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Higher Education

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have to consult students on higher education courses. [63936]

Margaret Hodge: Students' views are at the heart of the new arrangements for quality assurance in higher education, which will be introduced from September 2002. Students and graduates will be asked to rate their courses through a range of surveys and their views will be published. A national survey of graduates will be piloted in October 2002 and will be followed by full implementation in Autumn 2003.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of young people in each English county entered higher education in the latest year for which information is available; and if she will make a statement. [67106]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 8 July 2002]: The latest available information, showing the proportion of 18 year olds from each local education authority in England entering full-time undergraduate courses in the UK via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), is shown in the table.

Our programmes to raise standards in schools and colleges will have a major impact on increasing participation in HE. We have introduced the Excellence Challenge in Excellence in Cities areas and Education Action Zones, working with young people from the age of 13, which, together with the AimHigher campaign, will encourage more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to aspire to HE. We are also encouraging more Higher Education Institutions to introduce a range

16 Jul 2002 : Column 185W

of measures to enable more people to participate in higher education including part-time learning and access programmes for mature students.

Proportion of English domiciled students aged 18 accepted through Ucas to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK autumn 2001 entry

Local Education Authority (LEA)17 year old population in 200018 year olds accepted to HE in 2001Proportion entering Higher Education percentage
Barking and Dagenham2,02923111.4
Barnet3,8721,23431.9
Barnsley2,72343716.0
Bath and North East Somerset1,91347925.0
Bedfordshire4,7291,11923.7
Bexley2,67148818.3
Birmingham13,7652,44717.8
Blackburn with Darwen2,05936817.9
Blackpool1,73425414.6
Bolton3,44982624.0
Bournemouth1,56436323.2
Bracknell Forest1,43930521.2
Bradford6,7971,20917.8
Brent3,17797630.7
Brighton and Hove2,60237014.2
Bromley3,16398931.3
Buckinghamshire6,0171,82630.3
Bury2,33259725.6
Calderdale2,42451321.2
Cambridgeshire6,7111,46721.9
Camden1,92935918.6
Cheshire8,1792,49130.5
City of Bristol4,54179717.5
City of Derby2,85955819.5
City of Kingston upon Hull3,19735611.1
City of London3154175.9
City of Westminster2,03233016.2
Cornwall6,0121,30321.7
Coventry3,94276219.3
Croydon4,1251,03825.2
Cumbria5,9311,30522.0
Darlington1,25525920.6
Derbyshire8,6201,89121.9
Devon8,3231,71020.5
Doncaster3,88671118.3
Dorset4,7961,01721.2
Dudley3,73175320.2
Durham6,5401,19118.2
Ealing3,60999827.7
East Riding of Yorkshire381788323.1
East Sussex5,7691,18820.6
Enfield3,08887728.4
Essex15,4023,48322.6
Gateshead2,54143217.0
Gloucestershire7,0671,65623.4
Greenwich2,79740614.5
Hackney2,28631914.0
Halton1,79329316.3
Hammersmith and Fulham1,44429520.4
Hampshire15,8303,61722.8
Haringey2,39943218.0
Harrow2,7701,05938.2
Hartlepool1,22622418.3
Havering2,75852519.0
Herefordshire2,01550325.0
Hertfordshire12,4213,40127.4
Hillingdon2,92168623.5
Hounslow2,52164625.6
Isle of Wight1,49430120.2
Isles of Scilly181055.9
Islington1,84930216.3
Kensington and Chelsea1,66532019.2
Kent16,4313,62222.0
Kingston upon Thames1,60750731.5
Kirklees4,9731,05621.2
Knowsley2,37131913.5
Lambeth2,84844815.7
Lancashire14,8063,41823.1
Leeds8,6551,74320.1
Leicester City3,75882622.0
Leicestershire7,4661,84424.7
Lewisham2,82744215.6
Lincolnshire7,4871,70522.8
Liverpool5,8931,03217.5
Luton2,44742217.2
