To ask the Leader of the House if he will list for each civil service grade within his Office, the total number of staff employed, broken down by (a) gender, (b) ethnic group and (c) age group; and how many are registered disabled. [166400]

Data on staffing levels in the Civil Service are collected by the Cabinet Office and published in Civil Service Statistics. A copy of Civil Service Statistics 2002 is available in the Library, and at www.civil-service, gov.uk/statistics. The 2003 edition will be published in summer 2004.My Office currently employs 12 civil servants and two temporary civil servants as special advisers, including staff supporting the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. The grading breakdown is set out in the following table:

Grade	Staff number
Senior Civil Servant	1
Band A	1
B2	3
B1	3
C2	3
C1	1
Special Adviser	2

To provide further analysis of

To ask the Leader of the House what plans he has to update computer (a) hardware and (b) software standard packages used in his Office. [166375]

The computer hardware and software used in my office is provided by the Privy Council Office under an IS/IT services agreement managed by the Cabinet Office. This provides for desktop hardware to be regularly replaced, and for standard operating and applications software to be kept updated. A major upgrade is planned for the standard office automation software we use towards the end of 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of compliance with the duty to manage legislation as it relates to exposure to asbestos (a) now and (b) by the time the legislation becomes legally binding in May. [166749]

As a result of a commitment given by the Government to the House of Lords in 2002, the Health and Safety Executive carried out a review of the progress being made towards compliance with the duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. The review shows that between 50 per cent. and 75 per cent. of dutyholders are aware of the new regulation and that approximately 40 per cent. were already complying with the duty six months before the regulation was due to come into force.Since the review was carried out the HSE has continued its campaign to raise awareness of the duty in order to continue to raise the level of compliance before the 21 May when the duty comes into force.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what efforts the Department has made to raise awareness amongst small businesses and the self-employed of the duty to manage legislation as it relates to exposure to asbestos. [166750]

In 2001 the Health and Safety Commission embarked on a five-year campaign to raise awareness of the duty to manage and to encourage proportionate and effective compliance with the new regulation.In addition to the development of comprehensive guidance, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has gained the support of over 3,000 organisations to act as Partners in cascading HSE's campaign messages to a wide and varied audience, including small businesses and the self-employed. The partnership network includes the Federation of Small Businesses which has played a key role in the production of a free 'Duty to Manage' leaflet geared towards the needs of their members. Over 400,000 of these leaflets have been distributed nation wide.HSE has also developed a 'duty to manage' asbestos website, which includes good practice examples for new dutyholders, and has produced a range of written guidance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 8 March, with regard to Mr. David Worthington. [167259]

I replied to my right hon. Friend on 16 April 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are claiming council tax benefit; and if he will make a statement. [166252]

The number of Council Tax Benefit recipients in Great Britain at August 2003 is 4,657,400.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to provide everyone with a personal forecast of their complete pension position as proposed in "A New Contract for Welfare: Partnership in Pensions", page 86. [166247]

Last year the Government began the process of issuing state pension forecasts to self-employed people and we anticipate that we will have sent 1.6 million forecasts by the end of May this year.We also continue to work in partnership with employers and pension providers to deliver 6.3 million combined pension forecasts by the end of 2005–06. To date over 700 employers and pension providers have expressed an interest in delivering these forecasts to their employees/scheme members.The Government are keen to ensure that individuals who are not covered by the combined pension forecast arrangements do not lose out. We intend to issue to these people a regular forecast of their projected state pension entitlement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate (a) the initial start-up cost and (b) the annual running cost of his Department's web-based retirement planner, as proposed in Simplicity, Security and Choice: Informed Choices for Working and Saving, page 28; if he will provide a breakdown of this cost to (i) pension providers and (ii) his Department; and if he will make a statement. [166232]

