Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 16 December 2008
Children, Schools and Families
Building Schools for the Future Programme
The Strategic Partnering Agreement between a local authority and their private sector partner (PSP) requires the PSP to carry out an evaluation of every school that is built one year after opening in order to demonstrate customer satisfaction. The methodology is to use the DQI-design quality indicator ‘in use' tool to capture customer views.
All major school projects, including those constructed within Building Schools for the Future, are required to undergo an environmental assessment using BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). This method now includes a post-construction review which compares an assessment of the environmental impact of the school as constructed against impact as designed.
DCSF and Partnerships for Schools are exploring what other data it would be useful to collect, particularly 'hard' environmental data to evaluate how schools are performing against the 60 per cent. carbon reduction target. PfS is planning to pilot the broader approach before the end of the current financial year.
To date, Bristol Brunel Academy has carried out a DQI ‘in use' exercise.
Children in Care
The requested information has been placed in the Library.
The Department’s main source of information on children in care is the Children Looked After Survey, but this does not record which schools pupils attend. However, information on whether a pupil is in care is also collected via the School Census. The most recent census data relate to January 2008.
This census shows that there were 34,390 pupils aged five to 19 attending primary, secondary and special schools classed as being in care as at January 2008. Data published by the Department as SFR 23/2008: Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008, show 47,600 children aged between five and 19 as being looked after as at 31 March 2008. However the School Census does not cover all looked after children; information is not collected for pupils in alternative provision, including pupil referral units, FE colleges, voluntary provision and those not in education or training. These differences in coverage will explain the different counts to an extent, but it is possible that the School Census undercounts the number of looked after children in primary, secondary and special schools.
Children: Protection
This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
The information requested is shown in the table.
England North East North West Yorkshire and the Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West Subject of a CPP at 31 March Number: 1997 32,400 2,250 4,245 4,960 3,265 3,390 2,465 5,025 3,845 2,920 1998 31,600 2,155 3,965 4,485 3,145 3,565 2,800 4,995 3,660 2,875 1999 31,900 2,165 4,205 4,015 3,095 3,760 3,080 4,900 3,815 2,845 2000 30,300 2,105 4,050 3,390 3,135 3,600 2,865 4,810 3,835 2,485 2001 26,800 1,835 3,245 2,885 2,640 3,130 2,595 4,625 3,720 2,155 2002 25,700 1,935 3,390 2,850 2,370 2,995 2,490 4,500 3,105 2,095 2003 26,600 1,920 3,795 2,870 2,485 2,960 2,520 4,600 3,220 2,105 2004 26,300 1,770 3,470 2,950 2,280 3,010 2,480 4,770 3,375 2,150 2005 25,900 1,715 3,440 2,730 2,125 3,330 2,450 4,650 3,500 1,980 2006 26,400 1,615 3,375 2,830 2,275 3,305 2,600 4,745 3,540 2,085 2007 27,900 1,785 3,565 2,730 2,525 3,480 2,620 4,955 3,880 2,330 2008 29,200 1,980 3,980 2,835 2,410 3,475 2,745 5,210 4,210 2,345 Rate per 10,000 children aged under 18 years: 1997 29 37 n/a 42 34 27 20 31 22 28 1998 28 36 25 38 33 28 23 31 20 27 1999 28 37 26 34 33 30 25 30 21 27 2000 27 36 25 29 33 29 23 29 21 23 2001 24 32 20 25 28 25 21 28 20 20 2002 23 33 21 25 25 24 20 27 17 20 2003 24 35 24 25 26 24 21 29 18 21 2004 24 32 23 26 24 25 20 29 19 20 2005 23 31 22 24 23 27 30 29 20 19 2006 24 24 22 25 24 27 21 29 20 20 2007 25 33 24 24 27 29 21 31 22 22 2008 27 37 27 25 26 29 22 32 23 22 n/a = Not available. 1 England figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Government Office Region figures are rounded to the nearest 5. 2 Figures include unborn children.
The latest figures on the numbers and percentage of children subject to Child Protection Plans or placed on the Child Protection Register were published in a Statistical First Release (SFR) 24/2008 “Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, England—Year ending 31 March 2008" on 16 September 2008. A copy of this release is available on my Department’s website:
www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway
Christmas
In the last 12 months, the Department spent (a) £2,653 on Christmas cards and (c) £460 on a Christmas tree at its headquarters building. The Department does not fund (b) Christmas parties.
Dartmouth Community College
Following a public consultation on the management of Waves 7 to 15 of BSF in the summer, I announced in September our aim to start all local authorities into BSF as soon as is practicable, with an initial priority project covering four to five schools. All local authorities were invited to submit an expression of interest (EoI) on this basis and Devon was active in consulting Partnerships for Schools prior to submitting its EoI. We are now working with Partnerships for Schools to prioritise expressions of interest in line with our published guidance, and I aim to announce the revised national programme early next year.
Departmental Aviation
The spend for the Department for Children, Schools and Families for departmental air travel for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 was £235,186.
Departmental Higher Education
The Department does not collect this information centrally in the form requested. Information on the number of staff taking degree or diploma courses funded by the Department is held locally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The criteria for funding degree or diploma courses will be driven by Professional Skills for Government.
Departmental Official Hospitality
This Department does not fund (a) departmental Christmas parties or (b) staff entertainment.
Departmental Public Consultation
The Department for Children, Schools and Families conducted its only citizens’ jury in 2007 and followed this with 11 related deliberative debates to ensure that the views of parents and young people were reflected in the development and implementation of the Children's Plan.
The Department organised a citizen's jury at Bristol Brunel Academy on 6 September 2007. 38 people participated, including children, young people and teachers from the academy; and parents and local practitioners working with children.
The Department followed this citizens’ jury with three sets of deliberative debates with members of the public and education professionals.
The first set of deliberative debates was held on Saturday 29 September 2007, with four events running simultaneously in London, Leeds, Portsmouth and Birmingham. These events formed part of the consultative process for the Children's Plan. Around 400 young people, parents, teachers and those working with children and young people were involved.
The second set was held on 8 March 2008, with four events again running in London, Leeds, Portsmouth and Birmingham. The events focused on policy areas in the Children's Plan. Around 240 people attended, including parents, young people and educational professionals.
The last set took place on 13 September 2008. The events were held in London, Leeds and Birmingham and were attended by around 300 people including parents, local practitioners and representatives of stakeholder organisations. The themes discussed were Parents as Partners in Learning; the Childcare Strategy and Parental Complaints.
Participants were not paid to attend the citizens’ jury but were paid a small sum to attend the deliberative events to cover out of pocket expenses.
It is not possible to establish a definitive figure for juries or panels from predecessor Departments.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Details of expenses incurred by Ministers and civil servants in the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the last three financial years are set out as follows:
£ 2007-08 1,072,411 2006-071 1,155,876 2005-061 1,345,661 1 Figures for 2006-07 and 2005-06 refer to the former Department for Education and Skills.
Travel and subsistence (reimbursable expenses) is claimed via the Department’s integrated financial information system and is recorded under the general heading of ‘Subsistence’. Ministers’ expenses are not brigaded separately on the Department’s accounting system and are included in the aforementioned totals.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was created on 28 June 2007 as a result of a machinery of government change and the aforementioned expenditure recorded includes that of its predecessor Department, the Department for Education and Skills.
All expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in “Government Accounting”. All travel undertaken by DCSF civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the “Civil Service Management Code”.
