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Sand Eels
Dr. Godman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if industrial fishing for sand eels is prohibited in closed cod-spawning areas; and if he will make a statement. [154588]
Mr. Morley: A derogation is allowed for sand eel fishing in the spawning cod closed areas, subject to strict conditions on monitoring and control, but not for fishing for Norway pout, which involves a higher whitefish bycatch. The estimated bycatch of cod in the sand eel fishery is less than 2 per cent.
GM Crops
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what commercial activities are prescribed by the voluntary agreement with the GM industry on GM crop trials. [144375]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 8 January 2001]: I have been asked to reply.
The Government and the industry body SCIMAC made a voluntary agreement in November 1999 on the conduct of the farm-scale evaluations of certain GM crops. Under the terms of this agreement:
- "There will be no widespread planting leading to general market access of GM crops grown in the UK until the farm-scale evaluations are complete.
- For the duration of the farm-scale evaluations, no direct commercial benefit will be sought from these plantings by the consent-holders."
- (2) if fertile seed is being harvested from GM trial sites in the United Kingdom and stored. [144367]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 8 January 2001]: I have been asked to reply.
The Government and the industry body SCIMAC made a voluntary agreement in November 1999 on the conduct of the farm scale evaluations of certain GM crops.
The agreement covers all GM crops including those with Part C consent under European directive 90/220. At present one of the crops involved in the evaluations, herbicide tolerant maize, has a Part C consent.
The Part B consents permitting the oil seed rape, fodder beet and sugar beet to be grown in the farm scale evaluations require the crops to be destroyed on harvest. The maize in the evaluations, which has a Part C consent, is a forage variety which would be harvested for silage not seeds. The terms of the approval for herbicide use on the maize does not permit it to enter the food or feed chain and the crop is destroyed on harvest.
The agreement does not permit any other field scale plantings of these crops without the approval of the Scientific Steering Committee who will take account of the relevance of the proposals to biodiversity.
21 Mar 2001 : Column: 260W
A number of Part B consents for small scale plantings of other GM crops are currently in force. Each specifies the fate of the crop at the end of the trial and some permit the saving of seed for further research or testing.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Higher Education
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate the participation rate in higher education for 18 to 24-year- olds in each UK nation and Government office region in each of the last five years. [145254]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 15 January 2001]: Participation rates are not routinely collated below national level. The available figures for the four home countries, showing the proportion of under 21-year-olds who enter higher education for the first time, are given in the table. A higher proportion of young people from Scotland and Northern Ireland enter HE than from England and Wales. This is largely due to high levels of participation in Diplomas, Certificates and other similar undergraduate qualifications in these countries. There was an increase in the Great Britain index in 1997-98 related partly to changes in the funding arrangements for higher education, with students choosing to enter HE rather than wait until 1998-99. There was a corresponding reduction in 1998-99 before the entry rates started to increase again in 1999-2000. Between 1996-97 and 1999-2000, total students rose by 76,000 in England and by 89,000 in Great Britain.
| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000(20) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | n/a | 32 | 29 | 30 |
| Wales | n/a | 32 | 30 | 29 |
| Scotland | n/a | 46 | 44 | 43 |
| Northern Ireland | n/a | 44 | 40 | 42 |
| Great Britain | 33 | 33 | 31 | 32 |
(19) The API is defined as the number of GB domiciled initial entrants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate HE aged under 21, expressed as a percentage of the average number of 18 and 19-year-olds in the population
(20) Provisional
Note:
n/a = Not available
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students were in higher education in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2000-01. [154391]
Mr. Wicks: The available data are given in the table. Figures for 2000-01 will be available at the end of April.
| Thousand | |
|---|---|
| Academic year | Number |
| 1996-97 | 1,534 |
| 1999-2000 | 1,610 |
(21) Full-time and part-time, undergraduate and postgraduate, home and overseas, including the Open University
21 Mar 2001 : Column: 261W
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the average level of Government funding was per student in higher education in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2000-01. [154392]
Mr. Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Ms Kelly) on 6 March 2001, Official Report, columns 164-65W.