We anticipate that the costs of establishing and running the web-based retirement planner are likely to be less than £10 million set-up costs and less than £5 million in annual running costs. However, these figures are high-level and indicative.Expenditure on a new service cannot be incurred ahead of Her Majesty's consent to the Pensions Bill. Following Royal Assent we will be able to engage with suppliers and estimate the potential cost. The exact costs of the system will, therefore not be known until commercial arrangements have been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the average cost per member to private pension schemes for providing personalised scheme-member information in order to facilitate his Department's proposed web-based retirement planner. [166233]

This information is not available at the present time. Expenditure on a new service cannot be incurred ahead of Her Majesty's consent to the Pensions Bill and consent to that expenditure. Following Royal Assent we will be able to engage with suppliers and estimate the potential cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department's proposed web-based retirement planner will be launched. [166245]

As announced in February 2004 in Cm 6111, 'Simplicity, security and choice: Informed choices for working and saving', the web-based retirement planner will be launched in Spring 2006.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on business of elected regional assemblies in the north of England. [166261]

Improving the economic performance of the northern regions will be at the heart of the objectives of elected regional assemblies. Business will be actively involved in, and benefit from, the work of the assemblies—including economic development, planning, housing, transport, employment, and training and skills.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action his Department is taking to make deprived communities better places to live. [166262]

The Government have introduced a range of new programmes backed by substantial investment to improve disadvantaged areas, including the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Sure Start and neighbourhood wardens.Independent research published this week shows crime in warden areas has dropped by 28 per cent.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what studies his Department will be making of the impact of his latest housing policies on the north-west of England. [R] [166263]

The Government's housing policies are encapsulated in the Sustainable Communities Plan. With four of the nine Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders located in the north-west, the region is set to benefit from £332 million over the next two years. A full programme evaluation for the pathfinder programme is to be commissioned. In addition, a full review of North West Regional Planning Guidance will start later this year, and will give further consideration to housing provision.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to increase the amount of affordable housing for rent in rural areas. [166264]

The target for approvals of rural housing in small settlements within the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme has been increased from 800 in 2000–01 to 3,500 over the two years 2004–05 and 2005–06. The target for these two years has been exceeded by about 500 in the programme announced last month. The programme includes homes for both rent and low cost home ownership.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the effect of changes in the level of council funding for housing upon residents of Wirral, South since 1997. [166635]

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Birkenhead since 1997. [166214]

Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per event. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Wirral's allocations in the period 1997 to 2003–04 have risen by over 140 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long term improvement.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those respondents to the consultation paper on licensing houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) who (a) supported and (b) opposed the proposal to introduce a duty of care on the owners and managers of all HMOs to ensure the health and safety of their tenants. [166201]

A total of 579 responses were received on the 1999 consultation paper on Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation in England. 363 of them expressed no views on the proposal to introduce a duty of care on the owners and managers of HMOs.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to help local authorities to rehouse families on the housing waiting list. [166259]

Local authorities are no longer required to hold 'housing waiting lists', and are now required to allocate housing following their published allocation scheme. In November 2002, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister issued a revised Code of Guidance on the Allocation of Accommodation; this encourages local authorities to provide housing applicants with a choice of accommodation in their allocation scheme.The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced a major new affordable house building programme worth nearly £3.5 billion over this and next year, and we are allocating £260 million over 2003–04 to 2005–06 to tackle homelessness.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) level of housing basic credit approvals (as included in HIP allocations), (b) volume of reserved capital receipts from Right to Buy, (c) volume of usable capital receipts from Right to Buy and (d) capital receipts used by local authorities for housing investment were for (i) each local authority with a housing revenue account and (ii) England for (A) 1990–91, (B) 2000–01, (C) 2001–02, (D) 2002–03 and (E) 2003–04. [166637]

Information on (a) local authority capital allocations since 1990–91 is available in the Library of the House.The information requested at

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average council tax increase from 2003–04 to 2004–05 was in shire counties. [166265]

The average increase in the Band D council tax in shire county areas between 2003–04 and 2004–05 is 6.2 per cent. This contrasts with an increase of 13.8 per cent. in 2003–04.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on planning and regeneration policy in areas of high population density. [166260]

