To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many and what proportion of childminders were deregistered in each year since 1997, broken down by reason for deregistration; (200555)

These are matters for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and copies of her replies have been placed in the Library.

Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 30 April 2008:

Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.

The regulation of Early Years provision transferred from Local Authorities to Ofsted in September 2001, and was subject to transition arrangements until the end of March 2003.We are only able to provide figures after this transition period, from April 2003.

The data table attached contains figures for each financial year and these are taken from the snapshot of provider lists taken on the first working day of April each year.

A copy of this reply has been sent to right hon. Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 30 April 2008:

Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.

The childcare data tables attached have been derived from the Ofsted Early Years summary reports produced annually and from internal Ofsted data reports. The data for financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 are taken from the Early Years summary reports. The data for years 2003-04 and 2004-05 are taken from Ofsted data reports which provide cumulative data recording the number of inspections during the given financial year.

The figures for each financial year are derived from the snapshot of providers undertaken on the first working day of April each year and include active providers only. For each financial year our figures use the most recent inspection visits, where the reports have been quality assured or have not been withdrawn from publication.

Please note that the outcome judgements changed from a 3-point scale in April 2005 (good, Satisfactory or unsatisfactory), to a 4-point scale (outstanding, good, satisfactory or inadequate) thereafter. Direct comparisons should therefore not be made between these reports scales.

The selection of providers for inspection each year is not random. As a result, it is possible that groups of ‘stronger’ or ‘weaker’ providers are selected, biasing the inspection outcomes. The distribution of inspection grades in any one year, therefore, does not necessarily reflect the national position.

A copy of this reply has been sent to right hon. Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of the proportion of children living with both parents in each local authority area. (200984)

I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the estimate is of the proportion of children living with both parents in each local authority area. (200984)

As no published tables exist that provide the requested figures, Table C0905 has been specially run and is based on 2001 Census Theme Table on all dependent children (T01). The table covers all local authorities in England and Wales and has been deposited in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of children in care aged (a) three and above and (b) below three attended daycare nursery in each of the last 10 years. (204141)

The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey estimated that there were 766,900 children attending full day care providers in England. The proportion of children attending, by age, for each year available, is shown in the following table.

The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey does not collect information about children in care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) childminders, (b) all daycare providers, (c) private, voluntary and independent daycare providers and (d) children's centres there are in each local authority classified by index of multiple deprivation decile. (204128)

Information is not collected on the number of providers by index of multiple deprivation decile.

Since 2003 Ofsted has been responsible for the registration and inspection of childcare providers. A table showing the number of providers and places registered with Ofsted at 31 March 2007 by each local authority has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many Sure Start children’s centres there will be in 2010; (203712)

There are currently 2,906 designated Sure Start Children’s Centres in England. By 2010 there will be 3,500 children’s centres, one for every community. No centres have been closed since their inception. Prior to 2004 there were 524 Sure Start Local Programmes, the vast majority of which have now made the transition into children’s centres.

The further information requested is given in the tables below. Local authorities are responsible for the establishment and operation of children’s centres. The Department does not collect information on the number of outreach workers employed by children’s centres.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many children's centre outreach workers he proposes to provide by 2010; (204176)

We expect all Sure Start Children's Centres to provide outreach services, although the level and intensity of such provision will vary according to the needs of the local community. Outreach is part of the role of a wide range of practitioners. While many practitioners engaged in outreach to families with young children will be employed in a children's centre or by a local authority, we encourage local authorities to build on other existing local capacity, such as health visitors, relevant third sector workers, and trained volunteers. Our priority is to help children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to build their outreach capacity to meet local needs. In this context, children's centre revenue funding provides local authorities with resources for two additional outreach practitioners per children's centre in the most deprived (super output) areas.

