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Vocational Education
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to upgrade the standards and status of vocational education. [21813]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The White Paper "Schools: achieving success" sets out our plans to make available high quality vocational options to all students from the age of 14, which are widely recognised and offer the opportunity of entry to higher education. We have introduced vocational A levels, are reforming and extending modern apprenticeships and are introducing foundation degrees. The new GCSEs in vocational subjects to be available from September 2002 will provide a qualification of the same standard as academic GCSEs. A forthcoming consultation paper on the 14–19 education phase will address how best to break down the traditional prejudice against vocational education, and to enable more students to pursue vocational options.
Education Maintenance Allowances
Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the findings of the pilot areas for education maintenance allowances; and when the scheme will be extended to the rest of the country. [22179]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) pilots are subject to a rigorous three- year evaluation study.
Early findings from the evaluation show that EMA appears to have raised participation in education. The statistical analysis estimates an average gain in participation in pilot areas compared to control areas, among EMA eligible young people, of around 5 percentage points. These findings were published in March this year.
Although we do not yet have figures on attainment, the qualitative aspect of the evaluation has found some evidence of a positive effect on young people's commitment to study, and their performance.
However, although these first findings are encouraging, it is important that we do not make any decisions on the future of EMAs until we have received further evaluation evidence.
University Teaching
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) improve the standard of teaching in universities. [22285]
Margaret Hodge: We are working closely with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) to ensure that revised systems are put in place to monitor and improve teaching quality which are not unnecessarily bureaucratic and costly. Proposals are currently out for consultation and we will look closely at the outcome of that process. In addition, we have requested that HEFCE produces, by July 2002, a strategic plan for enhancing teaching quality.
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Homework Clubs (Portsmouth)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in the promotion of homework clubs in schools in Portsmouth; and if she will make a statement. [22439]
Mr. Timms: We are committed to providing opportunities for young people to enrich their learning through out-of-school-hours activities. "Extending Opportunity: a national framework for study support", published in 1998, set out the contribution homework clubs can make to a school's wider programme of out-of-school-hours learning activities.
We also published Homework Guidelines, which require school homework policies to refer to any opportunities that exist for pupils to do homework, under supervision, at places other than home. In addition to school homework clubs, these may also include libraries and community centres. The homework area on the Department's Standards website supplements the guidelines with examples of good practice and case studies which teachers, governors, parents and pupils can access.
Within that framework, the promotion of homework clubs in specific parts of the country is a matter for individual local authorities and schools.
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list each college of further education subject to a recovery plan, together with the allocation to each college from the Learning and Skills Council standards fund; and if she will make a statement. [19618]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 10 December 2001]: Information about colleges that are subject to a recovery plan is commercially sensitive and confidential between the individual colleges and the LSC. We are unable to release this information as it may adversely affect individual colleges' ability to attract new, non-government funded, business and may also adversely affect the colleges' ability to attract new learners. This would increase problems at the individual college. Not supplying this sensitive information is in accordance with Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list (a) the criteria used for categorising the financial health of further education colleges and (b) the number of colleges, in each of the last five financial years, in each of the categories; and if she will indicate which existing colleges are in category C. [19909]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 10 December 2001]: The financial health of further education colleges is assessed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) as falling into one of three categories:
Group A comprises providers that appear to have sufficiently robust finances to implement their strategic plan and to deal with the circumstances most likely to occur during the planning period.
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Group B comprises providers that show signs of financial weakness that might limit their ability to implement their strategic plan if they encounter adverse circumstances during the planning period.
Group C comprises providers that are financially weak and that are, or may become, dependent on the goodwill of others. This might involve, for example, a loan from their bank for solvency purposes.
The number of colleges in each of the categories in each of the last five years is as follows:
| Year(30) | Group A | Group B | Group C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 206 | 148 | 93 |
| 1997 | 197 | 151 | 96 |
| 1998 | 213 | 142 | 80 |
| 1999 | 242 | 124 | 65 |
| 2000 | 242 | 102 | 69 |
(30) Source:
Colleges' audited financial statements
Information about colleges in category C is commercially sensitive and is confidential between the LSC and colleges. We are unable to supply the information as doing so may adversely affect individual colleges' ability to attract new, non-government funded, business and may also adversely affect the colleges' ability to attract new learners. This would increase the financial pressure on the colleges. Not supplying this sensitive information is also in accordance with Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Education Standard Spending Assessment
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for each of the years 1997–98 to 2001–02 (a) the name of each local education authority where education SSA increases have not been passported, (b) the total amount of education budget and (c) the total amount of education SSA and the surplus order deficit over education SSA. [22371]
Mr. Timms: Tables 1 to 3 list those local education authorities which did not passport in the years 1999–2000 to 2001–02, together with their total education budget, their education SSA, and the spend above or below SSA. Passporting is defined by whether an authority passed on to the education budget the year on year increase in education SSA, rather than by the relationship between budget and SSA. However, it is not possible to assess whether passporting took place simply from an analysis of budget and SSA figures, since in assessing passporting adjustments were made for items such as Capital Expenditure from the Revenue Account (CERA), one-off payments, and the ceiling on grant increases in 2001–02. There were no passporting exercises in 1997–98 and 1998–99.
Note:
Education budget is taken from Local Authorities' Revenue Account returns. Non-passporting authorities are those which were published in the LEA comparative expenditure tables in June 1999.
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| LEA | Education budget | Education SSA | Surplus or deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwark | 132.620 | 130.405 | 2.216 |
| Barnet | 144.869 | 143.030 | 1.838 |
| Brent | 122.579 | 129.463 | -6.884 |
| Redbridge | 123.490 | 125.904 | -2.414 |
| Salford | 100.503 | 98.773 | 1.730 |
| North Somerset | 72.244 | 70.855 | 1.389 |
| Somerset | 191.534 | 186.168 | 5.365 |
Note:
Education budget is total education revenue expenditure recorded at line 5 on local education authorities' section 52 budget statements for 2000–01, less income from grants recorded at line 6. Non-passporting authorities are those which were published in the LEA comparative expenditure tables in June 2000.
| LEA | Education budget | Education SSA | Surplus or deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent | 126.841 | 135.195 | -8.354 |
| Harrow | 91.492 | 90.818 | 0.674 |
| Wolverhampton | 125.771 | 120.747 | 5.024 |
| City of Bristol | 161.303 | 145.611 | 15.691 |
| North Somerset | 74.582 | 74.508 | 0.073 |
| York | 68.251 | 66.287 | 1.965 |
| Swindon | 80.047 | 80.046 | 0.001 |
| Northumberland | 141.303 | 139.663 | 1.640 |
Note:
Education budget is total education revenue expenditure recorded at line 5 on local education authorities' section 52 budget statements for 2000–01, less income from grants recorded at lines 6a and 6b. Non-passporting authorities are those which were published in the LEA comparative expenditure tables in June 2001.
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