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Appointments
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many appointments she has made to public bodies since 7 June; and how many are in her gift. [15484]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information about numbers of ministerial appointments to public bodies is included in the Cabinet Office's annual report, "Public Bodies". Copies of this are placed in the Library of the House and the report is published on the Cabinet Office's internet website. The next edition of "Public Bodies", which will include numbers of appointments at 31 March 2001, will be published around the end of the year.
Since 7 June 2001 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made one appointment to Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by the Department. In total there are 194 NDPB appointments in my right hon. Friend's gift.
Scottish Devolution
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her policy is regarding consultations prior to the publication of proposals involving the transfer of powers to the Scottish Executive by (a) primary legislation and (b) Order in Council. [13821]
20 Nov 2001 : Column: 261W
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 748W.
Children's Fund
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list those authorities receiving allocations this year under the Children's Fund, indicating the value of the allocation in each case. [13663]
Mr. Denham: The first 40 first wave Children's Fund areas were announced on 23 January 2001.
Following are the 40 first wave areas with their total allocation over three years.
| Areas | |
|---|---|
| Blackburn | 2.7 |
| Blackpool | 1.8 |
| Birmingham | 18 |
| Bolton | 3.6 |
| Bradford | 8.1 |
| Bristol | 4.2 |
| Camden | 2.4 |
| Cornwall | 4.8 |
| Doncaster | 3.9 |
| Gateshead | 2.4 |
| Greenwich | 3 |
| Hartlepool | 1.5 |
| Hackney | 4.2 |
| Halton | 1.8 |
| Haringey | 3.6 |
| Islington | 2.7 |
| Kent | 11.1 |
| Kingston Upon Hull | 4.5 |
| Knowsley | 3 |
| Lancashire | 12 |
| Leeds | 7.8 |
| Leicester | 4.8 |
| Lincolnshire | 5.1 |
| Liverpool | 8.4 |
| Manchester | 8.7 |
| Middlesbrough | 2.4 |
| Newham | 5.7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 3.6 |
| Norfolk | 6.3 |
| Nottingham | 5.1 |
| Oldham | 3.3 |
| Portsmouth | 2.1 |
| Rochdale | 3.3 |
| Salford | 3.3 |
| Sandwell | 4.2 |
| Sheffield | 5.7 |
| Southwark | 3.6 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 2.1 |
| Sunderland | 3.9 |
| Tower Hamlets | 5.1 |
In each area the local authority has identified a local partnership to manage and develop a Children's Fund proposal. Most of these proposals have now been approved and partnerships are now starting to implement these proposals.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of this year's Children's Fund allocation went to local authorities in London. [13662]
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Mr. Denham: I am pleased to report that 16 per cent. of the first year's Children's Fund allocation went to Children's Fund partnerships in London. This amounts to £10.1 million in 2001–02.
The local partnerships that are responsible for planning and developing proposals have submitted plans for preventive services in these areas; most of these have been approved and partnerships are now starting to implement their proposals.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) circulars and (b) consultation documents were issued by her Department in each of the last four years. [11826]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The numbers of consultation documents issued are:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 148 |
| 1999 | 185 |
| 2000 | 74 |
| 2001 (to November) | 65 |
The Department has not issued any documents labelled as "circulars" since 1999. The figures include numbers for 2000 and 2001 for documents which would have previously fallen into the category of circulars.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 29 |
| 1999 | 48 |
| 2000 | 55 |
| 2001 (to November) | 39 |
Secondary Education
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for secondary education in Retford. [16260]
Mr. Timms: Our White Paper "Schools Achieving Success", sets out an ambitious programme for the transformation of secondary education, building upon our success in the primary phase. We have also introduced the Key Stage 3 National Strategy aimed at raising standards for all 11 to 14-year-old children.
Turning specifically to Retford, I am aware that the local education authority is consulting upon proposals for the rationalisation of secondary schools in the town. The Government believe that decisions concerning the supply of school places are best taken locally—by the main partners in the provision of education who have a knowledge of local needs.