Departmental Temporary Employment
In the Department, the number of people who have been employed through the agencies in each year are as follows:
Adecco Reed Hays Total July 2007 to December 2007 33 22 43 98 January 2008 to October 2008 0 76 87 163 Total 33 98 130 261
Information on the average duration of appointments could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Education Maintenance Allowance
As published in the Delivering 14-19 Reform: Next Steps document
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/1419/documents/7928DCSF Delivering%201419%20Reform%20Summary.pdf
some young people will always require support to help them overcome any barriers—financial or otherwise—to participation. We must ensure that financial constraints are not a barrier for young people. This will entail providing support to those who need it and we are looking at a variety of methods to ensure that this is done in the most effective way. This will include building on the education maintenance allowance, which from September this year links financial support more closely to attainment and behaviour. We will continue to look at ways of supporting all young people to enable them to participate.
Assessing the economic impact of EMA is not simple but our analysis of the education maintenance allowance shows that the expected economic benefits far outweigh the costs. For the first cohort of recipients in the national rollout in 2004-05, evaluation evidence suggests that an extra 18,000 16-year-olds participated in full-time education than would have done so without EMA and an extra 16,000 participated at age 17. This is estimated to have generated an additional 10,100 Level 2 and 11,900 Level 3 qualifications being gained by the age of 18. Based on these benefits, our best estimate of the net benefit to the economy from supporting this cohort is around £880 million over the lifetime of these individuals. Given the range of assumptions that are necessary in carrying out such as assessment, our estimate should be seen as indicative.
The education maintenance allowance (EMA) has had the biggest impact on participation of any policy initiative in over a decade. From 2003-04 to 2004-05 the national participation rate for 16-year-olds in full-time education increased by 3.7 percentage points, exceeding expectations. EMA was one of the key policies aimed at increasing participation and has been a major contributor to this increase. One of the factors that has contributed to the success of EMA has been its simplicity. There are a range of alternatives to using gross income to assess eligibility for EMA, including using net income. All of these have various advantages and disadvantages. We currently believe that out of the available options for assessing eligibility for EMA, the simplicity of using gross income is preferable.
Education: Finance
The new arrangements are designed to more closely follow learner choice and ensure that the outcomes for young people are delivered in a more integrated manner with local authorities acting as the strategic commissioners for children’s services for children aged 0 to 19. They will need to work collaboratively with other local authorities, schools and colleges to shape the offer to young people across the country and to deliver these commissioning decisions.
As now, there will be a dialogue between commissioners and those to be commissioned about what can be delivered for young people, informed by the previous year’s performance. These discussions will then inform local and regional commissioning plans that will be scrutinised, at a regional level, by the proposed Young People’s Learning Agency to ensure overall coherence and budgetary control.
DCSF officials are working with local authority, school and college representatives to establish whether any appeals processes are required and, if so, how they would operate. In principle we would expect any appeal to be directed in the first instance to the local authority making the funding decision, though this would have to be balanced with the bureaucracy that any process of appeals might generate.
We have set out in the “Delivering 14-19 Reform: Next Steps” document, that local authorities will make the funding decisions in relation to education provision for 16 to 18-year-olds. Sub-regional groups will not, therefore, make specific funding decisions in relation to individual providers.
Education: ICT
In the last two years, one representation has been received from a teaching organisation. The General Secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) wrote expressing concern about the use of wireless technology. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has stated that there is no reason why wi-fi should not be used in schools.
Educational Institutions: Crimes of Violence
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of physical attacks against people working in education in West Chelmsford constituency in 2008.
The requested information is not collected centrally.
Information about the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions as a result of a physical assault against an adult was published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 14/2008 “Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2006/07”, available on my Department's website:
www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
Free School Meals
The requested information has been placed in the Library.
Further Education: Sittingbourne
I have been asked to reply.
The Secretary of State has not received any commitments from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for a new further education (FE) college in Sittingbourne. Although the LSC and local partners have identified a need for some additional FE provision in Sittingbourne, there is insufficient demand for a new FE college.
Canterbury College, together with Swale borough council, is investigating whether there is scope for the college to have an additional presence in the area as part of the town's regeneration plans. If the college concludes this to be appropriate, it will consult locally before putting a case to the LSC for consideration. In the event of a proposal for an existing college to locate a new site in Sittingbourne, the Secretary of State has no role in the decision.
GCSE: North Yorkshire
Readily available information on the percentage of eligible pupils in Vale of York constituency achieving five or more GCSEs is given in the following table:
Percentage 1997 96.5 1998 97.4 1999 96.8 2000 97.4 2001 97 2002 97.6 2003 95.6 2004 98 2005 98.5 2006 97.9 2007 98.9 Notes: 1. Data from 1997 to 2006 are based on 15-year-old pupils at the start of the academic year. The 2007 figure is based on pupils at the end of KS4. 2. Data from 2004 to 2007 include equivalents.
GCSEs
(2) what percentage of children on (a) free school meals and (b) not on free school meals received (i) at least five GCSEs at A* - C including English and mathematics in 2008, (ii) level 5 or above at key stage 3 in 2006, (iv) level 4 or above at key stage 2 in 2003 and (iv) level 2 or above at key stage 1 in 1999;
(3) how many pupils eligible for free school meals who (a) obtained and (b) did not obtain level 4 in key stage 2 tests in 2003 did not obtain (i) five GCSEs at A*to C and (ii) five GCSEs at A* to C including English and mathematics;
(4) how many and what proportion of pupils registered as gifted and talented did not sit at least one A-level examination in 2008.
Some information on attainment by pupil characteristics has been published in the Statistical First Release, "DCSF: National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2007/08" on 11 December. Additional information by pupil characteristics will be produced after that date.
(2) how many pupils (a) in care and (b) not in care who (i) obtained and (ii) did not obtain level 4 in key stage 2 tests in 2003 did not obtain five GCSEs at A* to C in 2007.
The OC2 data collection collects information on a range of outcomes for looked after children from local authorities. This information has been published in the Statistical First Release “Outcome Indicators for Children Looked After, Twelve months to 30 September 2007—England” (SFR 08/2008), which is available on the Department's website via the following link:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000785/index.shtml.
Information on attainment in schools can be found in tables B and C which show the number at each key stage and, of those, the number and percentage achieving the expected level. The OC2 is an aggregate data collection and it is therefore not possible to link the achievements of looked after children at key stage 2 to those at key stage 4.
Geography: GCE A Level
The information required is given as follows.
Only schools that were published in the 2007 School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables have been given.
