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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Organic Waste
Mr. Brake: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if the House of Commons composts organic waste produced on the Parliamentary Estate. [93328]
Mrs. Roe: The Palace of Westminster contract for waste disposal does not specify that organic waste should be composted.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Sure Start
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much money from the Sure Start
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Programme has been granted to projects in the parliamentary constituencies of (a) Birkenhead, (b) Wallasey, (c) Wirral, West and (d) Wirral, South. [91248]
Ms Jowell:
No money from the Sure Start programme has been granted to projects in the parliamentary constituencies of Birkenhead, Wallasey, Wirral, West and Wirral, South. These parliamentary constituencies were not included within the 60 areas of the country invited to develop a local Sure Start programme in the first round. The 60 areas were chosen as trailblazers because they were areas which scored highly on an index of local deprivation and were areas where there was existing local capacity, so that they could set up quickly and therefore play a mentoring role to future programmes.
We aim to set up 250 programmes in England by 2001-02 and are planning to invite a second round of applications in the autumn.
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment with what scientific professional and academic organisations he has had discussions on (a) the improvement of the school scientific laboratory infrastructure and (b) the laboratory teaching of (i) physics, (ii) chemistry, (iii) biology, (iv) environmental sciences and (v) other sciences. [91279]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
I, my ministerial colleagues and officials have regular meetings with a number of academic and professional organisations, notably the Association for Science Education, to discuss various aspects of science teaching. We have had no meetings specifically to discuss school scientific laboratory infrastructure and teaching, but we are considering how
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best to work together with relevant organisations on this and other areas. We are committed to developing partnerships with such organisations to improve standards in all subjects, including science, and I will be working to improve and expand such partnerships in the coming months.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by his Department since June 1997, stating in each case whether the outcome has been (a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [91685]
Ms Hodge:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Public Health on 22 July 1999, Official Report, column 636.
As part of the Government's commitment to ensuring that their policies are relevant to the lives that people live today, the Department for Education and Employment is working closely with the Women's Unit to develop good practices for carrying out gender impact appraisal.
Mr. Alan Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students enrolled in full-time higher education courses in England and Wales in each of the years from 1993 to 1998; and how many such students failed to complete their courses in each of those years. [91930]
Mr. Mudie:
The number of entrants to higher education courses, in each of these years, is given in the table.
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| 1993 (2) | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | ||||||
| Under 21 | 194,656 | 199,151 | 200,754 | 204,118 | 216,936 | 217,365 |
| 21 and over | 203,210 | 210,317 | 228,552 | 226,085 | 220,906 | 218,494 |
| Postgraduate | 99,083 | 122,974 | 126,254 | 118,876 | 123,841 | 129,373 |
| Total entrants | 496,949 | 532,442 | 555,560 | 549,079 | 561,683 | 565,232 |
Note:
1. Full-time and part-time courses. Excluding HE students in FE colleges.
2. Figures for 1993 were collected on a different basis to those in later years. Includes a small number of HE students in FE colleges in Wales.
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| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Year | Non-completion (2) |
| 1993-94 | (3)17-18 |
| 1994-95 | (3)17-18 |
| 1995-96 | (3)18-19 |
| 1996-97 | (4)n/a |
| 1997-98 | (4)n/a |
| 1998-99 | (4)n/a |
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"Non-completion" covers those who leave full-time and sandwich first degree courses for various reasons including exam failure, but students who failed their final examinations are not separately identified. The non- completion rates relate to a narrower range of courses and have a different institutional coverage than the entrant
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figures shown. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to use the non-completion rates shown to estimate the number of entrants each year who did not complete.
The Department is currently working with the higher education funding bodies in the UK to develop a method of calculating non-completion rates which can be applied to all UK higher education institutions and which takes into account the non-traditional routes that some students follow. These routes may include changing courses or institutions, repeating years or leaving higher education for a year or more before continuing their studies.