The needs of high density areas differ greatly depending on local circumstances. Regeneration strategies are best decided locally. Planning can play an important role in high-density areas helping to create well designed and planned sustainable communities.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement in the House on a referendum on the EU constitution. [167220]

I refer the hon. Member to my statement on Europe in the House on 20 April 2004, Official Report, columns 155–57.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) whether (a) he raised the issue of the sale and transportation of illegal arms to the Provisional IRA when he recently met with Colonel Gaddafi in Libya and (b) he was given a full inventory of the weapons and explosives which the Provisional IRA received; [166764](2) whether discussions took place with Colonel Gaddafi regarding financial compensation to those injured by, and to the families of those murdered by, illegal weapons transported to the IRA by Libya; and if he will make a statement; [166765](3) whether the issue of

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Antrim (David Burnside) on 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1569W.

To ask the Prime Minister what details were given by Colonel Gaddafi and the Libyan Government regarding their involvement in the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher; and if he will make a statement. [166766]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Antrim (David Burnside) on 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1569W.Following my visit, a Metropolitan Police team visited Tripoli between 3 and 6 April to take forward the investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which (a) chartered accountants and (b) chartered accountancy firms are banned from carrying out work for the Government; [166384](2) which

No chartered accountants or firms of chartered accountants are currently formally banned from carrying out work for the Government. However, following the collapse of Barlow Clowes, the two partners of Deloitte and Touche (the auditors) who were censured by the Joint Disciplinary Scheme Committee of Enquiry (an integral part of the accountancy profession's regulatory regime) voluntarily agreed not to put themselves forward for Government work.The ban on the employment of Arthur Andersen for Government work was lifted in November 1997 for reasons explained on 14 November 1997,

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all contracts, consultancies or other services placed with the accountancy firms (i) Deloitte & Touche, (ii) Ernst & Young, (iii) KPMG and (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers since 2000–01 by the Department and its agencies. [166097]

The following information and tables provide the information required in the form in which the Chancellor's Departments and agencies have been able to compile it, without having to incur disproportionate costs.

HM Treasury1
Spend (£)
	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Deloitte Touche	0	91,473	144,628	207,261
Ernst & Young	0	0	1,410	0
KPMG	41,125	0	262,057	5,006
PriceWaterhouseCoopers	462,251	19,892	203,837	8,119
1 Including DMO.

Office of Government Commerce1
Spend (£)
	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Deloitte & Touche	0	0	—	—
Ernst & Young	0	0	—	—
KPMG	261,000	85,000	—	—
PriceWaterhouseCoopers	—	—	—	—
1 Including OGC Buying Solutions.

HM Customs & Excise
Spend (£)
	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Deloitte & Touche	876,061	38,748	—	—
Ernst & Young	253,153	215,748	—	—
KPMG	214,190	1,237,316	—	—
PriceWaterhouseCoopers	243,254	111,356	—	—

Inland Revenue
Spend (£)
	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Deloitte & Touche	0	2,115	302,273	48,472
Ernst & Young/Cap Gemini1	1,937,237	1,673,971	6,796	70
KPMG	92,500	0	32,261	83,279
PriceWaterhouseCoopers	141,101	190,372	109,680	6,289
1 Combined expenditure with Ernst Young/Cap Gemini-further breakdown only available at disproportionate cost.

Inland Revenue (IR) has access to a range of services provided by the specified companies and their affiliated organisations. The expenditure detailed above for the specified companies was incurred primarily for management services.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many (a) men and (b) women are employed in The Wrekin; [166720](2) how many

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many new (a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs were created between 1997 and 2003 in Liverpool, Walton; [166968](2) how many jobs were lost in each year between 1997 and 2003 in Liverpool, Walton. [166969]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many young people aged 16 or 17 he expects will be entitled to the national minimum wage in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the United Kingdom. [166815]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer according to the 2001 Census return, which 10 constituencies had the highest proportion of non-white population; what those proportions were; what proportion of the population indicated English or similar in the ethnicity question in (a) England and (b) each constituency; what proportion of the population lives in a mobile home in (i) England and (ii) each constituency; and what proportion of the population travels to work by other means in (A) England and (B) each constituency. [162763]

