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Student Rents

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what comparative studies he has commissioned into the rate of change of rents for student accommodation and public resources available to students. [140399]

Mr. Wicks: No study has been commissioned to look specifically into the rate of change of rents for student accommodation. However, every three years the DfEE commissions research which monitors HE students' income and expenditure. The Student Income and Expenditure Report 1998-99 is due to be published in December 2000.

Learning and Skills Council

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has for extending the tolerance margin for recruitment deficits in further education into the first year of operation of the Learning and Skills Council. [140398]

Mr. Wicks: I expect the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to continue, in its first year of operation, with tolerance margin arrangements currently operated by the Further Education Funding Council for England. It will be for the LSC to consider appropriate arrangements for future years.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate (a) the latest annual running costs of the (i) Further Education Funding Council and (ii) Training and Enterprise

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Councils, (b) the anticipated initial cost of the first year of operation of the Learning and Skills Council and its local councils and (c) the anticipated wind-up costs of the FEFC and TECs together with the establishment costs of the LSC and local LSCs. [139168]

Mr. Wicks [holding answer 21 November 2000]: For the financial year 2000-01, the Further Education Funding Council's (FEFC) running costs are set at £26.7 million. TEC statutory accounts for 1998-99, the latest available year, show Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) staff and other operating costs to be £271.8 million.

The running costs for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in 2001-02 have yet to be finalised, but will be announced in the Annual Letter of Guidance to the LSC which will be placed in the Library of the House shortly. We expect the new streamlined structure of the LSC to release annual savings of at least £50 million on running costs in steady state, compared to the bodies that the LSC replaces.

It is too early to say what the wind-up costs of the FEFC and TECs will be because of uncertainty about potential staffing and premises costs associated with winding up these bodies.

We estimate that the cost of setting up the LSC over the next two years will be between £60 and £65 million. These costs include the development of new IT systems, premises and a significant investment in staff training and development.

Higher Education

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on current recruitment to higher education, with particular reference to full-time enrolments for those with a background in socio-economic classes C2, D and E. [140396]

Mr. Wicks: The number of students accepted for entry to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in autumn 2000 has increased 1.9 per cent. since 1999. The number of part-time undergraduate entrants in 1999-2000 has increased 2.4 per cent. since 1998-99. The following table shows a steady trend in the proportion of full-time applicants/acceptances from Social Classes IIIn-m, IV and V since 1996. The Government are spending £151 million over three years to get more young people from these groups to enter higher education.

UK domiciled applicants and accepted applicants from Social Classes IIIn-m, IV and V to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK via UCAS institutions in the UK

	Year of entry
IIIn-m, IV and V	1996	1997	1998	1999
Number of accepted applicants	65,700	73,900	72,200	73,100
Percentage of accepted applicants	27	28	28	28
Number of applicants	93,600	100,800	97,200	96,800
Percentage of applicants	29	29	29	29

Note:

The data are based on the Social Class (SC) classification rather than the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising Social Grade (SG) classification indicated in the question. While both are based on occupation there are differences in derivation. The lower grades in SC (IIIn-m, IV and V) can nevertheless be regarded as broad approximations to the lower grades of SG (C2, D and E).

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Connexions Service

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what arrangements have been made to evaluate the Connexions service pilots. [140392]

Mr. Wicks: We appointed GHK Economics and Management Ltd. as the 'National Evaluator' for the Connexions pilots in July 2000. They are carrying out a comprehensive programme of action research to identify the added value, emerging good practice, and other issues arising from the piloting and initial development of the Connexions service. In addition, the pilots are resourced to carry out their own local evaluations, which will contribute to the national study.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made in developing a training programme for personal advisers. [140390]

Mr. Wicks: A 'Diploma for Personal Advisers' course, designed to train those advisers who will be working with young people who need significant amounts of help, is currently being piloted. Four other elements of the training programme are also being developed: an 'Understanding Connexions' course, for advisers working with the wider group of young people; an access course; a Connexions management course; and an extension programme for those holding the Diploma.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if all young people will have access to a personal adviser with the Connexions service; and what proportion are expected to need one. [140389]

Mr. Wicks: All young people between the ages of 13 and 19 will have access to a Connexions service personal adviser, and are expected to have some contact with the service, but there will be a large variation in the amount of help they will need. Some young people will need only advice about qualifications or career options, while others will need intensive, sustained help to overcome severe barriers to learning.

Teacher Assessment

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what evidence he has assessed concerning the methods of making a reliable measurement of the progress of pupils. [140607]

Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 28 November 2000]: The Department also publishes (jointly with the QCA and Ofsted) information about the progress of pupils nationally in the annual "Autumn Package of Pupil Performance Information". This shows the distribution of pupil outcomes at the end of each key stage, for pupils with similar achievement at the end of the previous key stage. Schools are encouraged to use the Autumn Package to evaluate the progress made by their own pupils, compared to national patterns.

My officials monitor closely the debate about methods of measuring pupil progress and the "value added" by schools and other educational institutions. The Department has consulted interested organisations on a number of occasions about approaches to measuring and

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reporting value added in school and college performance tables and we have carried out two pilots--one, in 1998, in relation to pupils between the ages of 14 and 16 and the other, this year, in relation to students between the ages of 16 and 18. The results of both pilots have been published and are available in the House of Commons Library. We intend to consult on the inclusion of value added measures in school and college performance tables early next year.

New Technologies in Schools

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what targets have been set for increasing the percentage of high specification computers in schools for (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03 and (c) 2003-04. [140433]

Mr. Wills: Our target is that there should be a computer for every 8 pupils in primary schools, and for every five pupils in secondary schools by 2004. In doing so we are committed to achieving a baseline level of access to ICT--equivalent to access to a computer for every 11 pupils in all primary schools, and for every seven pupils in all secondary schools--by 31 August 2002.

The Department does not prescribe the specification of computers to be used in schools as this will change as technology develops, and schools will be best placed to provide the ICT they consider necessary to improve educational opportunities for their pupils.

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