Number of 16-18 year olds1 2034130 Plumstead Manor—Negus School 577 2044686 The Skinners' Company's School for Girls 152 2064108 Highbury Grove School 133 2064614 Central Foundation Boys' School 76 2084509 Charles Edward Brooke School 88 2085400 La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School 139 2085403 Archbishop Tenison's School 36 2085404 St Martin in the Fields High School for Girls 140 2104680 St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School 125 2106905 City of London Academy (Southwark) 51 2106906 The Academy at Peckham 133 2114242 Mulberry School for Girls 356 2114507 Central Foundation Girls' School 231 2114722 Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School 335 2124297 Ernest Bevin College 187 2124329 Battersea Technology College 62 2126900 ADT College 184 2134723 St Augustine's C of E High School 107 2136905 Paddington Academy 202 3014024 Eastbury Comprehensive School 217 3024009 The Ravenscroft School—a technology college 92 3024012 Whitefield School 147 3026905 London Academy 311 3034022 Erith School 235 3034603 Trinity School, Belvedere 86 3036905 The Business Academy Bexley 90 3044006 Wembley High Technology College 180 3045401 Copland—a specialist science community college 604 3045404 Convent of Jesus and Mary Language College 131 3045407 Cardinal Hinsley Mathematics and Computing College 44 3045408 John Kelly Boys' Technology College 134 3054002 Cator Park School 209 3066900 BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology 582 3076905 West London Academy 112 3084038 Lea Valley High School 112 3084041 Salisbury School 124 3084043 Highlands School 192 3084702 Bishop Stopford's School 152 3085402 Albany School 190 3094034 Woodside High School, a business and enterprise specialist school 68 3094037 Park View Academy 64 3094703 St Thomas More Catholic School 172 3096905 Greig City Academy 114 3124654 Guru Nanak Sikh Voluntary Aided Secondary School 72 3125406 Rosedale College 159 3125409 Abbotsfield School 78 3125410 Swakeleys School 159 3125412 Barnhill Community High School 151 3126905 Stockley Academy 67 3134021 Hounslow Manor School 100 3134022 Longford Community School 176 3134024 Brentford School for Girls 114 3145403 Coombe Boys' School 93 3174027 Loxford School of Science and Technology 293 3174029 Woodbridge High School 299 3174035 Mayfield School 235 3174605 Ilford Ursuline High School 155 3194011 Glenthorne High School 150 3206905 Walthamstow Academy 2 3304084 Washwood Heath Technology College 113 3304129 Dame Elizabeth Cadbury Technology College 65 3304207 Handsworth Wood Girls' Visual and Performing Arts Specialist College and Sixth Form Centre 51 3304227 Broadway School 143 3305412 George Dixon International School and Sixth Form Centre 185 3314000 Barr's Hill School and Community College 74 3314029 Foxford School and Community Arts College 135 3314030 Lyng Hall School 65 3314038 Sidney Stringer School—specialising in mathematics and computing 145 3325401 Ellowes Hall Sports College 63 3334120 Tividale Community Arts College 74 3335400 Manor Foundation Business and Sports College 74 3354016 Frank F Harrison Engineering College 87 3354017 Alumwell Business and Enterprise College 164 3354100 Darlaston Community Science College 114 3354105 Willenhall School Sports College 195 3354107 Sneyd Community School 105 3355401 St Thomas More Catholic School, Willenhall 247 3364106 The Northicote School 117 3364115 Deansfield High School 96 3364129 Pendeford Business and Enterprise College 99 3364130 Wednesfield High School 149 3364131 Parkfield High School 108 3364133 Colton Hills Community School 170 3364606 Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Sports College 122 3404609 All Saints Catholic High School 152 3414404 Holly Lodge Girls' College 176 3414419 Shorefields School 53 3414421 The Alsop High School Technology College and Vocational Specialist School 257 3414423 Croxteth Community Comprehensive School 91 3414425 Broadgreen High School—a technology college 164 3414428 New Heys Comprehensive School 129 3414781 Archbishop Blanch Church of England Voluntary Aided High School—a technology and training school 195 3414787 Bellerive FCJ Catholic College 145 3414788 St Benedict's College 114 3416906 North Liverpool Academy 156 3424710 St Aelred's Catholic Technology College 160 3434802 St Michael's Church of England High School 88 3444071 South Wirral High School 144 3524257 Whalley Range 11-18 High School and Business and Enterprise College 297 3554018 Beis Yaakov High School 6 3714020 North Doncaster Technology College 179 3714029 Don Valley School and Performing Arts College 210 3714607 Rossington All Saints Church of England (VA) School—a sports college 145 3716905 Trinity Academy 120 3804001 Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College 160 3804022 Belle Vue Boys' School 98 3804034 Rhodesway School 206 3804036 Tong School 176 3804041 Belle Vue Girls' School 193 3804077 Nab Wood School 133 3804101 Grange Technology College 295 3804613 Feversham College 96 3805404 Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College 136 3814024 Sowerby Bridge High School 114 3814026 Todmorden High School 95 3814036 The Ridings School 27 3834031 City of Leeds School 44 3834044 Primrose High School 52 3834045 John Smeaton Community High School 99 3834054 Intake High School Arts College 84 3834056 Farnley Park High School 70 3834057 Wortley High School 65 3834058 West Leeds High School 99 3834059 Parklands Girls' High School 90 3834103 Rodillian School 136 3904605 Cardinal Hume Catholic School 93 3914450 Walker Technology College 140 3914480 Benfield School 136 3914500 All Saints College 91 8014032 Brislington Enterprise College 62 8034124 Sir Bernard Lovell School 165 8034149 The Grange School and Sports College 72 8124503 Matthew Humberstone Church of England School 84 8134091 Vale of Ancholme Technology College 55 8134491 Baysgarth School 62 8154203 Ripon College 55 8254001 Highcrest Community School 76 8254072 Cressex Community School 73 8254074 Burnham Upper School 43 8254701 St Bernard's Catholic School 94 8264085 Sir Frank Markham Community School 95 8304001 Mortimer Wilson School 72 8315403 Merrill College 121 8354178 The Grange School 84 8364111 Rossmore Community College 62 8364112 Ashdown Technology College 32 8374189 Oakmead College of Technology 135 8404154 Spennymoor Comprehensive School 103 8404178 King James I Community Arts College 111 8454058 The Grove 66 8454073 Filsham Valley School 41 8464067 Blatchington Mill School and Sixth Form College 163 8564005 New College Leicester 53 8604066 Norton Canes High School 37 8604084 Maryhill High School 73 8604156 Belgrave High School 103 8674030 The Brakenhale School 39 8674058 Sandhurst School 95 8714082 Baylis Court School 72 8714089 Wexham School 137 8715409 The Westgate School 67 8734004 Impington Village College 270 8754129 Woodford Lodge High School 30 8754130 The Verdin High School 48 8754161 Ellesmere Port Specialist School of Performing Arts 90 8754165 Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School 177 8774201 Penketh High School 110 8794189 Tamarside Community College 190 8794190 Stoke Damerel Community College 272 8814735 St Peters College 81 8815406 Beauchamps High School 77 8815407 The Bromfords School 86 8815412 The Rickstones School 76 8815453 The Harwich School—a language college 120 8825414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 81 8825465 St Bernard's High School and Arts College 117 8864059 Swadelands School 85 8864065 Holmesdale Technology College 64 8864091 The Community College Whitstable 105 8864172 Hartsdown Technology College 117 8864196 The Towers School 272 8864207 Castle Community College 52 8864219 Hextable School 91 8864242 The Abbey School 111 8865410 Aylesford School—sports college 89 8865417 Minster College 195 8865419 Angley School—a sports college 134 8865421 The Canterbury High School 198 8865425 The Malling School 13 8865448 Herne Bay High School 196 8865456 Northfleet Technology College 79 8865466 Brockhill Park Performing Arts College 159 8874075 The Hundred of Hoo Comprehensive School 176 8874076 Chapter School 212 8874167 Walderslade Girls' School 76 8875429 Chatham Grammar School for Girls 254 8884408 Fleetwood Sports College 2 8914008 Kirkby College 52 8914106 Wheldon School and Sports College 81 8914462 Sherwood Hall School and Sixth Form College 99 8926905 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham 226 9094104 Netherhall School 95 9095400 Kirkbie Kendal School 175 9095408 North Cumbria Technology College 31 9164039 Vale of Berkeley College 7 9194029 Adeyfield School 101 9194111 Westfield Community Technology College 136 9194116 Marriotts School 68 9194117 The Sele School 61 9194154 Onslow St Audrey's School 54 9195409 Bushey Hall School 122 9195411 Mount Grace School 160 9195427 Hockerill Anglo-European College 162 9254036 The City of Lincoln Community College 112 9254056 Cordeaux School 74 9254609 St Clements College 103 9255414 Joseph Ruston Technology College 11 9255423 The Giles School 136 9264048 Charles Burrell High School 77 9264067 Heartsease High School 43 9284067 Weston Favell School 185 9284103 Unity College 78 9284703 Thomas Becket Catholic School 107 9314074 Peers School 47 9314117 Oxford Community School 193 9314145 St Gregory the Great VA Catholic Secondary School 131 9334274 Holyrood Community School 124 9354038 Orwell High School 107 9354066 The Denes High School 137 9354095 Westbourne Sports College 173 9364028 Christ's College, Guilford 67 9364763 The Bishop Wand Church of England School 102 9365411 St Paul's Catholic College 109 9374103 Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College 184 9374192 Campion School and Community College 78 9384030 Ifield Community College 184 9384044 Thomas Bennett Community College 173 1 Age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August 2006.
