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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Millennium Compliance
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement of progress on the millennium readiness of his Department's computer systems, and those for which it is responsible in the provision of public services; if contingency plans are in place; and what slippage has occurred since the July quarterly report to the House. [93565]
Mr. Wills:
The Department's millennium readiness programme was completed in April 1999. Prior to completion of the programme, all of the Department's
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systems were subjected to a rigorous testing process. Consequently, there has been no slippage since the July quarterly report to the House.
Where functions delivered by the Department involve the provision of public services, business continuity plans have been developed and tested. In addition to subjecting continuity plans to rigorous testing, each plan, and test results, have been subjected to independent assessment before being agreed.
Similar progress has been made in the Employment Service where the millennium readiness programme was completed in June 1999 with business continuity plans completed and tested in August 1999.
Details of the Department's and the Employment Service's progress in tackling the bug are set out in their quarterly monitoring returns. These are available in the Libraries of the House and are published on the internet. The results of the October monthly review of progress of Government Departments and agencies in tackling the bug are due to be announced shortly by the President of the Council.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students are currently on (a) GNVQ and (b) NVQ programmes; and what proportion achieved their intended qualifications in each of the last five years. [94736]
Mr. Wicks:
The figures requested are shown in the following table. Information on the proportion of students achieving GNVQ and NVQ qualifications is not available on a consistent basis for all GNVQs and NVQs.
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| Thousand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Numbers studying for: | ||
| Academic year | NVQs (9) | GNVQs (10) |
| 1994-95 | 660 | n/a |
| 1995-96 | 799 | n/a |
| 1996-97 | 871 | 198 |
| 1997-98 | 789 | 186 |
| 1998-99 | 856 | (11)-- |
(9) These are UK figures derived from the Labour Force Survey (Spring 1995 to Spring 1999).
(10) These are figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland taken from the Joint Council for National Vocational Awarding Bodies annual press notice.
(11) To be published in November 1999.
Able Pupils
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to reflect the attainments of able pupils who take GCSEs early in school performance tables. [94740]
Jacqui Smith: The achievements of such pupils have been included in performance tables since they were first published in 1992.
Level 3 Qualifications
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for the last five years the numbers and proportions of whole Level 3 qualifications obtained through (a) GCE A Level, (b) GNVQs, (c) NVQs and (d) other recognised qualifications. [94731]
Mr. Wicks:
The information requested is shown in the following table. Information on the proportion of people gaining level Figures are for England unless stated otherwise.
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| Academic year qualification was issued | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification type | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 |
| 2 or more GCE A Levels(12) | 164,469 | 164,597 | 169,345 | 182,523 | 188,173 |
| Advanced GNVQ | 1,210 | 11,493 | 28,078 | 34,274 | 39,011 |
| NVQ Level 3 | (13)25,114 | (13)48,682 | (13)63,794 | (13)90,385 | 90,343 |
| Other VQs Level 3(14) | 123,736 | 101,965 | 83,685 | 66,560 | 57,672 |
(12) The figures represent the number of people who have achieved two or more passes at A level. A levels are level 3 courses but a person needs to have two or more passes at A level to have achieved the same as an advanced GNVQ or a NVQ level 3.
(13) Figures are for United Kingdom only.
(14) Other (unregulated) vocational qualification only relate to those awarded by the following awarding bodies (Oxford Cambridge and RSA (OCR), Edexcel and City and Guilds).
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Level 2 Graduation Test
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultations he has held with disability interests concerning the modification of the Level 2 graduation test at age 19 years for those with special educational needs. [94679]
Mr. Wicks: The Qualifications Curriculum Authority (QCA) will be consulting disability interests as part of its remit to develop and consult on options for a 'graduation' certificate.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what arrangements he will make for
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further progression after Level 2 graduation at age 19 years; and if modern apprenticeships will remain open to young adults who have graduated from Level 2. [94684]
Mr. Wicks:
The Government are committed to offering continuing learning opportunities for young people. Those, for example, who have successfully completed NVQ qualifications at level 2 are encouraged to progress to further training or vocational education. Many will opt for Modern Apprenticeships, where funding is available until the young person's 25th birthday.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the starting-point of
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annual income for the repayment of student loans which are in (a) income-contingent and (b) old-style mortgage loans. [94743]
Mr. Wicks:
The starting point of annual income for the repayment of student loans which are income- contingent will be £10,000; the starting point of annual income for the repayment of student loans which are old-style mortgage loans is £18,192 in academic year 1999-2000. The repayment of income-contingent loans will be fairer than mortgage-style because it will be tied closely to income. Repayments will be based on 9 per cent. of income over £10,000 a year so that repayments will increase or decrease in line with changes in income. The repayment of mortgage style loans above the threshold is not income-contingent. A fixed proportion of the loan has to be repaid each year: someone earning £20,000 a year will repay the some monthly sum as someone earning £40,000.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will announce arrangements for the extension of loans to part-time students. [94745]
Mr. Wicks:
My noble Friend the Minister for Education and Employment announced on 29 January that from 2000-01 we would make loans available to part-time students on low incomes to help with the costs of study, and would announce details later this year. The Department is now analysing information from the Student Income and Expenditure Survey, and will make a further announcement before Christmas.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students hold means-tested loans; and what is their overall value. [94744]
Mr. Wicks:
The Student Loans Company have informed me that at 15 October 1999, cheques have been issued to 325,000 students under the new student support arrangements. The total value of the loans was approximately £346 million. These figures are for the United Kingdom.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received about delays in the delivery of student loan cheques following their arrival at college for the autumn term. [94675]
Mr. Wicks:
To date, my Department has received one e-mail about delays in the delivery of this term's student loan cheques. Students who applied on time and provided the necessary documentation should have received their cheques: that is a considerable achievement by all concerned.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received about the current acceptability of individual learning account credits to higher education institutions; and what advice he has circulated to them. [94732]
Mr. Wicks:
The Department has not received any representation about the current acceptability of individual learning account credits to higher education institutions, nor have we issued specific advice to higher education institutions on the acceptability of credits.
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Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many individual learning accounts are currently open; and what is their cumulative value. [94734]
Mr. Wicks:
By the end of August 22,530 individual learning accounts were opened through Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). The cumulative contribution from TEC resources to these accounts is £734,277. These are the first pilot accounts. The national framework will be rolled out as planned in 2000. Under that we expect to see a rapid build-up towards the target of 1 million accounts in 2002.
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