[holding answer 22 March 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets have been set for each local authority in England for the number of child care places which will be supported by the child care element in working tax credit for this current financial year. [166521]

The Government's aim is to ensure that every parent has access to good quality, affordable child care and to ensure that they are also aware of the availability of financial support for child care costs. The child care element of the working tax credit is available to low and moderate income working parents using eligible child care.Data on the number of families benefiting from the child care element are not currently available at the local authority level due to sample size constraints. Across the UK, over 300,000 working families with children are now benefiting from help with child care costs, 67 per cent. more than benefited under the working families' and disabled person's tax credits in November 2002.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets have been set centrally for the number of child care places that will be supported by the child care element of working tax credit in England and Wales for this current financial year. [166522]

The Government have no targets for the number of beneficiaries of the child care element of the working tax credit. This help is available to low and moderate income working parents using eligible child care. Under the new tax credits, this help is benefiting over 300,000 families, 67 per cent. higher than the number who benefited under the working families' and disabled person's tax credits in November 2002.The Government have set targets to increase the supply of child care. The 2004 Spending Review settlement announced for the Department for Education and Skills as part of Budget 2004 will allow further expansion of child care in England. The Government's aim is to ensure that every parent has access to good quality, affordable child care; and to ensure that they are also aware of the availability of financial support for child care costs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each civil service grade within his (a) Department and (b) Department's executive agencies, the total number of staff employed, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) ethnic group and (iii) age group; and how many are registered disabled. [166388]

Data on staffing levels in the Chancellor's Departments and their agencies are collected by the Cabinet Office and published in "Civil Service Statistics". A copy of "Civil Service Statistics, 2002" is available in the Library, and at www.civilservice.gov.uk/statistics. The 2003 edition will be published in summer 2004.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing efficiency gains since his Budget statement. [165019]

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my answer to him of 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1677W.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Sir Peter Gershon regarding the progress of his efficiency review. [165989]

The Chancellor and Treasury officials have had regular discussions with Sir Peter Gershon regarding the progress of the efficiency review.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the amount of gift aid that has gone unclaimed in each year since 1997; [166668](2) how much money was claimed in gift aid in each year since 1997. [166669]

No estimate is available of the amount of extra Gift Aid that charities could have claimed since 1997.Amounts of tax repaid to charities on donations under Gift Aid are shown in the following table. Statistics on Gift Aid are published on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/charities/c_t031.htm.

£ million
Year	Total	By individuals	By companies
1996–97	134	68	66
1997–98	177	96	81
1998–991	306	110	196
1999–2000	208	128	80
2000–012	222	222	4—
2001–02	415	415	4—
2002–033	506	506	4—
1 Figures for company donations reflect a single exceptionally large donation in 1998–99
2 Following the Budget of 2000 company donations are paid gross and do not involve tax repayments and hence are excluded.
3 Provisional.
4 Not available

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury has undertaken a study to estimate the cost of any future ID card scheme; and if he will make a statement. [166781]

The Treasury has been involved in discussions on the benefits and costs of a national ID cards scheme, co-ordinated by the Home Secretary. The introduction of such a scheme is a long-term undertaking, and the Treasury will continue to be involved with ongoing analysis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has conducted of the value derived by members of mutual organisations from the process of demutualisation. [166732]

Mutuality is fundamentally about members' rights to say how their organisation is governed. These rights include the right to vote to demutualise the society. It is for members to consider whether demutualisation is in their interests, taking into account the seriousness and irrevocability of the decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance is being provided by Sport England to secure the re-opening of Buckmore Park Scout center in the constituency of Chatham and Aylesford. [166423]

Since the closure of Buckmore Park Scout center, Sport England have been actively pursuing options for reopening the center with interested parties in the area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what sums have been agreed between the BBC and Ofcom in respect of the carrying out by Ofcom of its functions in relation to the BBC, under section 198 (4) of the Communications Act 2003 for the financial year 2004–05; [166825](2) what sums have been agreed between Ofcom and

