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Student Support
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support will be available to students in England and Wales in the academic year 2002–03. [23910]
Margaret Hodge: The level of support available to students in 2002–03 will be 2.4 per cent. higher than for 2001–02, in line with forecast price increases. I am today placing a Memorandum in the Library giving details of the new loan, grant and fee rates for 2002–03. These rates will be incorporated in the Education (Student Support) Regulations, which cover support for eligible students under the current arrangements, and in the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations and Education (Student Loans) Amendment Regulations, which cover the small number of students who are still eligible for support under the previous arrangements. These regulations will all be laid before Parliament in due course.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish information by family income bands showing the average contributions of parents to the student support and tuition fee costs of one student (a) before 1997 and (b) in 2000. [22794]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 13 December 2001]: The following table shows for 1996–97 and 2000–01 the assessed parental contributions for dependant students normally resident in England and Wales at illustrative levels of income. The maximum assessed contribution will depend on the level of support available to the student. This will depend on whether the student is living in the parental home or, if living away from home, if they live in London or elsewhere. In addition it will depend on whether they are entitled to any of the additional allowances. For illustrative purposes the table shows the assessed contributions for a single student eligible for the basic rate of support for students living away from home outside London.
In 2001–02 there were a number of changes to the calculation of assessed contribution including a significant rise in the lower income threshold. The table therefore includes the assessed contributions for this year also.
(21) Assessed contributions are based on parents' 'residual income'. This is based on gross income, for income tax purposes less a number of allowances.
(22) The assessed contribution shown is the initial assessment. This assessment will be reduced if the parents have other dependent children.
(23) In 1996–97 for residual incomes below £16,050 no contribution was assessed.
(24) In 2000–01 for residual incomes below £17,705 no contribution was assessed.
(25) In 2001–02 for residual incomes below £20,000 no contribution is assessed.
(26) Above this point additional contributions would be required if a student was eligible for a higher rate of support, was eligible for additional allowances or the parent had more than one child in higher education.
(27) Above this point additional contributions would be required if a student was eligible for a higher rate of support, was eligible for additional allowances or the parent had more than one child in higher education.
(28) Above this point additional contributions would be required if a student was eligible for a higher rate of support, was eligible for additional allowances or the parent had more than one child in higher education.
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Teachers' Earnings (Inner London)
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information her Department has on the movement in earnings for teachers in inner London in each of the last three years, broken down into (a) earnings for (i) female and (ii) male teachers and (b) teachers in (A) primary and (B) secondary schools; and how these movements compare with (1) London as a whole and (2) England as a whole. [12994]
Mr. Timms: Average salaries of full-time regular teachers in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000 (the last year for which data are available) were as follows 2 9 , 3 0 :
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3 0 All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Further Education Funding Council
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the total cost of administration of the former Further Education Funding Council in each of the last three financial years. [13337]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 19 November 2001]: Total FEFC cost of administration (taken from the FEFC published accounts) was £23.3 million in 1998–99 and £25.5 million in 1999–2000. Final FEFC accounts for 2000–01 are not yet available.
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Also, we estimate that in total TECs spent in the order of £240-£250 million on administration of the activities that have now passed to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
As well as the activities previously carried out by the FEFC and TECs, the LSC has also taken on additional activities such as greater involvement and intervention at local level to raise Basic Skills, and managing a 9 per cent. real terms increase in the overall programme budget allocated to post-16 education and training compared to plans for 2000–01. It takes on further responsibilities in 2002–03 such as the funding of school VI forms and local decisions about the allocation of funds on key youth and adult learning programmes.
In the light of these responsibilities, and the different VAT regime to which the LSC is subject compared to TECs, the Secretary of State has agreed a revised LSC administration budget of £213 million in 2001–02 and £218 million in 2002–03.
This is significantly lower than the £270-£280 million estimated in total to have been spent by its predecessors, and delivers the commitment given to Parliament during the passage of the Learning and Skills Act that there would be administrative savings of at least £50 million compared to previous arrangements.
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