We will be reviewing the delivery of outreach in a range of settings with a view to establishing core principles and standards for effective and comprehensive outreach services. We will support this with appropriate training materials and courses and will provide additional funding for practitioners in children's centres to take up new training opportunities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government have taken to improve pupil to teacher ratios since 1997. (203732)

The Government have been able to improve the PTR by increasing the supply of teachers. There are now 441,200 teachers in our schools, almost 41,000 more than in 1997. In this period the overall PTR has fallen from 18.6 to 16.9.

The PTR is also influenced by the rise and fall in pupil numbers over time. The Government regularly models the number of teacher training places required in future years by taking account of this and a range of other factors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability in present value terms of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions for (a) discount and (b) longevity the estimate is based; (200726)

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is an unfunded defined benefit scheme. Liabilities are estimated each year by the Government Actuary’s Department and a statement is included in scheme resource accounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to introduce personal finance education as part of the future schools curriculum at (a) primary and (b) secondary level; and if he will make a statement. (204218)

It is crucial that all young people leave school with the skills and confidence to manage their money well. Personal finance education is already part of Personal, Social and Health Education at Key Stages 1 to 4. However, the revised curriculum for secondary schools includes a new dedicated programme of study for ‘Economic Well Being and Financial Capability’ as part of a revised Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. The new curriculum will begin teaching from September 2008 and will add a new focus on financial education in secondary schools. Sir Jim Rose is currently carrying out an independent review of the primary curriculum. He is due to report to Ministers in March 2009.

Additionally, citizenship education, which is statutory at Key Stages 3 and 4, requires that 14 to 16-year-olds be taught how the economy functions, including the role of business and financial services. We are also introducing functional mathematics to the maths GCSE, which means that from 2010 all pupils who achieve a grade C or above will have mastered the basics.

To support schools in meeting these curriculum requirements, we are investing £11.5 million over the next three years to support good financial education in schools. This investment will support revised curriculum guidance for financial capability, innovative curriculum resources with the Child Trust Fund as a focus, and more high-quality training and support for teachers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people are training to teach food technology. (203149)

The following table shows the total number of trainees on food technology initial teacher training (ITT) courses for the academic year 2007-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils obtained an A-level in (a) German, (b) French and (c) Spanish in each year since 2000. (203774)

The information is as follows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which reading programmes are approved by his Department for the teaching of synthetic phonics. (202070)

High-quality, systematic phonics, as advocated by the Rose review, should be the prime approach in teaching children to read.

The Department does not approve commercial phonics teaching programmes. To help schools and early years settings in choosing the appropriate phonics support, we have provided a set of core criteria that define the key features of an effective phonics teaching programme. The core criteria build directly on Jim Rose's recommendations.

Schools and settings are able to access self-assessments of commercial phonics resources on the Department's phonics website at

www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/phonics/.

However, the existence of publishers' self-assessments on this site does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of the products they represent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) maintained and (b) independent nurseries in each local authority were placed in special measures in each year since 2001. (202181)

This is a matter for Ofsted. HMCI Christine Gilbert has written to the hon. Member, and a cop of her reply has been placed in House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of trends in the level of staff vacancies in (a) maintained and (b) private voluntary and independent nurseries since 1997. (204139)

The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey estimated that there was a total of 10,400 vacancies in childcare providers (full day care, sessional care and out of school clubs).

The percentage of settings recruiting for none, one, two and three or more vacancies, by type of ownership is shown in Table 1.

Data on numbers of vacancies being recruited for in providers under local authority, school/college or other types of ownership are not available due to very low base sizes.

Figures for previous years are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of existing early years workers who will require additional qualifications once the integrated qualifications framework comes into effect. (203899)

The integrated qualifications framework, which will be available in 2010, will not impose a requirement for existing early years workers to undertake additional qualifications. The Department has not therefore made any such estimate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what additional support is provided for schools with large numbers of children who have English as a second language; and if he will make a statement; (203496)

The Government provide funding for children including those with English as an additional language through the Dedicated Schools Grant. This grant is supplemented by substantial provision through the ring-fenced Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) distributed to local authorities. For 2008-09 EMAG is worth £187.6 million, rising to £206 million in 2011.