Ofsted: Standards
Ofsted is a non-ministerial Government Department. Performance management of the chief inspector is the responsibility of the Ofsted Board and in particular the chairman. The performance of other Ofsted senior managers is the responsibility of the chief inspector.
Pre-school Education
In 1998 the Government published Desirable Learning Outcomes that included goals for learning (including on early literacy, numeracy and the development of personal and social skills) for children by the time they entered compulsory education. In 2000, the Qualification and Curriculum Authority published Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, which contains six areas of learning, 69 Early Learning Goals, and stepping stones to achieve them for children aged three to five year. For younger children “Birth to three matters” was published in 2002. It focuses on child development, and includes four themes: a Strong Child, a Skilful Communicator, a Competent Learner and a Healthy Child.
In September this year the Government published the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, which brought together the previous early learning frameworks and sets quality standards for learning (including cognitive development) and care for all settings caring for children aged birth to five.
In the north-east the National Strategies have provided support to local authorities and developed a set of materials to help practitioners to support children’s social development through “Social and Emotional Aspects of Development” (SEAD) programme.
The Government have also introduced the “Every Child a Talker” (ECAT) programme—which will give practitioners easier access to training and materials so that they are better equipped to identify and support children’s early language needs and development. In addition we have introduced the “Communication, Language and Literacy Development” (CLLD) programme which aims to support practitioners with children’s early reading, development of speaking and listening skills and to embed phonic work within a broad and rich language curriculum. The NE region has eight out of 12 local authorities in the first wave of the ECAT programme and 12 are in the CLLD programme.
Primary Education
The requested information is shown in the following table:
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Hamlet and Isolated Dwelling 695 693 687 685 681 Village 2,765 2,758 2,753 2,741 2,727 Town and Fringe 1,864 1,863 1,857 1,849 1,840 Urban >10,000 12,443 12,331 12,209 12,088 11,959 Total 17,767 17,645 17,506 17,363 17,207 Source: School Census.
School Leaving: Qualifications
The information requested is shown in the following table. The data are taken from the last five years’ “GCSE and Equivalent Results in England” Statistical First Release, the latest of which can be found online at:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000815/index.shtml.
20041 2005 2006 2007 20084 Wiltshire2 3.0 2.6 2.6 2.0 1.3 London2 4.2 2.7 2.5 2.0 1.9 England3 4.2 2.6 2.2 1.1 1.4 1 2004 figures include pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year. 2 Figures for Wiltshire and London include pupils in local authority maintained schools only. 3 Figures for England include all schools. 4 Provisional
Schools: Co-operation
The Department supports a number of school partnerships and collaborations. The following table details the key policies which either promote or leverage collaborative working. It includes the cost of those programmes last year in terms of the financial resources either passed directly to schools or LAs (in part or in full) to support partnership working, or the cost of contracts which provide support to schools or LAs (in part or in full) for partnership working. Likewise, it details the financial resources that the Department expects to make available this year to schools or LAs (in part or in full) to support partnership working, or the expected cost of contracts the Department will make available (in part or in full) to support schools or LAs to work in partnership.
Our vision of 21st century schools is ambitious. No single school working alone will be able to deliver its key components. To improve the lives of children, young people, families and the wider local community, schools will need to work in partnership with children and young people; with parents; with other schools and colleges; with early years providers; and with wider services. Our consultation paper published yesterday considers the 21st century school system and how we can ensure deeper, more consistent and more effective partnership working and collaborations.
Partnership policy Purpose Resources available in 2007-08 Resources available in 2008-09 0-7 Partnerships The Children’s Plan (paragraph 4.50) announced a new initiative to pilot partnership working between schools, Sure Start Children’s Centres, early years and childcare providers and the health service across the 0-7 age range. The aims of the 0-7 Partnerships pilots are to develop and assess different models of partnership and joint working to see how they can improve children's early experiences. These have a huge impact on their later development and achievement and can have an influence on what they do and how they behave throughout their lives. n/a 10 pilots, at least one for every English region, were selected in summer 2008. £2 million has been made available for 2008/9 (out of £10m total funding for the three years 2008-11). The pilots are designed to: raise quality; improve links between settings and services; improve transition over time (including from pre-school settings into Reception, and from Reception into Year 1); test out new innovative approaches to partnership working. Diploma Consortia Diploma consortia are the groups of partners and providers who come together to deliver one or more of the new Diploma lines. A Diploma consortium has responsibility for: Delivering particular lines of learning including ensuring facilities are fit for purpose and securing employers’ involvement; Ensuring member institutions collaborate effectively to deliver the Diploma; Providing Information Advice Guidance through peer advice and mentoring, opportunities for “tasters” and other “experiential” learning, building on commitments in the Children’s Plan; Marketing to young people, parents and carers; Preparing workforce and deploying them effectively; and Logistical planning of learner numbers, timetabling and transport. 14-19 Partnerships 14-19 Partnerships Delivery of 14-19 education requires a collaborative approach and the involvement of several partners. There is therefore a 14-19 Partnership of some form in every area. The 14-19 Partnership has a strategic role in: £14.5 million distributed to LAs as 14-19 flexible funding. Only some of this will be spent on partnership working at the LA's discretion. Flexible funding: £14.5 million. This will be added to the area based grant in 2008/09. Again only part of this will be spent on partnership work and that will be at the LA's discretion. agreeing the local vision for 14-19 that is consistent with the wider Sustainable Community Strategy, Children and Young People’s Plan and Local Area Agreement; developing and articulating strategies for the full range of 14-19 priorities; and supporting Diploma consortia so that they are ready to deliver. Behaviour and Attendance Partnerships In Nov. 2004 the Sec. of State signalled an expectation that all secondary schools (including academies, special schools and PRUs) would be working together in partnerships to improve behaviour and tackle persistent absence by Sept 2007. The partnerships are based on the idea that schools will be able to deal more effectively with challenging pupils if they can share expertise, resources and facilities for that purpose. Schools partnerships are voluntary, typically comprising 6-10 secondary schools, although primary and middle schools can join. Schools and local authorities have been encouraged to work in partnership through a series of Ministerial letters, and supported via several rounds of regional workshops, on-line guidance, and extensive support from the National Strategies. No additional funding available from the Dept. for partnership working. These partnerships to be made mandatory under the Children, Skills and Learning Bill. Safer School Partnerships - a voluntary arrangement between schools, police and other agencies. No DCSF or Home Office programme budget but some limited, pump-priming support available to some LAs in this FY. n/a n/a Community Cohesion - School Linking The Government investment in the Schools Linking Network will provide: A new national website - www.schoolslinkingnetwork.org.uk —to allow all schools in England to seek a linking partner on-line, with support from the Schools Linking Network. The website will also hold resources and training materials. £125.7k £731k Pilot projects in 40 local authorities to facilitate school linking by providing support and training, including guidance, materials and training for local authority personnel, teachers and other staff embarking on a linking project. Extended Schools A key way of delivering Every Child Matters, an extended school works with local providers, agencies (and in many cases other schools) to provide access to a core offer of extended services: a varied range of activities including study support activities for primary and secondary schools; childcare 8am-6pm, all year round for primary schools; parenting and family support; swift and easy access to specialist services such as speech therapy; community use of facilities including adult and family learning and ICT—these will often be provided beyond the school day but not necessarily by teachers or on the school site. In 2008-09 to 2010-11 a total of £1.3 billion of funding will be made available. This funding is to support the delivery of the extended schools core offer and not just to help schools work in partnership together. £238 million £297.5 million Independent School/State School Partnership The Independent/State Schools Partnerships Scheme aims to break down barriers between the independent and state school sectors, share