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20 Jul 2005 : Column 1722W—continued
Bullying
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate her Department has made of the number of children in (a) Lancashire and (b) Ribble Valley schools who have been victims of bullying in each of the last five years. [13304]
Jacqui Smith:
Data on bullying are not collected centrally and there is no reliable basis for an estimate of prevalence in Lancashire and the Ribble Valley. Bullying cases appear to be reported more often now
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than previously but we have no hard evidence that bullying is increasing or affecting more children. Indeed, as children and young people increasingly feel safe at school to report bullying, and confident that it will be tackled effectively and sensitively, it is likely reporting will rise.
However, any level of bullying is too high and we are determined to help schools tackle the problem. Our guidance pack Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence", the anti-bullying Charter and the anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying offer detailed advice on preventing and addressing bullying. We also offer specific advice to schools on tackling homophobic bullying and are developing advice on racist bullying.
Consultants
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to issue guidance on effective commissioning for those in the public and voluntary sectors who are commissioning work from external consultants. [6998]
Bill Rammell: The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) provides guidance to its employees regarding purchasing and managing external consultancy services. Departmental and Government-wide procurement policy and best practice advice is available to staff via a web-based Intranet site which contains a section on procuring external consultancy. This includes guidance on how to identify and establish the need for consultancy support, how to appoint a consultant, what are the considerations and risks and how to get the best out of a consultancy appointment. In addition to this guidance, the DfES provides a procurement helpline to employees if they wish to obtain specific advice on any aspect of the procurement process.
The Department promotes Government-wide procurement best practice advice and utilises OGC's web-based product the Successful Delivery Toolkit (www.ogc.gok.uk/sdtoolkit/). The guidance is aimed at public sector organisations and complies with government policy and regulations for procurement but is not specifically tailored to the voluntary sector. The guidance includes the use of consultants covering:
Where it may be appropriate to use consultants, for example, in construction or specification writing;
Examples of specific guides that are relevant to the procurement and supply of consultancy services:
Education Funding
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will make a decision on schools to be awarded the current round of Targeted Capital Funding. [13434]
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Jacqui Smith: The Targeted Capital Fund applications received from local authorities are currently being assessed against criteria set out in published guidance. I expect to notify local authorities on the outcome of their bids in autumn 2005.
English Wine
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ensure that English wine is made available at dinners, receptions and parties she hosts at which hospitality involving wine is appropriate (a) during the EU presidency and (b) generally; and if she will make a statement. [9163]
Bill Rammell: All procurement is in line with EU procurement rules and to obtain value for money for the Department. For events and meetings hosted by the Department as part of the UK presidency of the EU, we have aimed to keep costs to a minimum and, where wine is served, we are generally using house wine. This has included an English wine, served at a dinner for EU Education Ministers.
For events in Brussels, we are working with the Council Secretariat to try to provide British produce (as key ingredients) and drink for EU Council meetings during the UK presidency. For other events, we consider serving English wine subject to availability and value for money.
Enterprise Education
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the (a) funding and (b) availability of the proposed business schools courses for 12 to 18-year-olds. [10041]
Jacqui Smith: The Government have been developing enterprise education via a number of initiatives, such as the enterprise learning pathfinders and the recent enterprise in schools conferences that have been held all over England in the past three months. We are also considering developing plans to enable young people to take part in enterprise summer schools. At this stage, it is too early to give details of the extent of funding and availability of the proposed summer schools.
Film Making
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants her Department has made to film-makers in the past three years; what the object of the films were; and what amounts were given. [13756]
Bill Rammell: The Department has made no grants to film-makers in the past three years.
Langland Report
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to receive Sir Alan Langland's report on higher education and access to the professions; and when the Government expect to publish its response to the report. [13981]
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Bill Rammell: I refer my right hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement that I issued earlier today.
Mathematics
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 841W, on mathematics, how many pupils sat for advanced extension awards in mathematics in each year since their introduction. [13287]
Jacqui Smith: Advanced extension awards (AEAs) were introduced for advanced level students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in summer 2002. The number of students who sat for an AEA in mathematics in each year is:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 964 |
| 2002–03 | 1,005 |
| 2003–04 | 992 |
Figures are those published by the Joint Council for Qualifications in August of each year. They include awards sat by students of all ages in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Ministerial Meetings/Visits
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many meetings she has had with hon. Members since the general election; and what the purpose of each meeting was. [9300]
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Bill Rammell: The Secretary of State for Education and Skills has had the following meetings with hon. Members since the general election.
The Secretary of State also holds regular meetings with the hon. Members who are Ministers in her Department.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many constituencies (a) she and (b) her Ministers have visited since the general election; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) duration was of each visit. [9298]
Bill Rammell: Ministers from the Department for Education and skills have made the following visits to constituencies since the general election.
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