In addition, an Exceptional Circumstances Grant has been introduced to reflect changes in local authorities’ pupil numbers which occur after the three- year indicative allocations of the Dedicated Schools Grant have been announced. It has three elements, covering an increase of more than 2.5 per cent. in overall pupil numbers; an increase of more than 2.5 per cent. in the proportion of pupils with English as an additional language; and a one-off payment to authorities with proportions of pupils with English as an additional language below 10 per cent. which go up by more than 2.5 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department provides for (a) local authorities and (b) schools on the entering for key stage tests of pupils with English as a second language who arrive in England and are enrolled in school shortly before the test date; and if he will make a statement. (203497)

The Department’s advice is set out in: “New Arrivals Excellence Programme: Guidance” published in September 2007, of which a copy has been placed in the Library. It draws attention to the importance of initial assessment for new arrivals, and advises on appropriate methods. Guidance on entering children for key stage tests is provided by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority through its Assessment and Reporting Arrangements publications, which can be accessed from the website

www.qca.org.uk/eara

This guidance covers all children, whether or not they have recently arrived in the UK or have English as an additional language. In essence the advice is to enter children wherever they are working at the level of the tests. However, schools may apply for a recently arrived child’s results not to be recorded in published Attainment and Achievement Tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the proportion of pupils who spoke English as a second language in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) all schools in each local authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (203498)

The proportion of pupils whose first language was other than English for the years 1997 to 2008 (provisional) is as follows:

Analysis by local authority can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of surplus school places there were in those local authorities ranked in the (a) top 10 and (b) bottom 10 in terms of the share of pupils achieving five A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. (203493)

The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places through an annual survey. The most recent data available relate to the position at January 2007.

The following table shows the number of surplus places in maintained secondary schools in local authorities that ranked nationally in the top 10 and lowest 10 in terms of the share of pupils achieving five A*-C GCSEs, including English and mathematics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 240W, on supply teachers, what the reasons for the difference in spending on supply teachers between 2005-06 and 2006-07 were; and if he will make a statement. (203904)

Following a review of the answer of 28 April 2008, Official Report, column 240W, and the data given, it appears that a clerical error was made in the response provided.

The correct value of spend on supply teachers in maintained schools in each year from 1997-98 was as follows:

Prior to 2002-03 expenditure on supply teachers was not separately identifiable, so these data are not available. Data for the period 2007-08 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library (a) the latest data obtained by Ofsted on the extent of setting in schools, broken down by subject, age and pupil and (b) a copy of his Department’s guidance on setting. (202069)

HM Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert has written to the hon. Member with regard to Ofsted’s latest data on setting. A copy of her reply has been placed in the Library. I have placed in the Library a copy of the Department’s guidance on pupil grouping, ‘Grouping Pupils for Success’, and the two pieces of independent research, commissioned by the Department, on which this guidance is based: ‘Pupil Grouping Strategies and Practices at Key Stage 2 and 3’ (published September 2006) and ‘Effective Teaching and Learning for Pupils in Low Attaining Groups’ (published September 2007).

‘Grouping Pupils for Success’ can be accessed at

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/literacy/group_pup_succ/

‘Pupil Grouping Strategies and Practices at Key Stage 2 and 3’ can be accessed at

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectid=14415&resultspage=1

‘Effective Teaching and Learning for Pupils in Low Attaining Groups’ can be accessed at

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectid=14659&resultspage=1

Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 30 April 2008:

Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for a response to part (a). The Department for Children, Schools and Families will respond separately to part (b).

Our current data do not enable us to count or estimate how many lessons in England are set by ability. The attached tables show the data Ofsted has on the proportion of lessons observed during inspections carried out in the academic year 2006/07, by subject, phase of education and year. Inspectors record whether classes are setted, streamed or banded, as one category, or are mixed ability in composition. A third category is used for lessons in which other forms of grouping are used. When a lesson observed is setted, streamed or banded by ability, a note is made of the ability level of the class concerned.