expertise and good practice, widen educational opportunities, and raise standards in education. The focus of the scheme is on gifted and talented pupils with the aim of increasing the numbers of children applying for university places from communities where educational aspirations are traditionally low. In particular, priority will be given to proposals that aim to increase the uptake of, and attainment in, maths, science and modern foreign languages. £1 million £1.5 million (approx) Academy Federations The Academy Federation pathfinder, established in 2007, is a pilot project involving 10 federations, in which a low attaining school becomes an Academy and is federated with a strong school, which becomes either an Academy or a Trust school. Funding of up to £300,000 per scheme is available for the strong school to undertake work to support the partner school to become an Academy. The capacity funding is integrated into the funding normally made available for academy projects prior to opening, and is determined on a case by case basis. n/a Up to £300,000 per project. London Performance Collaborative The London Performance Collaborative is a group of London secondary schools working together to raise pupil's attainment. £415,000 £19,545 London Primary Schools Working in Partnership Small groups of schools working together on a particular theme, such as attainment in mathematics or English. none Up to £450,000 Leading Edge The Leading Edge Partnership programme enables groups of schools to work together to improve pupil outcomes at key stages 3 and 4, particularly amongst the lowest attaining schools in the partnership. Leading Edge Schools get additional funding of between £60,000 and £90,000 (depending on pupil numbers) p.a. and there is also funding for managing the Programme. £12.5 million paid to Leading Edge Schools. £925,000 was the cost of managing the Programme (via a contract). £13.4 million expected to be paid to Leading Edge Schools. £925,000 expected cost of managing the Programme (via a contract). Trust Schools Trust Schools work with partners from the private, voluntary and public sectors. Many Trust Schools share their Trust with other schools, and so it becomes a forum for school-to-school partnership working. The very first Trust Schools were provided with up to £15,000 as pathfinder support. Schools looking to acquire a Trust are currently able to access up to £10,000 support. The total money given directly to schools looking to acquire a Trust was £1.25 million. The Department contracted advice and support for Early Adopters from the TFSP (i.e. a consortium of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, Youth Sports Trust and FASNA) at a cost of £1,751,098. Successful applications from local authorities to the Standards and Diversity Fund to support collaborations (Federations and Trust) totalled £14.3 million. The contract with the TFSP consortium to provide advice and support to schools looking to acquire trust status is expected to cost £3.286 million in 08-09. The Department expects to make up to £2.47 million available to support Trust School projects this year. Further capital funding is available via the Standards and Diversity Fund from 2008-09 to 2010-11 to support federations and Trust school proposals. Federations Schools in a federation operate through a single shared governing body, or have joint committees of their governing bodies. The federation model itself can generate financial savings and efficiencies for schools and all schools have the flexibility in their budgets to invest in collaboration. Working together through formal shared governance structures enables schools to raise standards and maintain local provision by sharing resources, staff, expertise, and facilities. The variety of models offered by federation makes it adaptable to suit individual contexts, and local needs and objectives. There is some capital funding available to support federations via the Standards and Diversity Fund (targeted capital funding). Successful applications from local authorities to the Standards and Diversity Fund in 2007-08 to support federations and Trust school capital proposals totalled £14.3 million. £120,000 via the National College for School Leadership to support federation schools working with a shared School Business Manager. Further capital funding is available via the Standards and Diversity Fund from 2008-09 to 2010-11 to support federations and Trust school proposals. The department will hold conferences for rural primary schools to provide an opportunity for schools to find out more about federation and to learn from the experiences of others. The Department will also publish: new simplified guidance to help schools to form a federation; new case studies of federations between schools in rural areas to share best practice and to demonstrate the potential efficiencies and other benefits; reports from research currently being undertaken with clusters of schools to identify the benefits that closer collaborative working and pooling of resources would generate for children and staff. This research will provide clear examples to schools which will support governors and heads as they consider close partnership working. Education Improvement Partnerships In Education Improvement Partnerships, schools collaborate to deliver services that would usually be delivered by their Local Authority. Where the LA has funding for the delivery of these services they may decide, locally, to devolve this funding to the schools. The Department keeps no record of this. n/a n/a
Science: GCSE
The Department does not hold information on which subjects are offered by schools. However, the Department aims to encourage all schools to make triple science available to all pupils who could benefit. The Learning and Skills Network is providing practical support and guidance to schools on triple science.
Specifically, by September 2008 all pupils achieving at least level 6+ at key stage 3 will be entitled to study triple science GCSE, for example through collaborative arrangements with other schools, further education colleges and universities; and all specialist science schools will offer triple science at least to all pupils achieving level 6+ at the end of key stage 3.
Furthermore, we will expect all engineering and technology colleges to offer triple science from September 2009; and all mathematics and computing colleges to offer triple science from September 2010.
Social Services: Complaints
This information is not collected centrally. However, local authorities are required to keep a record of:
each representation/complaint received;
the outcome of each, that is, the decisions made in response to the representation/complaint and any action to be taken; and
whether there was compliance with the time limits.
Each local authority must produce an annual report drawing on this information. This report should not contain personal information that is identifiable about any individual complainant.
Teachers: Manpower
The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers, teaching assistants and support staff employed in local authority maintained schools in the Vale of York constituency and England, January 1997 and 2008.
January 1997 2008 Vale of York constituency Teachers4 660 770 Teaching assistants4 60 300 Support staff3,4 150 480 England Teachers5 399,180 434,870 Teaching assistants4 60,580 175,660 Support staff3,4 133,480 322,400 1 Includes qualified and unqualified teachers. 2 ‘Teaching assistants’ include teaching assistants, special needs support staff and minority ethnic pupil support staff. 3 Includes teaching assistants. 4 Source: School Census. 5 Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618g. Notes: 1. Excludes academies and city technology colleges. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 17 December 2008
House of Commons Commission
Departmental Official Hospitality
The amounts spent in the last three years have been:
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Christmas parties 2,704 3,835 3,661 Staff entertainment 5,574 1,513 7,149
Scotland
Departmental Marketing
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 November 2008, Official Report, columns 808-09W, to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne).
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers. Information for 2007-08 was published by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008, Official Report, columns 99-102WS.
Departmental Pay
Staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice and the Office reimburses those Departments for the costs involved. The Office does not maintain a record of the hourly pay for temporary or permanent staff; such information is the responsibility of the parent Departments.
Mental Illness
The Scotland Office is part of the Ministry of Justice, who have read the Foresight report and will be considering it with a view to taking up any relevant findings.
Part of that process will involve an assessment of what the report might mean for departmental policies and a report will follow on it in due course.
Defence
Aircraft Carriers: Construction
Construction is already under way, and will continue with the first cut of steel in the main shipyards of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance scheduled for 2009.
Armed Forces: Deployment
The average number of days that Royal Marine individuals are recorded as being separated from where they are based over the last 30 months from 1 May 2006 to 31 October 2008 is as follows:
Days Royal Marine Officers 154 Royal Marine Other Ranks 169
Departmental Research
A breakdown of research contracts placed with UK universities and other academic research centres is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Future Surface Combatant
It is departmental policy to release in-service dates only for those vessels for which the main investment decision has been taken. The Future Surface Combatant programme has not yet reached this stage. However, on current plans, we expect the first vessel to enter service around the end of the next decade.
Harrier Aircraft
The planned out-of-service date for the Harrier aircraft is 2018.
