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Medical Schools
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many places in English medical schools were allocated to overseas students in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total this represents. [157905]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The available data are shown in the table.
| UK | Overseas | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | |||
| Number | 3,438 | 311 | 3,749 |
| Percentage | 91.7 | 8.3 | 100.0 |
| 1998-99 | |||
| Number | 3,389 | 346 | 3,735 |
| Percentage | 90.7 | 9.3 | 100.00 |
| 1999-2000 | |||
| Number | 3,650 | 322 | 3,972 |
| Percentage | 91.8 | 8.1 | 100.0 |
Tuition Fees
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of higher education students are not paying tuition fees in (a) London and (b) English universities and higher education establishments. [159613]
Mr. Wicks: In England and Wales, students on undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards their tuition fees only if they can afford to do so.
In academic year 1999-2000, the latest year for which data are available, for students who are normally domiciled in London as a whole (studying in the UK), the proportion of students who are liable for fees under the Education (Student Support) Regulations and who do not
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have to pay a contribution towards their fees is estimated to be 58 per cent. For students normally domiciled in England (studying in the UK) this figure is estimated to be 45 per cent.
Individual Learning Accounts
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to increase the amount of funding available for training through individual learning accounts. [160304]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Spending plans for individual learning accounts for the next three years show a marked increase from the £42 million in financial year 2000-01. The figures are as follows: £46.6 million (2001-02) £72 million (2002-03) and £71.2 million in 2003-04.
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have (a) applied for and (b) used an individual learning account, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) occupation and (iii) the nature of learning scheme taken up. [160303]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Latest figures are that over one million people have opened individual learning accounts (ILAs) in the UK. This is a remarkable achievement and means that our manifesto commitment to open one million accounts across the UK by March 2002 has been met almost 12 months early. The one million figure includes over 200,000 opened during the pilot phase which preceded the introduction of the national framework to administer ILAs.
Since the launch of the national framework to administer ILAs in June 2000, almost one million people have inquired about ILA membership in England, 785,379 people have opened an account and 346,559 (44 per cent.) have already made use of their ILA to support a course of learning.
Of the 785,379 who have opened an account, 459,782 are women and 322,674 are men. Of the 346,559 who have already made use of their account, 203,124 are women and 142,177 are men.
Over half of the learning is IT related with Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT) and European Computer Driving Licence being the most popular courses. A wide variety of non-IT, non-recreational learning makes up the balance. A breakdown of the accounts opened and accounts used by occupation is given in the following table:
| Occupation | ILAs |
|---|---|
| Housewife/Homemaker | 67,290 |
| Manual/Factory Worker | 41,745 |
| Manager (own business less than 250 staff) | 27,170 |
| Office/Retail Worker | 145,795 |
| Senior Manager/Professional | 79,576 |
| Skilled Worker/Tradesperson | 62,000 |
| Teaching/Lecturer | 37,087 |
| Data not supplied | 173,403 |
| Other | 151,313 |
| Total | 785,379 |
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| Occupation | ILAs |
|---|---|
| Housewife/Homemaker | 33,730 |
| Manual/Factory Worker | 19,233 |
| Manager (own business less than 250 staff) | 12,149 |
| Office/Retail Worker | 65,234 |
| Senior Manager/Professional | 33,330 |
| Skilled Worker/Tradesperson | 27,943 |
| Teaching/Lecturer | 15,253 |
| Data not supplied | 70,626 |
| Other | 69,061 |
| Total | 346,559 |
Day Care for Childminding
Mr. Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will publish the national standards for day care and childminding following the consultation on draft standards last year. [160944]
Ms Hodge: The national standards for under eights day care and childminding are being published today, and I am placing copies in the Library.
Work-focused Interviews
Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to extend the use of work-focused interviews for working-age claimants to benefits. [160874]
Mr. Blunkett: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security and I are establishing, later this year, Jobcentre Plus, an Agency for people of working age. This will bring together labour market and benefit services for people of working age and enable us to provide a more integrated approach for our customers.
As we announced on 14 March this year, as a first stage in the launch of Jobcentre Plus, we will be introducing around 50 Pathfinder offices. Additionally, we will be introducing work-focused interviews for everyone of working age making a claim to benefit in around a further 40 offices to the same time scale. A provisional list of the locations in which these offices are based is set out in the table. People of working age making a claim for benefit in these offices will be required to participate in a work-focused interview as an integral part of the benefit claims process and will be offered specialist support to help them into work. My right hon. Friend will shortly be laying regulations under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 for this purpose.