The data are based on the use of setting, streaming or banding in lessons observed during inspection. Some explanation of these figures may be helpful. Since September 2005, the recording of class organisation has been based either on discussions with the head teacher or teacher by reference to the lesson plan at the time of observation. A much smaller number of lessons is observed than would have been seen under the previous inspection framework. Lessons seen may therefore not represent pupil grouping in the school as a whole.

For clarity, setting is the term used to describe the organisation of pupils in classes on the basis of their prior attainment in the particular subject being taught. The term banding, which is very similar to streaming, is used when the decision as to which pupils are included in a class is based on the prior attainment in a range of subjects. Ofsted does not differentiate between setting, streaming and banding in the data collected during lesson observations.

A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many parents have received (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more fixed penalty notices in relation to condoned absenteeism of pupils since 2004; and if he will make a statement; (203540)

The information requested is not available. The Department only collects aggregate data at local authority level on the number of penalty notices issued to parents in respect of the offence of failing to ensure their children's regular school attendance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of people claimed the child care element of the working tax credit in (a) the Basingstoke constituency, (b) Hampshire and (c) England in each year since records were available. (203152)

I have been asked to reply.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 916W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings in each local authority in England had council tax band amendments in 2007-08; how many involved properties moving up one or more bands; and how many moved down one or more bands in each local authority. (202624)

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what regard her Department’s (a) policies and (b) public service infrastructure requirements for eco-town sites differ from the requirements for development at sites which are not designated as eco-towns. (202661)

[holding answer 29 April 2008]: As set out in the consultation document “Eco-towns—Living a greener future” we have set challenging criteria, which build on policies and infrastructure requirements for development at sites which are not eco-towns. For example, in terms of sustainable transport we have said that the location of major facilities and services such as shops and community facilities should be located within a 10-minute walk of homes within eco-towns. Copies of the consultation document are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will commission research on the likely effect of eco-towns on levels of council tax over the next 25 years for (i) residents of the local authority areas in which each of the proposed 15 eco-towns is situated and (ii) residents of all adjacent local authority areas. (203198)

[holding answer 1 May 2008]: We are still consulting on the locations and schemes on the shortlist I published on 3 April 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy only to allow town centre shops to be permitted in eco-towns to reduce levels of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from transportation. (201842)

A well designed eco-town will make it easy to travel more sustainably between homes, services and jobs within the settlement. This would include shops and services located within a 10-minute walk of homes within eco-towns and streets designed to accommodate the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. We will also need to provide for sustainable travel to nearby settlements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions (a) she and (b) her Department have had with Wates Developments Ltd on the proposed eco-town at Ford since 1 January 2005. (203809)

[holding answer7 May 2008]: Neither the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government nor Ministers in her Department have held meetings with Wates Developments Ltd on the proposed eco-town at Ford since 1 January 2005. On 3 September 2007, officials met members of Wates Developments involved with the proposal for an eco-town at Ford. At the meeting they outlined their expression of interest for an eco-town, and officials confirmed the process and criteria for eco-towns as set out in the “Eco-towns Prospectus”, published on 23 July 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the proportion of projected household growth attributable to net migration in (i) London, (ii) the South East and (iii) the East of England. (201003)

None. Such information is available at the England level only from the Department’s Household Projections.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Government plan to respond to the Sixth Report of the Communities and Local Government Committee, HC 195, on Refuse Collection: Waste Reduction Pilots, published on 21 February 2008. (204470)

The Government submitted their response to the Communities and Local Government Committee on 21 April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average tour interval for the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force, (c) Royal Navy and (d) Royal Marines was at the end of the 2007-08 financial year. (199475)

The information is not held in the format requested, as average tour intervals across the single services as a whole are not currently calculated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of force elements reported (a) no serious or critical and (b) no critical weaknesses against required peacetime readiness levels in each year since 1997. (203719)