The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to my hon. Friend. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers she has to prevent local authorities from closing down (a) cultural and (b) sports facilities. [166406]

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport does not have any powers to prevent local authorities from closing down cultural and sports facilities.However, the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 imposes a duty on local authorities that are library authorities to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" public library service, and the national library standards, published by the Secretary of State, help to inform this duty. The Secretary of State has various powers under this Act if a local authority defaults in its duties.The Government have also taken action to prevent the loss of playing fields by introducing the Town and Country Planning (Playing Fields) (England) Direction 1998. This provides the Deputy Prime Minister with powers to ensure that communities retain an adequate supply of playing fields to meet both their current and longer term needs. In addition, where development (as defined by the Planning Acts) is proposed on school playing fields covered by section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, both planning permission from the local planning authority and consent from the Secretary of State for Education and Skills will be required.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund has been allocated to Liverpool, Walton in each year since 1997. [166975]

The New Opportunities Fund began making grants in 1999. The awards to Liverpool, Walton are shown in the table.

Financial Year	Amount (£)
1998–99	—
1999–2000	13,751
2000–01	38,432
2001–02	774,705
2002–03	1,137,366
2003–04	274,644
Total	2,238,898

The information is derived from the Department's Lottery award database, which uses information provided by the Lottery distributors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Manchester, Gorton in each year since 1997. [167344]

The New Opportunities Fund began making grants in 1999. The awards to Manchester, Gorton are shown in the table.

Financial Year	Amount (£)
1998–99	—
1999–2000	—
2000–01	238,285
2001–02	5,000
2002–03	78,810
2003–04	192,057
Total	514,152

The information is derived from the Department's Lottery award database, which uses information provided by the Lottery distributors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all contracts, consultancies or other services placed with the accountancy firms (i) Deloitte & Touche, (ii) Ernst & Young, (iii) KPMG and (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers since 2000–01 by the Department and its agencies. [166098]

My Department does not hold a central record of the nature of individual agreements (be they contracts, consultancies or other services) nor of their value. However, our financial records show the following total payments made by the Department to (a) Deloitte and Touche, (b) Ernst and Young, (c) KPMG and (d) PricewaterhouseCoopers in financial years 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 to date (i.e. excluding any subsequent prior year adjustments).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public funding has been spent on adult (a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Birkenhead in each of the last five years. [166297]

The estimated total spend on Skills For Life (the Government's strategy for literacy, language and numeracy needs of all post-16 learners from pre-entry level up to and including level 2) and on Key Skills (essential skills of communication, application of number and information technology), from April 2001 to July 2003, in the Greater Merseyside Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area is set out in the table below:

(£000)
April 2001 to July 20011		August 2001 to July 2002		August 2002 to July 2003
Basic skills	Key skills	Basic skills	Key skills	Basic skills	Key skills
3,803	1,094	6,575	1,564	10,677	1,755
1 The figures for April to July 2001 include costs incurred from August 2000 on learning aims continuing into April 2001.

From the information available to the LSC it has not been feasible to obtain estimates at constituency level or separate figures by subject without incurring disproportionate cost. Likewise it has not been feasible to obtain comparable figures for periods before April 2001 when the Skills for Life strategy was launched and the LSC was form but information shows it was considerably less than at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the future of the advanced vocational certificate of education. [165862]

The specifications for the Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education are currently being revised in order that, from September 2005, they will follow the same A S/A2 format as the GCE. Their longer-term future is being considered by the Working Group on 14-19 RAorm, whose final report is due in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of Birkenhead have undertaken apprenticeships in each of the last five years. [166335]

The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Nor is the information available for a consistent geographical area over the last five years. However, the following table shows the number of starts on apprenticeships (formerly known as Advanced Modern Apprenticeships) and apprenticeships at level two (formerly known as

