reason the definition of progress in chapter six of the draft special educational needs code of practice no longer includes improvements in self help, social and personal skills. [185392]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education recently consulted publicly on a draft special educational needs (SEN) code of practice. Revisions are being made to the code of practice to take account of developments during the passage of the Children and Families Bill and responses to the consultation, which were from a wide range of organisations in the statutory and voluntary and community sectors, including those in the SEN and disability field. We will continue to work with those who must have regard to the code of practice and those who support children, young people and families as this is taken forward.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials worked in each directorate and group in his Department in April (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [184193]

Elizabeth Truss: The number of officials working in each directorate and group in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 is set out in the following table. Because of reorganisation, the table is a representation of the structure of the Department at those points in time. Blank cells indicate that a group has moved into another directorate.

Between April 2011 and April 2012, 11 arm’s length bodies were closed and four new executive agencies within the Department were created. These changes have led to a 40% reduction in the Department's work force since this Government came to office.

The Department is on target to reduce its administration costs by 50% in real terms by 2015-16.

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