Manchester5,95571512.0
Medway Towns3,07960219.6
Merton1,99145622.9
Middlesbrough2,09840619.4
Milton Keynes2,82849917.6
Newbury2,13844821.0
Newcastle upon Tyne3,23975423.3
Newham3,42168820.1
Norfolk9,0441,62418.0
North East Lincolnshire2,12433916.0
North Lincolnshire1,99136318.2
North Somerset2,30353123.1
North Tyneside2,37441717.6
North Yorkshire7,3971,88225.4
Northamptonshire8,0301,72621.5
Northumberland4,09491622.4
Nottingham City3,42342412.4
Nottinghamshire9,2301,91320.7
Oldham3,00457019.0
Oxfordshire7,8891,73722.0
Peterborough2,17439618.2
Plymouth3,23253716.6
Poole1,63528917.7
Portsmouth2,17430614.1
Reading1,63734821.3
Redbridge2,96294431.9
Redcar and Cleveland1,82435319.4
Richmond upon Thames1,87860832.4
Rochdale2,94253718.3
Rotherham3,20456817.7
Rutland74611815.8
Salford2,80435912.8
Sandwell3,77259415.7
Sefton3,7081,02827.7
Sheffield5,77598117.0
Shropshire3,70689224.1
Slough1,38834124.6
Solihull2,54575729.7
Somerset6,3131,34921.4
South Gloucestershire2,75849718.0
South Tyneside1,95933617.2
Southampton2,39739516.5
Southend1,90035018.4
Southwark2,44836214.8
St Helens2,30450321.8
Staffordshire10,2822,45923.9
Stockport3,63391925.3
Stockton-on-Tees2,49553421.4
Stoke on Trent3,11950216.1
Suffolk8,0061,67921.0
Sunderland3,90561715.8
Surrey12,9793,61827.9
Sutton2,01155827.7
Swindon2,19931514.3
Tameside2,82340714.4
Telford and the Wrekin2,14839918.6
Thurrock1,57416810.7
Torbay1,48927818.7
Tower Hamlets2,52236714.6
Trafford2,85771024.9
Wakefield3,97474918.8
Walsall3,45462418.1
Waltham Forest2,48552221.0
Wandsworth2,10050123.9
Warrington2,40457323.8
Warwickshire6,3111,55324.6
West Sussex8,6581,91022.1
Wigan3,83666117.2
Wiltshire5,4261,28323.6
Windsor and Maidenhead1,87646424.7
Wirral4,2841,09925.7
Wokingham1,98664032.2
Wolverhampton3,20068221.3
Worcestershire6,7351,54923.0
York2,16153324.7
Known total610,936131,25421.5
Unknown68
Total610,936131,32221.5

Sources:

Office of National Statistics (ONS), Government Actuary Department (GAD),

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service(UCAS)


16 Jul 2002 : Column 187W

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) courses and (b) chairs in British universities are funded by the EU; and what process ensures the academic rigour and impartiality of these arrangements. [68648]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 9 July 2002]: The European Commission co-funds, with Universities, courses and academic posts in relevant subjects via its Jean Monnet project. The project did not operate last academic year, but according to the Commission website, this programme contributed funding towards 94 academic posts and 209 course modules in UK universities in the year 2000. There will be another round of the project this year. The posts supported are referred to by the Commission as 'Chairs' but are not always professorships. Academic institutions make their own appointments, which are then subject to approval by the Commission. Further information about the Jean Monnet project and the activities it supports can be found on the European Commission website www.europa.eu.in/ comm/education

In addition to this source, UK universities and research institutions derive significant amounts of funding from the European Union's Framework Programmes for Scientific research. The Government do not however hold any figures on how many courses are being funded as a result of successful UK applications made under the Improving Human Potential Programme in this Programme.

The quality and standards of all the programmes and awards delivered by UK higher education institutions are encompassed within the quality assurance arrangements of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). University Chairs are institutional appointments and as such, standards are a matter for institutions in respect of their own recruitment policies.


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