HC Deb 02 July 2002 vol 388 cc236-7W
Helen Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of teachers in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools were employed on temporary and short-term contracts at the latest date for which figures are available. [65172]

Mr. Miliband

[holding answer 1 July 2002]: In maintained nursery and nursery and primary schools in England. teachers on contracts of less than one month, working for the whole full-time equivalent teachers. These data are provisional.

In maintained secondary schools in England, teachers on contracts of less than one month. working for the whole day on the third Thursday in January 2002, constituted 3 per cent. of all full-time equivalent teachers. These data are provisional.

Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how long it is taking the Criminal Records Bureau to process clearance applications by new teachers; if she estimates that all new teachers due to start in September will have clearance in time; if she has contingency plans should applications not be cleared in time; and if she will make a statement. [65776]

Mr. Miliband

[holding answer 1 July 2002]: The Criminal Records Bureau estimate that it is currently taking, on average, approximately six weeks to produce Disclosures.

The CRB is striving hard to improve the situation. A recovery programme has been introduced, and the Bureau's current expectation is that, by August, the present backlog of applications will have been cleared, and the Bureau will be achieving its previously published service standards of providing 90 per cent. of Enhanced Disclosures within three weeks, and 95 per cent. of Standard Disclosures within one week.

My Department has already put in place contingency arrangements with the CRB. Under those arrangements, CRB staff are trawling the backlog of applications, and checking new applications, to identify those in respect of teachers and other key staff for schools. For those applications the CRB is performing checks of my Departments List 99. If that check is satisfactory the employer or agency will be able to appoint the person provisionally. The full criminal record and police check will be performed and the relevant Disclosure issued by the CRB as soon as possible after that. Those interim arrangements will stay in place until the CRB is fully up to date and meeting its performance standards.

Table T1b: Participation of under-represented groups in higher education, Young full-time undergraduate entrants 1999–20001
From Social Class IIIM, IV. V
Institution Total entrants Number of young entrants Percentage entrants who are young Percentage with known data Number with known data Number from group Percentage from group Percentage benchmark2 Number benchmark2 Percentage Std der
UK
All UK institutions 328,646 244,018 74 83 26
England
All English institutions 268,853 197,984 74 84 26
Aspiration funding institutions 45,025 7,070 16 19 8,484
University of Birmingham 3,941 3,569 91 95 3,391 644 19 20 678 0.7
University of Bristol 2,936 2,695 92 84 2,264 249 11 16 362 0.8
University of Cambridge 2,895 2,744 95 98 2,689 242 9 12 323 0.7
City University 1,410 944 67 80 755 211 28 25 189 1.6
University of Durham 2,739 2,496 91 95 2,371 308 13 18 427 0.8
University of Exeter 2,119 1,904 90 95 1,809 271 15 21 380 0.9
Imperial College 1,473 1,386 94 95 1,317 224 17 17 224 1.1
King's College London 2,829 2,164 76 87 1,883 358 19 19 358 0.9
University of Leeds 5,128 4,696 92 91 4,273 684 16 20 855 0.6