We have only been collecting and reporting such information since 2001-02. It has been published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts and quarterly performance reports for the years since, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of force elements reported (a) no serious or critical and (b) no critical weaknesses against the ability to generate from peacetime readiness to immediate readiness for deployment on operations in each year since 1997. (203720)

We have only been collecting such information since 2004-05 and reporting it since 2005-06. It has been published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts and quarterly performance reports for the years since, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of his Department’s manning evidence submitted to the Senior Salaries Review Board for each financial year from 1997-98. (185715)

All available information on the manning evidence submitted to the Senior Salaries Review Body from 1997-98 has now been collated and placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the effects on his Department's expenditure of the introduction of Joint Personnel Administration in each year since 2005. (202355)

The implementation costs for Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) by financial year were as follows.

These costs include technical development and delivery costs, but exclude single service costs incurred in adjusting to the new system which were absorbed as part of business operating costs.

The benefits accrued by financial year were as follows.

These figures include reduced costs within the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency and headcount reductions in each of the Services.

Consequently, the impact of JPA on departmental expenditure was broadly cost-neutral in 2005-06 and 2006-07, with a saving of some £40 million in 2007-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department plans to monitor the impact of the Armed Forces Benefits Calculator on recruitment. (204354)

The Armed Forces Benefits Calculator (ABC) is a new initiative which builds on the success of the pension calculator to provide service personnel with the means of working out an indicative value for their total remuneration package, incorporating basic pay, specialist pay, individual allowances, pension, and other benefits. As such, it is retention focused: the calculator has been developed to better communicate to service personnel the value of their ‘total reward’ package, and other associated financial remuneration information.

The MOD also regards strongly the ABC’s value to recruiting, because it provides those thinking about joining the armed forces with a means of investigating the type of remuneration and benefits available. In future, the single services will be able to understand its impact, and the role it plays in determining why an individual wishes to enlist, from initial interviews. The calculator uses a combination of existing pay rates and allowances (details of which can be found at http://www.mod-abc.co.uk), and some new values, which have been agreed with subject matter experts and the single services. These new values are included to provide a broad indication of what some of the other benefits that personnel receive in return for military service (such as dental care, and health and fitness facilities) might cost to replicate in civilian life.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what timescale his Department has for the phasing out of personnel carriers with (a) inadequate armour and (b) those not designed to withstand improvised explosive device detonations; (201586)

Commanders need a range of vehicles of varying protection, mobility and profile to achieve their missions and tasks and counter the threat.

In 2006 the BAE RG-31 was considered in detail, along with the ADI Bushmaster and FPI Cougar 6x6, to fulfil the need for a large protected patrol vehicle that could meet our demanding protection requirements in the fastest possible time. The Cougar was selected and is now known as Mastiff; it has undergone rigorous assessment throughout the procurement process and continues to be assessed, in order to counter emerging threats.

Additional deliveries of Mastiff and a new medium protected patrol vehicle to be called Ridgeback, may allow a reduction in the number of Snatch Land Rovers; however, commanders hold that a role for lighter vehicles on operations is likely to remain, as part of the suite of protected patrol vehicles and high mobility patrol vehicles available to them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions are in place on the movement of armed forces personnel in the back of 4-tonne vehicles with regard to (a) maximum distance travelled and (b) time allowed in the back of the vehicle. (203821)

[holding answer 7 May 2008]: The 4-tonne vehicle referred to in this question is defined as a Dual Purpose Vehicle (DPV). When used to carry passengers, the DPV can be used on public roads for single journeys of not more than 40 miles and not exceeding one hour. This distance and time may only be exceeded when personnel are carrying out operations, training for operations and conducting formal field training exercises.

DPVs fitted with troop-carrying vehicle enhanced seating are exempt from these time and distance restrictions, when travelling on metalled roads. Where they are used to carry passengers in off road scenarios, journey times should not exceed one hour at 20 to 25 mph over an eight hour period. Enhanced seating is being progressively phased in throughout the DPV fleet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of service personnel at each rank between OR1 and OR6 have worked above 55 hours per week on average since October 2007. (200949)

The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) carries out a continuous sample survey of working patterns, which provides information on hours worked in a given week.

