| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Student Numbers
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimates she has made of the effects on student numbers of (a) reductions in grant levels paid to students and (b) the introduction of requirements on students to contribute to the cost of course fees. [18418]
Mr. Forth: The proportion of young people entering full-time higher education has almost doubled since 1989-90, the last year before student loans were introduced. Our policy is not to require full-time undergraduates to contribute to tuition costs. We believe that top-up fees are neither necessary nor desirable, particularly in the light of the additional £200 million funding for higher education announced in the 1996 Budget, but it is for individual universities to decide whether to introduce top-up fees and to estimate what their effect might be on student numbers.
Science A-levels
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of school pupils who were 16 years old in 1996 have gone on to study an A-level science subject, broken down by region and gender. [18339]
Mrs. Gillan: This information is not available.
Medical Training
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimates she has made of the total cost of training a doctor. [18604]
Mr. Forth: The cost of training a doctor has various components at undergraduate and postgraduate level and figures are not available in consistent form for each of these components. Figures for the teaching and other costs for undergraduates are as follows.
Teaching costs are based on figures published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England for the average council grant for teaching allocated to each academic subject category as reported by higher education institutions. The figures for pre-clinical and clinical medicine are as follows together with figures for the average level of tuition fee for medical students.
5 Mar 1997 : Column: 631
| Average units of council funding £ | Tuition fee £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-clinical medicine | 3,673 | 1,600 |
| Clinical medicine | 7,167 | 2,800 |
A medical student has two years of pre-clinical and three years of clinical tuition. The fees and AUCF for the undergraduate courses followed by a doctor in training, at 1995-96 rates, total £40,447 over five years.
Medical students also receive grants and loans from public funds but data collected on maintenance awards and student loans do not distinguish between types of study. The average level of maintenance grant and student loan for full-time students eligible for awards and loans was £2,595 in 1994-95.
In addition, the national health service supports teaching of medical undergraduates on practice placements through the service increment for teaching--SIFT--levy on health authorities. The total SIFT budget for medical students in England in 1996-97 is £412 million.
Mr. Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimates she has made of the extent to which graduates entering medical school are more or less likely not to complete their training than non-graduate entrants. [18603]
Mr. Forth:
Information on the respective rates of course completion by graduate and non-graduate entrants to medical schools is not compiled centrally.
Mr. Jamieson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what measures her Department has taken to ensure that the Office for Standards in Education report of the inspection on 5 and 6 February 1997 of Bradfield House school, Cullompton has been circulated to those listed in section 20 (3) of the School Inspections Act 1996; [18483]
Mr. Robin Squire:
I understand that the school received Ofsted's report on Bradfield House on 26 February 1997. The report states that Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools is of the opinion that the school requires special measures since it is failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education.
The school must now circulate the report to all parents and placing authorities in accordance with section 20 of the School Inspections Act 1996. The school is also required, by section 21 of the Act, to prepare and submit to HMCI and the Secretary of State by Monday 19 May an action plan for the recovery of the school. Officials wrote to the school on 3 March warning it that, unless confirmation is received by 7 March that it will comply
5 Mar 1997 : Column: 632
with both these statutory requirements, the matter will be passed to the Treasury Solicitor for legal action to secure compliance.
The school verbally indicated on 4 March that it intends to circulate the report.
The Secretary of State also has under consideration the withdrawal of the school's approval under section 347(1) of the Education Act 1996. Her decision whether to take such action is separate from her consideration of the action plan but, in making her decision, she will have regard to all relevant factors, including the adequacy of the action plan.
Ms Roseanna Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 18 February, Official Report, column 462, how many people have been subject to benefit disqualification for refusing a job offer notified by the Employment Service in each quarter of the last year for which figures are available. [18688]
Mr. Forth:
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Leigh Lewis to Ms Roseanna Cunningham, dated 5 March 1997:
Ms Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, (1) pursuant to his answer of 18 February, Official Report, column 462, how many people after claiming jobseeker's allowance for a period of 13 weeks have taken jobs advertised through the jobcentre that are (a) part-time and (b) temporary; [18689]
Mr. Forth:
Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Leigh Lewis to Ms Roseanna Cunningham, dated 5 March 1997:
5 Mar 1997 : Column: 633
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many copies of (a) "This Common Inheritance" annual report 1997 and (b) "Climate Change, the UK Programme", were produced; at what cost; and to whom they were distributed. [17726]
Mr. Gummer:
Some 3,100 copies of this year's "This Common Inheritance" report was printed. One thousand five hundred were for official use at a cost of some £22,300. Of these, 150 copies were distributed to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development; 13 to Parliament; 800 to Government Departments--including Government office for the regions and UK missions overseas, 350 to interested organisations at home; and 120 to the EU, foreign Governments and other international organisations.
(2) pursuant to her answer of 19 February, Official Report, columns 564-65, on Bradfield House school, Cullompton what action she intends to take following the report of the Ofsted visit of February 1997 on the school; and if she will make a statement. [18506]
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about how many people have been subjected to benefit disqualification as a result of refusing a job offer notified by the Employment Service in each quarter for the last year for which figures are available. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The information you require is contained in the document entitled "Analysis of Adjudication Officers' Decisions". Copies of this document, which is published quarterly, are held in the Library of the House. The latest published information relates to the quarter year ending 30 September 1996.
I hope this is helpful.
(2) pursuant to his answer of 18 February, Official Report, column 462, how many people have taken jobs advertised through the jobcentre with weekly earnings of less than £105 per week, based on a 35 hour week after claiming the jobseeker's allowance for a period of 13 weeks. [18690]
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question pursuant to the Answer of 18th February, Official Report, column 402, regarding the number of people who after claiming Jobseeker's Allowance of a period of 13 weeks have taken jobs advertised through the Jobcentre that are (a) part-time (b) temporary and
(c) with weekly earnings of less than £105 (based on a 35 hour week). This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Unfortunately, the Employment Service does not hold this information and I am therefore unable to supply the details as outlined in your request.
I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |