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Rolling Electoral Register
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to implement the rolling electoral register under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000; if he will publish regulations relating to the rolling register in draft form; and if he will make a statement. [116657]
Mr. Straw: My intention is to bring regulations providing for rolling electoral registration into force with effect from 16 February 2001 (when the next electoral register will take effect). I hope that it will be possible to publish the regulations in draft form.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Plastic Baton Rounds
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide funding for a research programme to find a less potentially lethal alternative to plastic baton rounds. [107812]
Mr. Ingram:
The Government have accepted Recommendation 69 of the Report of the Independent Commission on Policing, that a research programme to
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find a less potentially lethal alternative to plastic baton rounds should be established. The issue is at present being actively considered and a decision on the way forward is expected in the near future.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what statutory provisions prohibit serving police officers swearing a new oath. [110957]
Mr. Ingram:
There is no statutory prohibition on police officers swearing new oaths voluntarily. However, to take a new police declaration the attestation which they have already made would have to be set aside by statute.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the expenditure was on discretionary awards by each Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [114650]
Mr. Ingram:
Discretionary awards expenditure by Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years was as follows.
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(Discretionary Awards)
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 (9) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BELB | 1,006 | 718 | 558 | 2,282 |
| WELB | 1,382 | 778 | 676 | 2,836 |
| NEELB | 1,215 | 930 | 538 | 2,683 |
| SELB | 1,585 | 1,113 | 600 | 3,298 |
| SEELB | 1,014 | 575 | 280 | 1,869 |
| Total | 6,202 | 4,114 | 2,652 | 12,968 |
(9) Provisional figures
Further and Higher Education
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Charter for Higher Education for Northern Ireland will be published; and if he will make a statement. [114666]
Mr. Ingram: The Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment has no plans to publish a Higher Education Charter for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Department of Education for Northern Ireland has to promote sporting provision and facilities in the further education sector; and if he will make a statement. [114653]
Mr. Ingram: The Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment has worked with the Further Education Sector to develop guidelines for colleges on a number of health related issues, including physical activities. Further, it has undertaken a mapping exercise on the provision and use of physical education and sports facilities, as part of the Northern Ireland Physical Activity Strategy Action Plan 1999-2002, and as a result has written to the colleges encouraging them to make increased use of such facilities.
The Department has also recently nominated a representative to the Northern Ireland Physical Activity Implementation Group (NIPAIG) which will oversee the implementation of the NI Physical Activity Strategy. One of the key activities of the groups is to consider ways in which Further Education and Higher Education students' participation in fitness and sporting activities can be enhanced and how the time allocated to higher education based teacher training in Physical Education might be increased.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been made by students from Northern Ireland during the current year to UCAS and CAO/CAS; and if he will make a statement. [114659]
Mr. Ingram:
For entry in 2000, there were 13,539 NI applicants to Higher Education courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and 1,242 through the Central Applications Office at their respective closing dates for applications. The closing date for applications to UCAS was 15 December 1999 and 1 February 2000 for applications to CAO. Both UCAS and CAO expect further applications after the closing date.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown is by (a) gender, (b) age and (c) religious background of student enrolments in each
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further and higher education institution in Northern Ireland for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [114676]
Mr. Ingram:
The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications were made by students from Northern Ireland during each of the last three years to UCAS and CAO/CAS; and if he will make a statement. [114660]
Mr. Ingram:
NI applicants to Higher Education courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and the Central Applicants Office (CAO) are as follows:
| UCAS applicants | CAO applicants | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 15,515 | 1,348 |
| 1999 | 15,067 | 1,437 |
| 2000 | 13,539 | 1,242 |
Note:
Figures for 2000 are at the respective closing dates for applications (15 December for UCAS and 1 February for CAO) and do not include late applications
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the student dropout rates were for each further and higher education college in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [114678]
Mr. Ingram: This Department does not calculate drop out rates for Higher Education institutions. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has calculated projected non-completion rates for full-time students starting first degree courses in Higher Education institutions in the UK. Currently, values are available for 1996-97 only. The values for the Queen's University of Belfast are 10 per cent., and for the University of Ulster are 17 per cent. It should be noted that differences between institutions, such as subject mix or the qualifications on entry of their students make comparisons between institutions unreliable. For this reason HEFCE has produced benchmarks against which an institution's value can be compared. The benchmarks for the Queen's University of Belfast and the University of Ulster are 12 per cent. and 18 per cent. respectively. The methodology used to calculate values and benchmarks is contained in the HEFCE publication "Performance indicators in higher education 1996-97, 1997-98".
Student dropout rates for each further Education College are not available.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research his Department has commissioned or evaluated on gender differences in the participation of Protestants from a manual work background in post- school education in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114658]
Mr. Ingram:
This Department has not commissioned or evaluated any research which has looked specifically at gender differences in the participation of Protestants from a manual work background in post-school education in Northern Ireland.
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Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Government's current policy on promoting community relations programmes in post-school education in Northern Ireland. [114655]
Mr. Ingram:
The Department fully recognises the importance of promoting community relations programmes in post-school education.
The Department is setting up a working group together with representatives from the further education sector and the National Union of Students/Unions of Students in Ireland (NUS/USI), to consider how cultural diversity can best be recognised and promoted.
The Northern Ireland Universities have affirmed their commitment to promoting a pluralist environment which celebrates diversity across their campuses. They are working closely with the Student Unions in support of their programme for promoting community relations among students.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the PAFT analysis carried out by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland regarding recent changes to student financial support arrangements. [114664]
Mr. Ingram:
The PAFT analysis of the student support arrangements introduced from the 1998-99 academic year recognised that the changes would have beneficial effects for some groups of students, but might also have the potential to act as a disincentive for others entering higher education. It concluded that, in general terms, the policy of maintaining parity in student support matters with England and Wales has been, over the long term, to the advantage of Northern Ireland students and that, in value for money terms, it represented an effective use of resources.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the expenditure was on promoting community relations work in each further and higher education college in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [114677]
Mr. Ingram:
The Department does not hold these details.
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Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the (a) number of and (b) expenditure on postgraduate awards in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [114652]
Mr. Ingram:
The number of, and expenditure on, postgraduate awards in each of the last three years are as follows:
| Financial year | Number of awards | Expenditure (£000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 575 | 4,565 |
| 1998-99 | 536 | 4,253 |
| 1999-2000 | 434 | 3,903 |
These figures exclude a small number of postgraduate awards made by the Education and Library Boards under the Department of Higher and Further Education Discretionary Awards arrangements. The collation of such information would involve disproportionate costs.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to make UCAS collect data relating to the religious background of applicants from Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114654]
Mr. Ingram:
My Department has written to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) asking it to include a question about community background on UCAS application forms completed by Northern Ireland-domiciled students. The request is under consideration and a conclusion may not be reached for some months. Pending the outcome I should say there is no question of my Department forcing UCAS to include a question on community background. Such a question would in any event be subject to voluntary response by the student applicant.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate his Department has made of the cost of restoring maintenance grants for students in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114662]
Mr. Ingram:
If maintenance grants for Northern Ireland-domiciled students were to be restored, the costs could be in the region of £40 million in a full year.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the access fund allocation and take-up rate was for each institution of further and higher education in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [114657]
Mr. Ingram:
Access Funds allocation and take-up rates for the last three years are:
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(10) Expenditure details not yet available
Note:
Funding has been substantially increased over this period and is evidence of Government's commitment to implementing their Lifelong Learning Policy
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Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate his Department has made of the cost of abolishing the system of student tuition fees in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [114661]
Mr. Ingram:
If the contribution towards the cost of tuition fees was to be abolished, the cost would be in the region of £15.5 million in a full year.
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Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many student enrolments there were on a full-time and part-time basis for each further and higher education establishment in Northern Ireland over the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [114675]
Mr. Ingram:
The information requested is contained in the tables.
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| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Part-time | Total | Full-time | Part-time | Total | Full-time | Part-time | Total | |
| The Queen's University of Belfast | 11,763 | 6,794 | 18,557 | 13,750 | 6,712 | 20,462 | 13,575 | 7,446 | 21,021 |
| University of Ulster | 13,131 | 5,698 | 18,829 | 13,617 | 6,541 | 20,158 | 13,464 | 6,015 | 19,479 |
| St. Mary's University College | 601 | 19 | 620 | 590 | 22 | 612 | 609 | 29 | 638 |
| Stranmillis University College | 594 | 65 | 659 | 578 | 70 | 648 | 668 | 282 | 950 |
| Total | 25,989 | 12,576 | 38,665 | 28,535 | 13,345 | 41,880 | 28,316 | 13,772 | 42,088 |
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Note:
Figures represent snapshots of enrolments at 1 November each academic year
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