It is intended to publish the results of this work in the next Departmental Annual Report.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for (a) his Department and (b) associated bodies listed in the National Asset Register, how many vehicles are currently (i) owned and (ii) leased; if he will indicate their (1) fuel types and (2) engine cubic capacities; how many of the vehicles due for replacement by (A) his Department and (B) associated bodies listed in the National Asset Register will be replaced in (x) 1999-2000, (y) 2000-1 and (z) 2001-2 by vehicles using (a1) petrol, (b2) diesel, (c3) natural gas, (d4) electric batteries and (e5) other; and how much his Department plans to spend in each year on vehicle replacements. [90689]
Mr. Mudie
[holding answer 19 July 1999]: The information provided in the following table is in respect of vehicles owned and leased by the DfEE, its non
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departmental public bodies (NDPBs), the Employment Service Agency (ES) and the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).
Currently 977 vehicles owned and 536 leased; 1,005 of which are petrol, 506 diesel and 2 LPG.
| Engine cc | Petrol | Diesel | Petrol/Gas | Owned | Leased |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1600 | 344 | 42 | -- | 359 | 27 |
| 1600-1799 | 192 | 222 | -- | 328 | 86 |
| 1800-2000 | 418 | 151 | 2 | 197 | 374 |
| 2001-2200 | 39 | 22 | -- | 14 | 47 |
| Over 2200 | 12 | 69 | -- | 79 | 2 |
| Total | 1,005 | 506 | 2 | 977 | 536 |
DfEE does not use a replacement cycle as the basis for replacing vehicles. Vehicles are replaced only when a new business case from a user is approved. The DfEE and the Employment Service continue to be "on target" to reduce their fleet size.
In ES, there are now 284 vehicles less than in 1998 with the number continuing to fall. In DfEE, only 1 (one) replacement vehicle has been applied for under the Private User Scheme following the tightening of these rules.
Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers joined the profession in state schools in each of the last five years; how many left; and if he will make a statement. [92288]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The number of teachers entering and leaving full-time service in the maintained nursery primary and secondary sector in England and Wales, 1991-92 to 1995-96 were as follows:
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| Financial year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | ||
| (a) Entrants to full-time teaching in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector | ||||||
| New entrants | 15,900 | 16,900 | 18,100 | 19,300 | 19,500 | |
| Those who in previous March were: | ||||||
| In full-time service in another sector | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 900 | |
| In part-time service in any sector | 5,500 | 5,100 | 5,000 | 5,300 | 4,800 | |
| In other service (mainly occasional) | 1,000 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 800 | |
| Out of service | 8,200 | 7,800 | 6,300 | 6,600 | 6,100 | |
| Previously retired | 100 | 100 | 200 | 200 | 100 | |
| Total | 16,000 | 15,100 | 13,300 | 13,900 | 12,800 | |
| Total entrants | 32,000 | 32,000 | 31,300 | 33,200 | 32,300 | |
| (b) Movement from full-time teaching in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector | ||||||
| Those who moved to: | ||||||
| Full-time service in another sector | 2,500 | 1,800 | 1,700 | 2,000 | 2,000 | |
| Part-time service in any sector | 5,200 | 4,900 | 5,700 | 5,500 | 5,900 | |
| Other Service (mainly occasional) | 1,000 | 1,000 | 900 | 700 | 800 | |
| Out of service | 12,900 | 11,700 | 10,800 | 11,400 | 9,800 | |
| Retirement | 11,200 | 11,600 | 12,900 | 12,400 | 13,100 | |
| Other (5) | 100 | 200 | 400 | 400 | 300 | |
| Total | 32,900 | 31,200 | 32,300 | 32,300 | 32,000 | |
(5) The 'other' category includes those whose position is not known.
Notes:
1. The period 1995-96 is the latest for which full records of teacher movements are available.
2. The latest teacher retirement data shows that early retirements from the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector, England and Wales fell from 15,500 in financial year 1997-98 to 4,600 in 1998-99.
3. The full-time equivalent teachers in service in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector in England rose by 4,100 (1 per cent.) between January 1998 and 1999.
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