Student Loans
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have taken out student loans per year since their inception; what is (a) the average amount per loan, (b) the average amount loaned to each student, (c) the average time taken before
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repayments begin, (d) the running costs per year of the Student Loans Company and (e) the annual income from repayments of the Student Loans Company. [16216]
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Margaret Hodge: Not all of the information requested is held centrally or readily available. The information that is available is shown in the following tables.
| Academic years | 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000(21) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student loans (United Kingdom)(22),(23) | ||||||||||
| Number of loans (thousands)(24) | 180.2 | 261.1 | 345.3 | 430.4 | 517.2 | 559.8 | 589.6 | 615.1 | 659.5 | 723.6 |
| Value of loans (£ million) | 69.9 | 139.2 | 226.5 | 316.7 | 538.8 | 700.8 | 877.2 | 941.0 | 1,233.5 | 1,823.0 |
| Average value of loan (£)(25) | 390 | 530 | 660 | 740 | 1,040 | 1,250 | 1,490 | 1,530 | 1,870 | 2,520 |
| Eligible population (thousands)(26) | 643.5 | 726.6 | 836.3 | 917.4 | 944.4 | 949.8 | 945.7 | 962.9 | 966.7 | 982.5 |
| Take up of student loans (percentage) | 28 | 36 | 41 | 47 | 55 | 59 | 62 | 64 | 68 | 74 |
(21) Provisional
(22) Student loans are available to eligible students normally domiciled in the United Kingdom.
(23) Student loans are available to most 'home' students on full-time undergraduate HE courses (and students on full-time and part-time postgraduate courses of initial teacher training) who are aged less than 50 at the start of their course. From 1999–2000, students aged between 50 to 54 at the start of their course (this includes students who started their course after September 1998) can apply for a student loan as long as they can demonstrate to their awarding authority that they plan to return to employment after finishing their course.
(24) Refers to loans advanced in the target year only, which include those to students in their first, second, third and any subsequent year of their course.
(25) Rounded to the nearest £10.
(26) Total number estimated to be eligible for loans. This includes eligible students attending courses entirely at overseas privately funded or NHS institutions. From 1996–97 nursing students on diploma course with fees paid by the Department of Health bursaries are excluded though some may be eligible for loans if their Department of Health bursaries are reduced through means-testing. Population estimates have been compiled from data provided by HESA, FEFC and from the Student Loans Company.
Notes:
1. New student support arrangements were introduced from academic year 1998–99. New students in 1998–99 apart from certain specified exceptions received support for maintenance expenditure through means-tested grants (comprising about a quarter of the support available) and non income-assessed student loans (comprising about three quarters of the support available). In 1999–2000 students who entered higher education from 1998–99 onwards received support for maintenance expenditure entirely through loans, of which approximately three quarters of the value was non income-assessed. Loans made under these arrangements are repayable on an income contingent basis. The ratio of support for existing loans, ie those who entered higher education up to 1997–98, was roughly 50 per cent. means-tested grant and 50 per cent. non means-tested loan repayable on a mortgage style basis.
2. Mandatory awards are awarded by local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales to eligible students normally domiciled in their area.
3. Includes placement year sandwich students.
4. Excludes placement year sandwich students.
Source:
Student Loans Company
The running costs per year of the Student Loans Company are shown in the table:
| Academic year | Running costs |
|---|---|
| 1990–91 | 13.0 |
| 1991–92 | 13.7 |
| 1992–93 | 13.6 |
| 1993–94 | 18.3 |
| 1994–95 | 19.7 |
| 1995–96 | 21.3 |
| 1996–97 | 22.9 |
| 1997–98 | 27.7 |
| 1998–99 | 36.5 |
| 1999–2000 | 48.6 |
Source:
SLC Annual Reports
| Academic year | Running costs |
|---|---|
| 1990–91 | 0 |
| 1991–92 | 1 |
| 1992–93 | 5 |
| 1993–94 | 11 |
| 1994–95 | 25 |
| 1995–96 | 52 |
| 1996–97 | 83 |
| 1997–98 | 129 |
| 1998–99 | 132 |
| 1999–2000 | 131 |
| 2000–01 | 178 |
The SLC received payments from borrowers and returns them to the three funding authorities (DfES, Students Awards Agency for Scotland and Department of Education and Learning in Northern Ireland).
Prior to devolution, repayments were shared on an apportionment basis, derived from estimated student numbers.
Since June 2000, repayments have been returned to each funding authority on the basis of the borrower's domicile.
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