The survey is based on a random sample of 18,000 trained service personnel stratified by service, broad rank group and broad location which aims to provide estimates of the average weekly hours worked for those groups and locations.

Since any respondent only provides a diary of their working hours for a single week, we cannot make any further inferences about individual working patterns over a prolonged period.

Work is currently in progress on the 2007-08 Survey of Working Patterns, and the report is expected to be ready towards the end of 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of service personnel at each rank between OR1 and OR6 worked above 55 hours per week on average between October 2006 and October 2007. (200950)

The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) carries out a continuous sample survey of working patterns, which provides information on hours worked in a given week.

The survey is based on a random sample of 18,000 trained service personnel stratified by service, broad rank group and broad location which aims to provide estimates of the average weekly hours worked for those groups and locations.

Since any respondent will only provide a diary of their working hours for a single week, we cannot make any further inferences about individual working patterns over a prolonged period.

The average weekly hours worked for senior ranks (OR6 to OR9) in 2006-07 was 47.9 and junior ranks (OR1 to OR5) 46.7. Time spent working includes core activities, secondary duties, compulsory fitness, training, organised sports and representational activities but excludes breaks.

A copy of the 2006-07 Continuous Working Patterns report is in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the longest period is for which a residential or former residential dwelling of his Department in Colchester constituency has remained empty. (195987)

Data is only available for residential properties which are currently empty. Of these, seven properties at Colchester have been vacant for seven years awaiting major modernisation. These seven properties now form part of the Colchester upgrade programme spanning financial years 2009-11.

In 1996, the Ministry of Defence sold most of its Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in England and Wales to Annington Homes Ltd (AHL), the majority of which were immediately leased back by this Department for defence use. When surplus to defence requirements, properties are handed back to AHL, which is solely responsible for the property until AHL sells the property on the open market. The MOD is not required to maintain records of these properties once they have been handed back to AHL.

Since May 2007, the total number of void SFA properties in Great Britain has taken from 9,162 to 8,761 properties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the ability of the Joint Service Housing Advice Office to assist service leavers on their departure from the armed forces. (203988)

The Joint Service Housing Advice Office's main task is to ensure that the service community is aware of new schemes from both the public and private sector that may help them in their search for civilian housing when they leave the Services.

During 2007, the JSHAO ran 85 briefings designed to encourage Service personnel to make long term housing provision while they are in service. These briefings were attended by over 2,000 service personnel.

The JSHAO maintains links with housing associations that have a specific commitment to help service leavers and their housing needs. It also runs a referral scheme, the MOD Nomination Scheme, through which a total of 81 families and individuals were housed in 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he or any of the Ministers in his Department has been informed by (a) BAE Systems and (b) the Serious Fraud Office of any payments made by BAES to the ex-Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan. (201581)

It is our policy not to comment on commercially or diplomatically sensitive or legally privileged information because to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations, commercial confidentiality or our legal obligations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army personnel are based in Northern Ireland. (204665)

The number of Territorial Army personnel based in Northern Ireland as at 31 March 2008 was 1,962. Additionally there were 100 TA personnel, normally based in Northern Ireland, mobilised and serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2008, Official Report, column 2844W, on Assets: Consultants, on which (a) properties and (b) other parts of the estate each of the firms listed provided advice. (198099)

I have nothing to add to my previous answer.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many newly diagnosed cases of each type of cancer there were in each year since 1997. (201945)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking how many newly diagnosed cases of each type of cancer there were in each year since 1997. [201945]

The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of each type of cancer are for the year 2005. Figures for 1997 to 2005 can be found in Tables 1 and 7 of the Annual Reference Volume, Cancer statistics: Registrations, Series MB1, available from the NS website at:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Productasp?vlnk=8843&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=224

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many deaths there were in England as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in each year since 1997, broken down by Government Office region. (203133)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths there were in England as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in each year since 1997, broken down by Government Office Region. (203133)

The attached table provides the number of deaths where the toxic effect of carbon monoxide was the cause of death, in England and each government office region, from 1997 to 2006 (the latest year available).