Joint Strike Fighter
We do not expect to make any commitments in this respect until operational test and evaluation of JSF is complete in 2014.
Through life costs will not be established until the JSF support solution is sufficiently mature, and will be dependent on the number of aircraft the UK purchases to meet its defence needs. We do not expect to make any commitments in this respect until operational test and evaluation of JSF is complete.
Submarines
Our present planning assumptions, which are routinely updated as required, are as follows:
Name Out-of-service date HMS Trafalgar 2009 HMS Turbulent 2011 HMS Tireless 2013 HMS Torbay 2015 HMS Trenchant 2017 HMS Talent 2019 HMS Triumph 2022
Warships
The in-service dates (ISD) declared at the time of the project main gate were 2014 for HMS Queen Elizabeth and 2016 for HMS Prince of Wales.
As stated in the written ministerial statement issued on 11 December 2008, Official Report, column 65WS, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, it is likely that the in-service dates of the new carriers will be delayed by one to two years.
We are in the process of agreeing revised ISDs for the two new carriers with our industrial partners.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 6 November 2008, Official Report, column 678W.
Culture, Media and Sport
2018 World Cup Bid Board
[holding answer 16 December 2008]: Cross-party support for the 2018 World cup bid is very important. Officials at my Department have had discussions with the interim bid team about how best to ensure all political parties are kept informed of progress with the bid. England 2018 Ltd. is in the process of recruiting a director of government liaison, whose key responsibilities include one to
“Ensure all relevant Party Leaders ... are regularly briefed on the progress of the Bid.”
[holding answer 16 December 2008]: Meetings of the bid company, England 2018 Ltd., board and publication of their minutes are a matter for the company itself. I have attended one board meeting, on 6 November 2008, and have meetings in my diary on a monthly basis until May.
Arts Council of England: Finance
[holding answer 8 December 2008]: Arts Council England inform us that media monitoring costs are drawn from their media relations budget, which is sourced from Managed Funds and drawn from Exchequer funding.
Sport England use a general formula for their administration overheads which means that 45 per cent. of funding is provided from Exchequer funding and 55 per cent. from lottery sources.
Convergence Think Tank
None. As announced on 17 October 2008, the Convergence Think Tank’s work, together with other related initiatives, will now be taken forward as part of the Digital Britain Report.
Departmental Energy
The Department has implemented a series of initiatives to manage and reduce our energy wastage. These have included new boilers, chillers, air handling units, lighting and fan coil units.
The Department achieved accreditation under the Carbon Trust Energy Efficiency Accreditation scheme in December 2007. The scheme recognises organisations’ efforts in measuring, managing and reducing its energy usage.
Departmental Pay
In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport all permanent staff are paid an annual salary rather than at an hourly rate.
Digital Broadcasting
DCMS recently commissioned research on possible enhancements to set-top boxes offered under the Digital Switchover Help Scheme. We do not plan to publish the report for reasons of commercial confidentiality and policy development.
English Heritage: Historic Buildings
The information requested has been provided by English Heritage and is set out in the following table. The figures include all properties open to the public, including those managed under local management agreements.
London South East East of England South West West Midlands East Midlands Yorkshire North West North East Total 2004 60 65 50 99 29 24 32 35 43 437 2005 60 67 50 99 29 25 31 36 43 440 2006 60 67 50 98 29 24 32 35 43 438 2007 60 66 49 97 29 24 32 36 41 434 2008 60 66 49 97 29 24 32 36 41 434
Historic Buildings: Conservation
The information requested has been provided by English Heritage and is set out in the following tables. The register was established in 1998, but a breakdown of the figures by region is only available from 1999.
Register Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added 1999 11 10 4 21 7 12 6 20 9 21 2000 13 6 16 15 14 12 10 19 6 9 2001 9 13 3 8 11 14 14 9 9 6 2002 12 6 5 6 15 7 11 3 8 11 2003 12 7 10 7 12 7 6 7 11 6 2004 7 4 10 4 7 8 10 8 8 4 2005 6 6 10 10 13 6 8 6 11 4 2006 5 12 9 6 12 9 10 10 6 2 2007 3 10 9 17 5 7 7 11 11 5
Register Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added Entries removed Entries added 1999 12 10 19 23 17 11 23 13 2000 12 13 13 8 11 10 14 10 2001 17 13 27 12 10 12 14 7 2002 22 16 10 25 14 16 17 8 2003 11 9 11 12 9 9 12 2 2004 10 5 18 12 7 10 14 3 2005 24 3 10 7 10 17 2 9 2006 13 2 9 7 16 2 8 2 2007 5 3 2 7 10 5 5 4
The information requested has been provided by English Heritage and is set out in the following table.
Region Number of Grade I & II* listed building entries Number of structural scheduled monument entries Total number of entries on the register East Midlands 134 13 147 East of England 92 31 123 London 84 5 89 North East 84 39 123 North West 103 32 135 South East 104 65 169 South West 145 17 162 West Midlands 130 42 172 Yorkshire and Humber 101 21 122 Total 977 265 1,242
Horserace Totalisator Board
I have had a number of meetings on the Tote since April 2008 at which HM Treasury has been represented.
Music: Young People
[holding answer 16 December 2008]: The Government promote music for youth through the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ package of funding for music education, which was announced in November last year. This totals £332 million over three years and includes investment in singing, new instruments and free music lessons.
The Music Mentoring programme, which Youth Music leads on, also seeks to engage young people through a mentoring programme linked to music-making activity and has been allocated £333,000 per year by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport until 2011.
Ports: Overseas Visitors
Welcome is one of the key strands of ‘Winning’ the tourism strategy for 2012 and beyond. In addition, the Welcome to Britain initiative has identified that improvements to our welcome are needed at ports of entry. VisitBritain, in partnership with England's regional development agencies and other members of the Welcome to Britain Steering Group, are currently running a pilot programme at Bristol airport, Manchester airport and Portsmouth port which focuses on improving the welcome at ports of entry. The pilot will be completed in early 2009, with the intention to roll out the scheme further.
Also, VisitBritain is measuring customer satisfaction through additional questions, on the topic of welcome, in the Civil Aviation Authority's international passenger survey. The survey, aimed at international passengers departing from major airports, is in its third wave, with a year end set of results due at the end of April 2009.
European Capital of Culture: Liverpool
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has taken many steps to publicise in London and elsewhere cultural events taking place in Liverpool to mark its year as European Capital of Culture. These include: the Liverpool 08 logo on all departmental correspondence; a link to information about the Capital of Culture on the homepage of the Department's website; sending quarterly events guides to all Cabinet Ministers; hosting conferences in Liverpool; referring to Liverpool's status and success in ministerial speeches; and frequent visits by the Secretary of State to Liverpool on DCMS business.
Northern Ireland
Community Development
My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland and I make various visits as appropriate to organisations involved in areas associated with social and community activity, mainly in the criminal justice sector. Since devolution the Department for Social Development has assumed responsibility for the majority of organisations involved in social action activities.
Crime Prevention: Northern Ireland
Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) have delivered in excess of 450 local projects in 2007-08 and so far in this financial year (2008-09). Information is not held in a way that can identify projects undertaken only in the last 12 months.
The Northern Ireland Office Community Safety Unit (CSU) provided £2 million for local projects in the 2007-08 financial year and has allocated £2.025 million for the 2008-09 financial year. Under the terms and conditions of funding set out by CSU all projects must attract a minimum of 20 per cent. match funding for the projects delivered.
I have arranged for a list to be placed in the Library detailing all projects delivered in each CSP area for the 2007-09 financial years, how much these cost and a brief description of each.
Departmental Consultants
My Department including agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies has used 102 external consultants in the last 12 months.
Information is not held centrally on how long each of the external consultants has worked for my Department and to provide this information would incur disproportionate costs.
