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PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Press Releases
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the President of the Council what is her policy in respect of the faxing of press releases on the day of release to Opposition party spokesmen; what changes have been introduced since 1 May; and if she will make a statement. [16283]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: All press releases issued on my behalf are posted to the relevant Opposition spokesman on the day of release. Press notices are not routinely faxed to Opposition party spokesmen unless requested. There has been no change since 1 May.
Departmental Information
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the President of the Council if she will place in the Library a copy of the internal departmental guidance on the dissemination of information; and if she will make a statement. [16284]
Mrs. Ann Taylor:
In my small Department it has not bee necessary to issue detailed guidance on the dissemination of information.
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Student Loans
Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what will be the total loan available to students whose parents are not required to provide a parental contribution for those undertaking higher education for (a) three years, (b) four years, (c) five years, (d) six years, (e) seven years and (f) eight years; and what is his estimate of how long the loan will take to repay in each case if a graduate earns (i) 50 per cent. average earnings, (ii) 75 per cent. average earnings, (iii) 85 per cent. average earnings, (iv) average earnings, (v) 125 per cent. average earnings, (vi) 150 per cent. average earnings, (vii) twice average earnings and (viii) three times average earnings.[16429]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 17 November 1997]: The table following sets out the estimated maximum amount of loan available to students studying outside London and living away from home during their studies, and the estimated number of years it would take to repay these loans. It should be noted, however, that the vast majority of students will be on courses lasting not more than four years. Of those few on courses lasting longer than four years, medical and dental students might also be eligible for income-related bursaries from the Department of Health to help with living costs.
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| Number of years of study | Maximum loan available (1990-00 prices) | 50 per cent. | 75 per cent. | 85 per cent. | 100 per cent. | 125 per cent. | 150 per cent. | 200 per cent. | 300 per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (£) | Number of years taken to repay loans | ||||||||
| 3 | 10,395 | (5)-- | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | 14,020 | (5)-- | 21 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | 17,645 | (5)-- | 25 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| 6 | 21,270 | (5)-- | 28 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 4 |
| 7 | 24,890 | (5)-- | 32 | 25 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| 8 | 28,520 | (5)-- | 34 | 27 | 21 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
(5) Loans never fully repaid. 'Average earnings' have been taken from the 'New Earnings Survey 1997'. Average graduate earnings would be expected to increase more rapidly than average earnings for full-time workers as a whole, thus reducing the average length of the repayment period for any given amount of loan;
Repayments will not begin until a graduate has a gross annual income of £10,000 and will stop if at any time their income falls below this threshold;
The figures for 'maximum loan available' are based on the assumption that the graduates enter higher education in 1999-2000 and are therefore eligible for a 100 per cent. maintenance loan (as opposed to the 75 per cent. loan available in the 1998-99 transitional year). They also assume that loans will be uprated annually in line with inflation.
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Child Care
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to build on the Child care Consultation carried out by the last Government. [17274]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
We have already taken action to improve childcare by extending the childcare disregard and offering young people the opportunity to obtain training and work experience in childcare as part of the New Deal programme. We are currently developing a National Childcare Strategy which will help parents, especially women, to balance family and working life and I will make an announcement in the first part of next year.
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Mr. Rowlands:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list those non-degree education courses which will be subject to the Government's new student fees policy. [16541]
Dr. Howells:
Undergraduate full-time courses of higher education leading to an HND or DipHE or to a certificate, diploma or other academic award comparable to a first degree will be subject to the new arrangements for student support starting in autumn 1998. Postgraduate and part-time courses of initial teacher training will also be covered. However, we have already announced that students on PGCE courses will continue to receive free tuition.
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Mr. Fitzpatrick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the percentage of teachers who achieve advanced skilled teacher status. [16909]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The Government intends to introduce a new career grade of Advanced Skills Teacher to reward the best teachers who are prepared to take on additional roles contributing to the quality of teaching in their schools. In the first instance, it is proposed that the new grade could be introduced on a pilot basis in September 1998. Further decisions will be taken following the pilots.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of undergraduate students admitted to Oxford and Cambridge universities came from outside the European Union in the last year for which figures are available. [16760]
Dr. Howells:
The most recent data available are for academic year 1996-97 and are given in the table:
| University | Percentage of non-EU undergraduate entrants |
|---|---|
| Oxford | 7.2 |
| Cambridge | 8.0 |
(6) Students on their first year of study.
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Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of undergraduate students admitted to Oxford and Cambridge universities came from grant-maintained schools in the most recent year for which figures are available. [16857]
Dr. Howells: The information requested is not held centrally. I understand that the Admissions Offices of both universities do produce annual statistics along these lines and my hon. Friend might care to speak to them directly.
Student Maintenance Grant
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many (a) first-year, (b) second-year, (c) third-year and (d) fourth-year undergraduate students at Oxford and Cambridge universities qualified for a maintenance grant in each of the last five years; [16758]
- (2) if he will list the proportion for each year of the last five years of (a) first-year, (b) second-year, (c) third-year and (d) fourth-year undergraduate students attending all United Kingdom universities who qualified for a maintenance grant. [16759]
Dr. Howells:
Information is not collected centrally on maintenance awards by year of course nor on awards made to students at individual universities. The table below shows the percentage of mandatory award holders from England and Wales who received full, partial and nil maintenance grants in each of the last five years.
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| 1991-92(8) | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full maintenance grant | 39 | 42 | 44 | 45 | 45 |
| Partial maintenance grant | 36 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 30 |
| Nil maintenance grant | 25 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
Source:
F503G
Notes:
(7) Made by LEAs in England and Wales to students normally domiciled in their area who are studying in the United Kingdom. Includes awards made to postgraduate students on courses of initial teacher training.
(8) Excluding awards made by the London Residuary Body for which full details are not available.
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