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on which dates the number of (a) live births and (b) stillbirths that took place in the previous year was published in each of the last five years. (202391)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about the dates on which the number of (a) live births and (b) stillbirths that took place in the previous year were published in each of the last five years. (202391)

The Office for National Statistics is responsible for publishing statistics on the numbers of births registered in England and Wales. The latest year for which figures are available is 2006.

The table below gives the dates on which the numbers of live births and still births in England and Wales for the years 2002 to 2006 were first published. Live births are first published as part of the first release of births and deaths data. Stillbirths are first published in Health Statistics Quarterly (within the infant and perinatal mortality report).

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of (a) individuals and (b) couples had at least one child below the age of five in (i) Basingstoke constituency, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) England in each year for which figures are available. (202989)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of (a) individuals and (b) couples had at least one child below the age of five years in (i) Basingstoke, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) England in each year for which figures are available. (202989)

The requested counts for Local Authorities/Parliamentary Constituencies are only available from the Census. Figures from earlier Censuses would only be available at disproportionate cost. The figures from the 2001 Census are provided below:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of those under the age of (a) three, (b) five and (c) 16 had been bereaved by the death of their (i) mother, (ii) father and (iii) sibling at the latest date for which figures are available. (202856)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many and what proportion of those under the age of (a) three, (b) five and (c) 16 years had been bereaved by the death of their (i) mother, (ii) father and (iii) sibling at the latest date for which figures are available. (202856)

Although information on the relationship of the informant to the deceased is collected at death registration, information on whether the deceased had living children or siblings when death occurred is not, and therefore the information requested is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of children under the age of (a) three, (b) five and (c) 16 died in each year since 1997. (202849)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many and what proportion of children under the age of (a) three, (b) five and (c) 16 died in each year since 1997. (202849)

The total number of deaths and rate per 100,000 for children under the age of (a) three, (b) five and (c) 16 in each year from 1997 to 2006 for England and Wales are shown in the attached table.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recommendations of the Citizen Information Project the Office for National Statistics has implemented; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report. (203127)

The information falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what recommendations of the Citizen Information Project the Office for National Statistics has implemented. (203133)

On 18 April 2006 (Official Report, column 1WS) the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that the Government had accepted the recommendations by the CIP team based in the Office for National Statistics. The CIP project was subsequently closed by ONS: the relevant government departments will have been responsible for implementing the recommendations. A copy of the report can be found at:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/cip

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people were employed in the construction industry in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. (198839)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Katen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question asking how many people have been employed in the construction industry in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. (198839).

The definitive source for the number of people employed is normally the Labour Force Survey (LFS). However, because of the interest in the construction sector, estimates of the number of jobs have been compiled from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI/1).

Table 1 attached provides an estimate of jobs in Construction (Standard Industrial Classification (1992) section F) for Great Britain, the North East, South Tyneside and Jarrow for each year from 1997 to 2006, the most recent available. Estimates using the ABI/1 are not available for the United Kingdom.

Figures from the ABI/1 do not include self-employed jobs and therefore these estimates will understate the actual total number of jobs.

As with any survey, results from the ABI/1 are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Cabinet Office spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting were made in each such year. (204114)

The Cabinet Office is a member of the Government carbon offsetting fund (GCOF). The GCOF aims to fulfil the Prime Minister's commitment to offset emissions attributable to all official and ministerial air travel in central Government. It is available to all central Government Departments and provides a simple and cost-effective way to offset, as well as ensuring high environmental integrity. The GCOF runs for an initial period of three years (2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09). The Cabinet Office and DEFRA have offset an extra year (2005-06).

The Cabinet Office has paid £32,326.88 into the GCOF from April 2005 to April 2007. Data are currently being collected for the 2007-08 reporting year, and will be available later in the year.