Departmental Domestic Visits
As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland I make frequent visits to Northern Ireland.
The number of days and overnight stays I have spent in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months is shown in the following table.
Day Overnight October 2007 14 5 November 2007 8 2 December 2007 14 8 January 2008 7 2 February 2008 8 2 March 2008 10 6 April 2008 4 3 May 2008 19 9 June 2008 9 4 July 2008 4 3 August 2008 1 0 September 2008 9 5 October 2008 9 4 November 2008 10 3
The hon. Gentleman will be aware the offices of the Secretary of State are in Belfast and in London; Northern Ireland Office business is conducted in both places. The Secretary of State does not undertake ‘visits’ to his own office in Northern Ireland.
Details of visits made by Cabinet Ministers outside the United Kingdom are published annually by the Cabinet Office. Copies are available in the Library.
Departmental ICT
The additional information requested is provided in the following table.
Project name Original planned completion date Original estimated cost (£ million) Causeway Programme December 2006 42.7 Prisoner Record Information System (PRISM)—Technical Refresh March 2010 1.3
The additional information requested is provided in the following table.
Project name Original estimated cost (£million) Causeway Programme 42.7 Prisoner Record Information System (PRISM)—Technical Refresh 1.3
Departmental Manpower
The Northern Ireland Office employs 16.5 people who are not civil servants (measured in full-time equivalents). Of these, 13.5 full-time equivalent staff are employed to undertake duties within the State Pathologist’s Office. The remaining staff are employed in the Crown Solicitor’s Office and the Public Prosecution Service.
Departmental Official Visits
In the course of my duties, I am in regular contact with the Irish Government.
Departmental Procurement
Over the last three years the Northern Ireland Office’s Procurement Unit has identified six tenders that were cancelled prior to award of contract.
In respect of these tenders, there would have been abortive cost in advertising the tender and staff time involved in work on the tender process up to the point of cancellation. In one instance, where the cancellation was subsequently challenged, there were legal costs involved in defending the challenge (which may be recoverable).
We do not attribute staff costs to individual procurements and therefore cannot determine a cost for this element if the tender process is cancelled prior to contract award.
Specific costs that we can attribute over the last three years are as follows:
£ Advertising costs (based on an average of £550 per tender) 3,300 Legal costs charged to date (which may be recoverable) 6,765
Departmental Rail Travel
28 November 2008.
Departmental Television
The amount spent on television licence fees for the Department in the financial year 2007-08 excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs, was £3,248.
The companies which provided the digital television services in the answer given of 24 November 2008, were NTL/Virgin Media and Sky.
Departmental Travel
This is an operational matter for each of the Northern Ireland Office’s Executive non-departmental bodies, who operate independently of Government. I would encourage the hon. Member to write to the respective chief executives. Details of the NIO’s non-departmental public bodies can be found in the NIO 2008 departmental report at:
http://www.nio.gov.uk/northern_ireland_office_departmental_report_2008.pdf
Departmental Vacancies
Within the Northern Ireland Office, grade D1 is equivalent to administrative officer and grade B2 is equivalent to staff officer. Grade C is equivalent to executive officer I and executive officer II. The following table sets out the vacancies for these grades, as reported by business areas in November 2008, broken down by location.
Grade Location Vacancies Grade D1 Belfast 9 Stormont Estate 4 Carrickfergus 2 Lisburn 2 Ballymena 1 Foyle 1 Total 19 Grade C Belfast 7 Stormont Estate 1 Ballymena 1 Total 9 Grade B2 Belfast 5 Carrickfergus 2 Stormont Estate 2 Total 9
Economic Situation
As the hon. Gentleman should be aware, economic issues are largely devolved in Northern Ireland. However, where appropriate, in the course of my duties I have had meetings with business representatives. The detail of some of these meetings are commercially confidential and it would not be appropriate for me to disclose any details.
European Union
Meetings with officials and elected representatives in Brussels will take place as and when necessary.
Northern Ireland Assembly
The meetings I have had with members of the Northern Ireland Administration have been and continue to be related to the Government’s efforts to complete devolution in Northern Ireland. To that end, it would not be appropriate to discuss details of same. These meetings take place by arrangement any day of the week.
Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries
I have not had any discussions with the First Minister or Deputy First Minister about the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in discussions with the Royal Household about how to mark the Diamond Jubilee.
My Department has not, at this stage, developed plans on how to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in discussions with the Royal Household about how to mark the Diamond Jubilee.
Religion
(2) on which days he had official meetings with church leaders in the last 12 months.
I meet with leaders of all of Northern Ireland’s main Churches as appropriate.
USA
(2) what meetings he has had with officials of the US Administration in the last 12 months.
The United States has played and continues to play a critical role in the political process, further progress towards the devolution of policing and justice, and investment in Northern Ireland. Successive Secretaries of State have worked closely with the United States and maintained regular contact to discuss policy. I continue this policy.
Transport
A21: East Sussex
[holding answer 15 December 2008]: As advised in the Secretary of State's announcement on 16 July 2008, the proposed timetable for improvements to the A21 are:
A21 Tonbridge to Pembury dualling: 2012-13;
A21 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst improvement: 2012-13.
This timetable is subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary statutory processes, the availability of funding, and confirmation of priorities from the current South East England Regional Authority's Regional Funding Allocation advice refresh process.
The Highways Agency is investigating the potential for an earlier start of works in 2011-12 for the A21 Tonbridge to Pembury scheme.
There are no dates for the start of works on other A21 schemes.
A46: Nottinghamshire
In 2007 heavy goods vehicles accounted for about 10 per cent. of traffic on the A46 in Nottinghamshire.
Traffic data for individual motorways and 'A' roads for 1999 to 2007 are available at:
www.dft.gov.uk/matrix.
Airports: Security
We have announced our intention to include measures on enhancing airport security in the forthcoming Policing and Crime Bill which will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Aviation: Fuels
None specifically on alternative fuels for aircraft but there are two small projects of interest: firstly, earlier this year the Department commissioned a study on carbon reduction options for domestic aviation. We expect to publish this shortly. Additionally the OMEGA project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFC) has a project investigating the possibilities and barriers for alternative fuels.
We are aware of the US CAAFI (Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative) and various commercial trials which we are following with interest.
Biofuels
(2) whether Ministers or officials from the Department met representatives of biofuel producers to discuss the Government’s response to the discrepancy in the 2007 Order;
(3) whether Ministers or officials from the Department met representatives of obligated suppliers to discuss the Government’s response to the discrepancy in the 2007 Order;
(4) what communications he has had with the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments on correcting the discrepancy in the 2007 Order.
The Government are currently consulting on proposals for amending the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 (2007 No. 3072) to rectify the discrepancy issue by extending the definition of “relevant hydrocarbon oil”. The Department wrote to stakeholders on 13 November 2008 to inform them of proposals to rectify the discrepancy for the next obligation year (2009-10). Due to the constraints of the primary legal powers the Department is not proposing to deal retrospectively with this issue for the current obligation year (2008-09).
As a result of the discrepancy the Renewable Fuels Agency estimates that around half of the fossil fuel supplied may not be taken into account in calculating suppliers’ renewable transport obligations. The extent of any shortfall in biofuel supplied will not be known until the end of the obligation year.
Following the identification of the discrepancy the Government informed both obligated and biofuel suppliers about this issue. Officials within the Department for Transport are continuing to engage with these suppliers about the effects of the discrepancy and the proposed solution. The draft amendment order will be subject to the affirmative procedure and the proposal to deal with the discrepancy will be considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments in due course.