University Salaries
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the average salary increase was for (a) university vice-chancellors and principals and (b) university academic and academic-related staff in (i) 2000-01, (ii) 1999-2000, (iii) 1998-99, (iv) 1997-98 and (v) 1996-97; and if he will make a statement. [149877]
Mr. Wicks: Available figures from the New Earnings Survey for the earnings increases of university teaching professionals, covering lecturers in both pre and post 1992 universities, are:
| Year | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 2.9 |
| 1998-99 | 2.0 |
| 1997-98 | 3.2 |
| 1996-97 | 5.6 |
| 1995-96 | -0.1 |
No data are held centrally on Vice-Chancellors' pay.
New Deal (Wildcat)
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 8 March 2001, Official Report, column 299W, on New Deal, (1) if he will list the companies which have been approached by (a) his Department's, (i) Ministers and (ii) officials and (b) New Deal Taskforce in order to solicit payments to fund Wildcat's services to his Department, indicating the date of each approach; [153686]
- (2) if he will list the payments which have been made to Wildcat by his Department, indicating the date of each payment; [153687]
(3) if he will list the companies which have contributed funds to his Department for onward transmission to Wildcat, indicating the amount in each case and the date on which each payment was received. [153688]
Ms Jowell [holding answer 13 March 2001]: The following companies provided funds via the New Deal Taskforce to Wildcat Corporation.
| Company | Amount (£) | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 35,000 | 3 July 2000 |
| Credit Suisse First Boston | 20,000 | 28 July 2000 |
| KPMG | 20,000 | 3 August 2000 |
| Freshfields | 20,000 | 3 August 2000 |
| The Rockefeller Foundation | 6,500 | September 2000 |
| Morgan Stanley Dean Witter | 20,000 | (22)14 September 2000 |
| Prudential | 20,000 | 12 October 2000 |
| Deloitte and Touche | 20,000 | 17 October 2000 |
| HSBC | 20,000 | 13 December 2000 |
| Salomon Brothers | 20,000 | 15 March 2001 |
(22) Sent directly to Wildcat
21 Mar 2001 : Column: 262W
New Deal
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) black and (b) Asian people have taken part in the New Deal employment scheme; what percentages of (i) black, (ii) Asian and (iii) white unemployed people have found employment through it in each borough of Shropshire; and if he will make a statement. [154507]
Ms Jowell: The New Deals have had a valuable impact on many local communities, tackling unemployment, and the long-lasting damage that it can cause, with a new and innovative approach. Latest figures, to the end of December 2000, for Shropshire show the following take-up of New Deal given in the tables:
| Great Britain | Starts |
|---|---|
| White | 465,100 |
| Black | 32,300 |
| Asian | 36,400 |
| Shropshire unit of delivery | Starts | Total jobs | As a percentage of starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 2,679 | 1,492 | 56 |
| Black | 24 | 11 | 46 |
| Asian | 49 | 32 | 65 |
| Great Britain | Starts |
|---|---|
| White | 356,749 |
| Black | 21,338 |
| Asian | 11,938 |
| Shropshire unit of delivery | Starts | Total jobs | As a percentage of starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 1,410 | 214 | 15 |
| Black | (23)7 | (23)2 | -- |
| Asian | (23)10 | (23)1 | -- |
(23) Figures less than 10 make percentages unreliable.
| Great Britain | Starts |
|---|---|
| White | 129,506 |
| Black | 8,624 |
| Asian | 2,343 |
| Shropshire unit of delivery | Starts | Total jobs | As a percentage of starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 1,172 | 433 | 37 |
| Black | 16 | (24)8 | -- |
| Asian | 10 | (24)2 | -- |
(24) Figures less than 10 make percentages unreliable.
21 Mar 2001 : Column: 263W
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many young people in Shrewsbury and Atcham have benefited from the New Deal since last May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [154658]
Ms Jowell: In the period from the start of the New Deal for Young People, April 1998 to December 2000, there have been 478 starts to the programme in Shrewsbury and Atcham. Of these, 240 young people have gained employment from the programme.
Nationally, in addition to the 274,000 young people recorded as gaining jobs, we estimate a further 83,000 young people gained jobs from New Deal.
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