The GCOF is being managed by EEA Fund Management Ltd, which won the contract to source and deliver 255,000 certified emission reduction credits, with a provision for a further 50,000 credits, over three years from a range of clean development mechanism (CDM) projects. Credits will be supplied from the project portfolio of Trading Emissions plc, to whom EEA is the investment adviser.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what severance payment the Director of Political Strategy in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Spencer Livermore, will receive upon leaving his post. (196642)

Paragraph 14b of the Model Contract for Special Advisers sets out the circumstances in which severance is paid. Copies of the model contract are available in the Library of the House. Mr. Livermore did not receive a severance payment.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on (a) alcohol and (b) entertaining in the last 12-month period for which information is available. (187786)

The Cabinet Office does not keep separate records of expenditure on alcohol or entertaining. Such expenditure is included in the Department's hospitality budget and is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in “Managing Public Money” and other Treasury guidance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of his Department's staff took more than (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 15, (d) 20, (e) 25, (f) 30, (g) 35 and (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, broken down by pay grade. (198965)

The most recent published absence data for the Cabinet Office are available for the 12 months ending 31 March 2007, in the Analysis of Cabinet Office Statistics. This is available on the civil service statistics website at

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/sickness.asp.

Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

In order to protect the confidentiality of individuals, it is standard Government practice not to publish records relating to five or less individuals. A breakdown of figures on absence owing to stress by grade and period of absence cannot be provided, since this may compromise the privacy of the individuals because of the small numbers involved.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how his Department plans to work on social clauses to promote adherence to the Best Value Code of Practice on Workforce Matters and the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Workforce Matters. (203324)

The Department has no plans to work on social clauses to promote adherence to the Best Value Code of Practice on Workforce Matters and the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Workforce Matters. Under the code, public-sector organisations have a responsibility to ensure that service providers implement the code, whereas social clauses cover additional clauses in public service contracts which are used at the discretion of the public sector commissioner.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many full-time posts in the Cabinet Office were filled on a temporary basis for a period in excess of six months in each of the last three years. (200656)

For the number of temporary staff working in the Department, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson) on 22 April 2008, Official Report, columns 1957-8W, by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Phil Hope).

The Department does not centrally hold information on length of tenure for temporary staff, and the information could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of those in employment in (a) Suffolk and (b) the east of England were British-born UK nationals in each of the last five years. (201493)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of those in employment in (a) Suffolk and (b) the East of England were British-born UK nationals in each of the last five years. (201493)

The Office for National Statistics compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.

The attached table shows the percentage of persons of working age (16-64 for men, 16-59 for women) in employment who were British-born UK nationals. Estimates are obtained from the annual LFS for each 12 month period from 2003 to 2004 ending in February. For time series comparisons, the APS estimates from 2005 to 2007 are provided covering the 12 month periods ending in March, but the most recently released estimate is also included, which covers the 12 month period ending in September 2007.

As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.

In order to produce estimates for small geographical areas, APS and annual LFS estimates are provided based on survey microdata. It should be noted that the estimate provided is weighted to population estimates consistent with those published in 2003. Reweighted analyses using the latest population estimates, published in summer 2007, will available from 14 May 2008.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make an estimate of the number of people who are (a) in full-time work, (b) in part-time work for 20 to 30 hours per week, (c) in part-time work for 10 to 20 hours per week, (d) in part-time work for less than 10 hours per week and (e) out of work, broken down by age decile. (202553)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 May 2008:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of people (a) in full-time work, (b) in part-time work for 20 to 30 hours per week, (c) in part-time work for 10 to 20 hours per week, (d) in part-time work for less than 10 hours per week and (e) out of work, broken down by age decile. (202553)

The attached table gives estimates of the number of people in full-time and part-time employment and the number of unemployed people for the categories requested for the three month period ending December 2007.

It should be noted that the estimates provided are weighted to population estimates consistent with those published in 2003. Reweighted analyses using the latest population estimates, published in summer 2007, will available from 14 May 2008.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.