Time period	TEC/LSC	Apprenticeships	Apprenticeships at level 2
April 1998 to March 1999	CEWTEC1	1,400	300
	Merseyside	2,400	1,200
	St. Helens CCTE	300	100
	North and Mid Cheshire1	1,200	200
April 1999 to March 2000	CEWTEC1	1,000	900
	Merseyside	2,600	3,500
	St. Helens CCTE	300	400
	North and Mid Cheshire1	900	500
April 2000 to March 2001	CEWTEC1	1,100	1,300
	Merseyside	2,500	4,100
St. Helens CCTE	300	500
	North and Mid Cheshire1	1000	900
April 2001 to July 2002	Greater Merseyside LSC	2,600	7,100
March 2001 to July 2002	Greater Merseyside LSC	2,000	6,000
Notes:
1TEC also became part of Cheshire and Warrington LSC Source:
TEC management information.
LSC Individualised Learner Record.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in Birkenhead have received a computer to assist in seeking employment or retraining. [166332]

At present no centrally funded DFES schemes exist which enable people to acquire free or low price recycled computers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school budgets in Devon Local Education Authority were in deficit in each of the last seven years. [164787]

The information requested is not available for the last seven years. However, the number of schools in budget deficit for the last four years is shown in the following table:

Numbers of Devon schools with a deficit budget in each of the last four years
Number of schools
1999-2000	71
2000-2001	48
2001-2002	33
2002–2003	27

Notes:1. The data are as reported by Devon LEA as at 30 March 2004 and taken from their section 52 outturn statements submitted to the DfES.2. 2002–03 data are subject to changes by the LEA which may alter the results for that period.3. For 1999–00 to 2001–02 the data are taken from the Balance Carried Forward column. In 2002–03 data come from Other Revenue Balance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school budgets in North Tyneside local education authority were in deficit in each of the last 10 years. [164363]

The information requested is not available for the last 10 years. However, the number of schools in budget deficit in North Tyneside LEA for the last four years is shown in the following table:

Numbers of North Tyneside schools with a deficit budget in each of the last four years
Number of schools
1999–2000	21
2000–01	20
2001–02	18
2002–03	32
Notes:
1. The data are as reported by North Tyneside LEA as at 29 March 2004 and taken from their 2002–03 section 52 outturn statement submitted to the DfES.
2. The 2002–03 data is subject to changes by the LEA which may alter the results for that period.
3. For 1999–00 to 2001–02 the data are taken from the Balance Carried Forward column. In 2002–03 data comes from Other Revenue Balance column.
4. Section 52 data is available from 1999–00. Prior to then the ODPM's RO1 statement provides information but not at school level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of home to school transport in North Tyneside local education authority was in each of the last five years. [164364]

The information requested is contained within the following table:

Cost of home to school transport in each of the last five years
	(£000)
1997–1998	950
1998–1999	985
1999–2000	1045
2000-2001	1125
2001-2002	1246
Notes:
The financial data are taken from North Tyneside LEA's Section 52 Outturn Statement submitted to the DfES from 1999–2000 onwards and the ODPM's RO1 statement prior to then.
Figures are in £000s.
Total transport expenditure and parental contributions includes that incurred in relation to pre-primary, primary, secondary and special school education as well as in education out of school, continuing education and the management and support elements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2004, Official Report, column 1395W, on the Europass Scheme, what steps will be taken to participate in the Europass initiative; and what the timescale is for each stage of the process. [165845]

The UK is already participating fully in the current implementation of Europass Training, set up under Council Decision 1999/51/EC of 21 December 1998 on the promotion of European pathways in work-linked training, including apprenticeship.If the current proposals for the new Europass Programme are adopted by co-decision of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers this year, it is expected that the initiative will begin on 1 January 2005. We will appoint a National Europass center to coordinate Europass activities within the UK. We expect the National center to be in place for the start of the Programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) free nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four year olds in Chorley in each of the last seven years. [161596]

The information is not available in the form requested.Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year olds in Lancashire local education authority area are shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many women in Birkenhead have visited an information and communications technology training center in order to learn skills to return to work. [166331]