Carbon Emissions
It should be noted that new car carbon dioxide emissions will need to be 130 g/km on average (rather than it being a limit), with the further 10 g/km being delivered from a range of other measures. The phased-in targets (as agreed on 1 December between the European Commission, the European Parliament lead negotiators and the French presidency) still represent a real challenge for industry and will require a significant increase in the rate of fuel efficiency improvements over and above those already seen under the carbon dioxide voluntary agreements. Our analysis shows that there is unlikely to be any difference in overall carbon dioxide savings between this system and the original Commission’s proposal which had lower penalties for non-compliance in earlier years.
Eco-innovations, if properly implemented, will similarly not lead to a change in the overall carbon dioxide emissions from the regulation. Any reduction in g/km carbon dioxide savings measured by the test cycle will need to be matched by additional g/km carbon dioxide savings from the eco-innovations.
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing
Since 2003, when the charging scheme was introduced at the Dartford Crossing, the Department for Transport has made available between £1.75 million and £2 million per year to Thurrock council and Kent county council to help deliver local transport projects.
Departmental ICT
The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is not undertaking any IT projects.
The Department for Transport does not hold centrally collected records on IT projects, which are managed locally. The tables therefore show available information on major projects under way within DFT Central and each of its agencies.
Departmental Public Expenditure
[holding answer 15 December 2008]: The Highways Agency has been asked to review the potential for accelerating its investment and renewals activity in order to deliver an economic stimulus. The review of priorities is under way and covers major construction projects as well as maintenance activity. Existing contracts are designed to manage a flexible workload to meet such variations.
The management of maintenance works for local roads is a matter for each local highway authority. My Department provided funding of £2.1 billion to local authorities, in England outside London, as part of the 2007 Local Transport Plan settlement for capital highway maintenance for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. Local authorities have discretion on how to spend this funding. This certainty of funding allows authorities to plan their maintenance to match their local priorities. Funding for local roads in London is a matter for the Mayor.
Departmental Work Experience
The central Department and its agencies’ employment of (a) paid work experience or internship placements and (b) unpaid work experience or internships in each of the past three years is shown in the following table:
The Highways Agency maintains no central record of the number of students that have been placed in voluntary work experience.
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and the Driving Standards Agency can provide the information requested only at disproportionate cost.
Work Experience or Internship Number of participants Paid/ unpaid If paid, what weekly wage Job role and business area Weekly hours Calendar year In full time education Individual completed set period Internship 8 Yes 1— Administrative 36 2006 Yes Yes Internship 1 Yes £290 Variety for experience 37 2006 Yes Yes Internship 7 Yes 1— Administrative 36 2007 Yes Yes Internship 2 No n/a IT Support 37 2007 Yes Yes Internship 2 Yes 1— Administrative 36 2008 Yes Yes Internship 2 No n/a IT Support 37 2008 Yes Yes Work experience 15 No n/a Administrative 37 2006 Yes Yes Work experience 1 No n/a Sorting mail 15 2007 Yes Yes Work Experience 1 No n/a Administrative 35 2007 Yes Yes Work experience 18 No n/a Administrative 37 2007 Yes Yes Work experience 1 No n/a Sorting mail 15 2008 Yes Yes Work experience 21 No n/a Administrative 37 2008 Yes Yes 1 Unavailable: Responsibility delegated to the line and not held centrally.
Opportunities to undertake paid and unpaid work experience are provided by individual Government Departments as a means of providing an introduction to the Civil Service and a way of helping individuals to make longer-term career decisions.
Some work experience schemes are aimed at individuals with an interest in a specific area or profession such as the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Government Legal Service. Others, such as the diversity internship programme which has the summer placement scheme for individuals with a registered disability and the summer development programme for individuals from a minority ethnic background, are available for graduates or undergraduates who might be considering the fast stream scheme.
Driving Offences: Insurance
[holding answer 8 December 2008]: A vehicle may be driven by the main policy holder, a named driver on his or her policy, or by any driver whose policy has a clause that allows that driver to drive any other vehicle with the owner's permission (commonly referred to as DOV cover) on a third-party liability basis.
No information is kept on the number of vehicles that are driven by a person who is not named on the insurance certificate.
We estimate around 2.2 million vehicles are being driven uninsured. The wider issue of uninsured driving is being tackled through a number of measures—for example police powers to seize uninsured vehicles and/or court prosecution.
Heathrow Airport
The estimated net benefits of additional capacity at Heathrow will be updated in the impact assessment that will be published alongside the ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’ decision, in January 2009.
The Department for Transport's forecasts use projections of oil prices from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). BERR's most recent projections (May 2008) are available at:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file46071.pdf.
The IEA ‘World Energy Outlook 2008’ report projects a price of $120 per barrel in 2030 (expressed in 2007 prices). This falls within the BERR range of $45-$150 per barrel.
Higher Civil Servants
The annual basic wages of senior civil servants in the Department for Transport at 31 March 2006 and 31 March 2007 were £14,299,021 and £15,224,781 respectively.
Lorries: Standards
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was formed in April 2003.
The number of prohibitions issued to heavy goods vehicles (a) with mechanical defects, (b) that are overweight and (c) where drivers’ hours have been exceeded since 2003, broken down by (i) region, (ii) heavy goods vehicles country of origin has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
VOSA does not record details of whether a prohibition notice is issued to a left or right-hand drive vehicle.
Motor Vehicles: Safety
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 9 July 2008, Official Report, column 1584W. The results from the October 2008 seat belt wearing survey will be published as soon as practicable. As before, they will be available free of charge from the TRL website.
Railways: Fares
The fares structure for Southeastern’s domestic high speed services is set out in the Franchise Agreement.
Southeastern have created two sets of fares between London and Gravesend, one set being valid on any permitted route, which includes High Speed 1, and the other not valid on High Speed 1.
A premium may be applied to the fares which are valid on High Speed 1 at Southeastern’s discretion, subject to a cap. For fares between Ebbsfleet and any London station, the fare will be the appropriate “not HS1” fare plus a maximum of 35 per cent.
Southeastern has not notified the Department for Transport of the final level of premium.
Road Traffic: Halton
The Department for Transport is not aware of any scheduled temporary closures of the bridge. The management of the Silver Jubilee bridge is a matter for Halton borough council.
However, as part of the Department’s value for money (VfM) assessment of a business case submitted by Halton borough council in 2006 for funding towards a major maintenance scheme on the Silver Jubilee bridge, we assessed the authority’s estimate of the effect of a permanent closure of the bridge against the proposed maintenance work. Temporary closures were not assessed.
Roads: Accidents
The numbers of fatalities resulting from reported personal injury road accidents for the each of the last 10 years in (a) the East Riding of Yorkshire, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) North Yorkshire and (d) West Yorkshire are given in the following table:
East Riding of Yorkshire South Yorkshire North Yorkshire West Yorkshire 1998 33 56 88 106 1999 42 50 68 111 2000 21 62 90 120 2001 24 51 82 144 2002 36 63 95 115 2003 25 65 88 102 2004 34 56 80 116 2005 31 47 85 99 2006 26 71 69 113 2007 28 48 81 103
Southeastern: Ticketing
The Department for Transport, Transport for London and train operators are working together on the acceptance of Oyster Pay as You Go on rail services in the London Travelcard Zones and the acceptance of ITSO Smartcards on Oyster equipment. Commercial and contractual negotiations are taking place.
West Coast Railway Line
The estimated full cost for the upgrade of the west coast main line remains £9.9 billion as set in the 2003 Government Strategy for the route. £8.8 billion has been spent to date and £1 billion is being provided for the 2009 to 2014 period for power supplies, Stafford and Bletchley works.
Communities and Local Government
Boilers: Safety
(2) if she will consider bringing forward legislative proposals to make the installation of carbon monoxide alarms a legal requirement (a) in publicly-owned housing and (b) in the construction of all new homes.