Jobcentre Plus work focused interview sites (city/town):
- City of Aberdeen
- Livingston
- Bridgend
- Telford
- Wallasey
- Manchester Openshaw
- City of Derby
- Gateshead
- Essex.
9 May 2001 : Column: 176W
GCSEs (Shropshire)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the pass rates for GCSE examinations for pupils in Shropshire for each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [160519]
Mr. Wicks: The pass rates for GCSE examinations for pupils in Shropshire who gained at least one GCSE (or GNVQ equivalent) at grade G or above since 1997 are shown in the table.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 97.5 |
| 1998-99 | 97.3 |
| 1999-2000 | 97.0 |
Sure Start (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the Sure Start Programme in Shrewsbury and Atcham. [160516]
Yvette Cooper: There are no Sure Start programmes operating in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency.
Our aim is to establish 500 programmes in areas of disadvantage by 2003-04. To date, 260 programmes have been announced. Further programmes will be announced later this year.
Districts are invited to submit plans for a Sure Start programme because collectively they have high levels of need and disadvantage, according to the DETR Index of Multiple Deprivation, and give a good spread between different types of area around the country.
We will also be looking at ways that Sure Start can reach young children in areas with smaller pockets of deprivation.
Education Spending (Reading, West)
Mr. Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much the Government spent on education in the Reading, West constituency in each of the financial years from 1995-96 to 2000-01, indicating the specific areas on which the funding has been spent. [159614]
Ms Estelle Morris: Most funding provided by the Department is distributed via local education authorities. Total Devolved Formula Capital allocations for schools in the Reading, West constituency amounted to £708,500 in 2000-01. Allocations between the years 1997-98 and 2000-01 under the New Deal for Schools scheme are set out in the table. The Department does not hold information on other support provided to Reading, West constituency schools since 1995-96. The Secretary of State wrote to my hon. Friend on 16 February setting out the total funding for his local education authorities (Reading and West Berkshire) for the years 1998-99 to 2001-02. Due to local government reorganisation, figures are not available for earlier years.
9 May 2001 : Column: 177W
| School | Project details | Grant awarded (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | ||
| LEA wide package including: | ||
| English Martyrs RC Primary | ||
| Downsway Primary | Urgent health and safety work | (4)761,000 |
| St. Edward's School | ||
| Birch Copse | ||
| 1998-99 | ||
| Thamesbridge College (formerly Ashmead School) | Replacement of unusable teaching accommodation | 2,279,825 |
| LEA wide package involving 12 schools | Plumbing work | (5)136,700 |
| LEA wide package involving 16 schools | Repairs to roofs | (5)252,900 |
| 1999-2000 | ||
| Little Heath School | Roof Covering Replacement | 107,030 |
| The Holy Brook School | Window Replacement | 24,310 |
| 2000-01 | ||
| Brookfields Special School | Replacement of temporary classroom | 60,000 |
| Upcroft Primary School | Reorganising and extending school building | 272,550 |
| Included within a 15 school package: | ||
| Kennett Valley Primary | Fire alarms/means of escape | (6)273,216 |
| Calcot Infant and Nursery | ||
| Included within a 3 school package: | ||
| Kennett Valley Primary | Internal remodelling | (6)217,925 |
(4) Local education authorities (LEAs) were not required to specify individual project costs for phase 1 of the NDS programme, so the amount shown is the total allocation in that year to the former Berkshire LEA. Reading LEA (English Martyrs RC Primary and St. Edward's School) and West Berkshire LEA (Downsway Primary and Birch Copse) hold project level information.
(5) Denotes LEA wide package; details of specific schools within the package are not available. West Berkshire local education authority will be able to advise if schools from the Reading, West constituency benefited.
(6) Denotes total allocation made to package projects covering more than one school. West Berkshire local education authority will be able to advise the value of projects at schools which have benefited from these allocations.
9 May 2001 : Column: 177W
Between 1992-93 and 1997-98, average recurrent funding per pupil fell nationally by £120 in real terms from £2,830 to £2,710. Since then, it has risen by an average of £540 in real terms to £3,250 this year. By 2003-04, it will have increased by around £750 in real terms since 1997-98.
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