Birkenhead is served by both UK online centers and learndirect provisions.An estimated 226 women use UK online centers in Birkenhead each quarter. This information is calculated from UK online quarterly management information (quarter ending Dec 03) which shows that, on average, each UK online center has 101 users and that 56 per cent. of UK online users are female.To date, 493 women living in Birkenhead (postal districts CH41 and 42) have visited a learndirect center.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to receive a report from the Modern Apprenticeships Task Force. [166202]

The Secretary of State and I are kept regularly informed of progress in the work of the Task Force. However, Sir Roy Gardner the chair of the Task Force intends to submit the group's Interim Report in Autumn 2004. The report will be sent, in the first instance, to the Task Force joint sponsors: the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and the Chair of the Learning and Skills Council, and published shortly afterwards. In the meantime information on the work of the group is available on the Task Force's website www.employersforapprentices. goy. uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the pupil to teacher ratio was for the North Somerset Local Education Authority for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each year since 1997. [165604]

The data requested are shown in the following table.

Maintained Primary and Secondary Schools1: Pupil: Teacher Ratios2North Somerset Local Education Authority
Position at January each year: 1997 to 2003	Pupil Teacher ratios2
	Primary schools	Secondary schools
1997	23.8	16.0
1908	24.2	17.1
1999	24.4	17.0
2000	24.2	17.3
2001	24.0	17.6
2002	23.7	17.2
2003	23.9	17.2
Notes:
1 Includes middle schools as deemed.
2 The pupil: teacher ratio within schools is the ratio of all pupils on the schools registers (counting each part-time pupil as 0.5) to all qualified teachers (including the full-time equivalent of part-time teachers).
Source:
Annual Schools' Census.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of recruitment of civil servants for the Department was in each financial year since 1996-97, broken down by (a) delegated or contracted out recruitment procedures and (b) recruitment procedures carried out by the Department. [158189]

The Department was established in June 2001. Information is available for the first full financial year of 2002/03. The figures below include Senior Civil Service recruitment.

(£000)
year	Cost of delegated or contracted out recruitment	Cost of recruitment procedures carried out by the Department
2002/03	916,602.71	76,046.52

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
City of London
Teachers	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
Teaching assistants	—	—	—	—	—	—	10
Camden
Teachers	1,500	1,480	1,440	1,340	1,430	1,570	1,450
Teaching assistants	200	240	250	300	360	440	470

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much in targeted capital funds for schools was allocated to each English region in the last year for which figures are available. [165870]

The following table shows the value of new projects to be supported from the Targeted Capital Fund in 2004–05 for each Government Office Region.

Government Office Region	Targeted Capital Funding for 2004–05
East Office Region	24,772,307
East of England	28,046,121
London	50,260,995
North East	5,888,356
North West	30,824,502
South East	26,452,007
South West	43,143,376
West Midlands	21,994,219
Yorkshire and The Humber	28,223,284

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much in targeted capital funds was given to (a) faith schools, (b) non-faith schools, (c) faith schools with a comprehensive intake, (d) non-faith schools with a comprehensive intake, (e) Church of England schools, (f) Roman Catholic schools, (g) grammar schools and (h) Roman Catholic grammar schools in the last year for which figures are available. [165871]

We do not hold information in the form requested. Targeted Capital Fund(TCF) projects sometimes cover more than one school and we do not ask bids to break down costs for each school. Both local education authority (LEA) and Voluntary Aided (VA) bids can contain a mixture of schools with or without a religious character and with different admission policies. It is therefore not possible to break down allocations between the various categories requested.For the 2004–05 round of TCF we have supported 68 LEA projects totalling £186 million at 61 LEAs, and £74 million of support for 23 VA projects at 21 LEAs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants there were in each local education authority in Greater London in each of the last seven years. [165839]

[holding answer 19 April 2004]: The following table gives the numbers of full time equivalent regular teachers and teaching assistants employed in maintained schools in the Greater London area broken down by local education authority for each year between 1997 and 2003.