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School Science Statistics
30. Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the numbers of (a) girls and (b) boys taking science subjects at A and AS-level in each of the last five years. [23864]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number of girls and boys that took science subjects at A and AS level in each of the last five years was as follows:
| 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Level (legacy) | |||||
| Girls | 53,975 | 55,768 | 55,102 | 54,568 | 51,826 |
| Boys | 65,588 | 65,845 | 62,951 | 60,053 | 57,054 |
| Advanced Supplementary (legacy) | |||||
| Girls | 3,508 | 3,360 | 3,465 | 3,598 | 1,973 |
| Boys | 3,799 | 3,939 | 4,011 | 3,748 | 1,989 |
| Advanced Subsidiary (new)—2000–01 | |||||
| Girls | 57,780 | — | — | — | — |
| Boys | 61,917 | — | — | — | — |
ICT
31. Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress is being made to equip schools with resources in information and communications technology. [23865]
John Healey: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Tony Cunningham) on 10 January 2002, Official Report, column 657.
Parenting Orders
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parenting orders have been sought by schools based in the Buckingham constituency. [23731]
Mr. Denham: I have been asked to reply.
We understand from the Youth Justice Board that between October 2000 and June 2001, 10 parenting orders were sought and granted in Buckinghamshire following convictions of adults for failing to send children to school.
Student Domicile Statistics
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the trends in the numbers of students domiciled in (a) Scotland who attend English universities and (b) England who attend Scottish universities, in the last five years. [23844]
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Margaret Hodge: In the five years to 2000–01 the number of full-time Scottish undergraduate students in England rose from 5,277 to 5,834 while numbers of full-time English undergraduates in Scotland fell from 16,336 to 14,723. However, UCAS entry figures for 2001–02 suggest these trends have changed with decline of full-time Scottish students in England of about three per cent. and an increase in full-time English students in Scotland of about five per cent.
Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement about teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention in London. [23855]
Mr. Timms: Information on the number of teacher vacancies in local education authorities is collected once a year in January as part of the annual census of teachers and vacancies. In January 2001, the vacancy rate for London was 3.5 per cent. compared with 1.4 per cent. nationally. We are aware of the particular problems in London and are making considerable efforts to address them. In 2001 the Government made nearly £20 million available to London LEAs through its recruitment and retention fund. This amounted to more than half the total national funding. In 2002 we will increase that funding in London to £22 million. In addition we have increased pay for all teachers above the rate of inflation for the third successive year. London allowances have been raised by 30 per cent. so that teachers in inner London now receive a starting salary of £20,000.
Threshold Allowance Awards
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many teachers received backdated threshold pay before 1 April 2001, broken down by local authority; A [25844]
- (2) how many teachers received backdated threshold pay after 1 April 2001; A [25845]
(3) what assessment she has made of the number of teachers who paid higher rates of tax as a result of their backdated pay being paid after 1 April 2001. A [25846]
10 Jan 2002 : Column: 956W
Mr. Timms: The information requested has not been collected centrally and could be gathered only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 259W, on what evidence she based her answer on the numbers of teachers having to pay higher rates of tax; and how this is reconciled with her answer of 30 November 2001, Official Report, column 1213W, on threshold allowance awards. [25861]
Mr. Timms: To pay higher rate tax as a result of receiving threshold back pay from 2000–0l in the current financial year a teacher would have to earn at least £32,768 this year before any threshold back pay was added. Estimates derived from the teachers' pensions scheme indicate that a substantial majority of teachers who have crossed the threshold are not paid as much as this. So even though we do not have detailed information about when they were paid, we can nevertheless say that most post-threshold teachers would not pay higher rate tax even if they received threshold back pay this year.
Faith Schools
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attended faith schools in (a) 1995, (b) 1996, (c) 1997, (d) 1998, (e) 1999 and (f) 2000. [19199]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 29 November 2001]: The available information is shown in the following table.
| 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | ||
| Number of pupils in non-religious schools | 3,199,355 | 3,173,926 |
| Number of pupils in faith schools | 1,235,991 | 1,232,289 |
| Secondary | ||
| Number of pupils in non-religious schools | 2,694,103 | 2,736,891 |
| Number of pupils in faith schools | 487,710 | 494,936 |
(1) Headcount of pupils
Source:
Annual Schools' Census and Register of Educational Establishments
No directly comparable data are available for 1995 to 1999.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Pakistan
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with President Musharraf on the situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [23714]
Mr. Bradshaw: During his visit to Pakistan on 22–23 November, the Secretary of State discussed the situation in Afghanistan with President Musharraf. The Secretary of State expressed our continuing appreciation for President Musharraf's courageous decision to support the fight against terrorism and the practical assistance that Pakistan has provided. The Secretary of State also discussed the situation in Pakistan and sought President Musharraf's advice on how best to achieve our shared objective of a broad-based multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan.
David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what encouragement he has given to President Musharraf to return Pakistan to democracy during 2002. [25431]
Mr. Bradshaw: Both my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary encouraged President Musharraf to return Pakistan to democracy during their recent visits to Pakistan. We welcome President Musharraf's public reiteration of his commitment to stick to his roadmap to democracy and hold national and provincial elections by October 2002.
Older People
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, "Winning the Generation Game", (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set. [24200]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 19 December 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 335W.
Indonesia
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Indonesian Government on the protection of Christians; and if he will make a statement. [24418]
Mr. Bradshaw: We take every opportunity, including with our EU partners, to urge states to foster tolerance and mutual respect and to protect religious minorities. In the case of Indonesia, we raised our concerns about violence in Maluku and Sulawesi most recently on 29 November when the British Chargé d'Affaires in Jakarta called on Manuel Kaisiepo, the Minister for Eastern Indonesia. I myself raised the issue with Vice-President Haz when I met him in August.
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The Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged more than £4 million to help establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. The unit will build up capacity in conflict reduction and recovery in the provinces torn apart by ethnic conflict, particularly north Maluku. The British Government have also recently funded a series of Conflict Reporting training workshops for journalists in various provinces in Indonesia, including north Maluku and Sulawesi. We will continue to work with the Indonesian authorities and UNDP to promote reconciliation, begin wider reconstruction work and to offer practical assistance where we can.
Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the treatment of Christians in Indonesia. [25730]
Mr. Bradshaw: There are a number of regional conflicts in Indonesia with a religious dimension. Their origins are complex. The UK's message to the Indonesian Government has been consistently clear: a long-term solution can be achieved only through political dialogue and consultation with the people.
The Department for International Development has pledged more than £4 million to help establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. The Unit will build up capacity in conflict reduction and recovery in the provinces torn apart by ethnic conflict. The British Government have also recently funded a series of Conflict Reporting training workshops in various provinces in Indonesia. We will continue to work with the Indonesian authorities and UNDP to promote reconciliation and offer practical assistance where we can.
We will continue to monitor cases of inter-communal violence closely and raise our concerns with the Indonesian Government at every appropriate opportunity. I myself raised the issue with Vice President Haz when I met him in Jakarta in August.
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