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2 Dec 2002 : Column 562W—continued

Secondments

Mr. Andrew Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) head teachers, (b) other school teachers, (c) other school staff and (d) other local education authority staff are seconded to his Department (i) full time and (ii) part time at the most recent date for which information is available. [81957]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested, to 31 October 2002, is set out in the table:

Secondments to DfES at 31 October 2002

	Head teachers	Other school teachers	Other school staff	Other local education authority staff
Full time	2	—	1	43
Part time	—	—	—	5
Total	2	—	1	48

Section 91 Agreements

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will review the decision to abolish Section 91 agreements; and if he will make a statement; [84245]

(2) how many Jewish schools have Section 91 agreements with their LEAs: what representations he has received on behalf of Jewish denominational schools in respect of the abolition of Section 91 agreements; and if he will make statement. [84246]

Mr. Miliband: The repeal of Section 91 came into force on 1 October. This will enable pupils to access maintained school places which were previously left unfilled. We do not know how many schools have section 91 arrangements, as my Department does not keep records of these local agreements. However, 10 Jewish schools and the Agency for Jewish Education have written to the Department in support of retaining section 91 arrangements. My Department has made

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enquiries of these schools' maintaining LEAs and has found that only one of these schools has such an arrangement.

Student Finance

Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of debt incurred in the course of doing a university degree as a proportion of lifetime income, as an average for graduates. [82775]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 25 November 2002]: Information on student loan accounts is held by the Student Loans Company, and relates to publicly owned debt or to debts held in the private sector following the two Government debt sales. Information on students' private sector debt such as overdrafts and other commercial loans is not available centrally.

The second cohort of students on a three-year degree course who entered higher education under the new student support arrangements are due to enter repayment in April 2003. The average debt of a borrower with a new income contingent loan entering repayment in that year is estimated to be some £7,380. This includes borrowers who have completed three years of study from 1998 as well as those on shorter courses or who have left higher education early.

The figure provided is very small when compared to the estimated average lifetime earnings of graduates whose highest qualification is a first degree, which is, undiscounted, around £1,075,000. All of these figures relate to Great Britain.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive regarding his Department's inquiry into funding for students in higher education. [82417]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 25 November 2002]: My right hon. Friend holds regular discussions with my Scottish counterpart on a range of issues of mutual interest. I have also spoken with the hon. Gentlemen regarding higher education issues.

Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the level of funding required if university grants had been maintained at their final level in (a) real terms and (b) actual terms in (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–2000, (iii) 2000–01, (iv) 2001–02 and (v) 2002–03, broken down for students originating in (A) England and (B) Wales. [83011]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 25 November 2002]: Under the XMandatory Awards" scheme in operation up to academic year 1997–98 students received two forms of grant:

(i) an award for maintenance, and


(ii) an award paid by LEAs to Higher Education Institutions towards tuition fee costs.

Tables 1 and 2 show the estimated funding required for LEA expenditure on awards for fees and maintenance in real and cash terms for each of the financial years 1998–99 to 2002–03, assuming that the grants available in 1997–98 had continued thereafter.

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Table 1: Estimated Grant Funding in real⁽¹⁷⁾terms£m

Year	England	Wales	Total
1998–99	1,815	11	1,926
1999–2000	1,812	111	1,922
2000–01	1,795	114	1,909
2001–02	1,823	115	1,935
2002–03	1,841	116	1,957

⁽¹⁷⁾ Figures have been converted to 1998–99 price levels using the September 2002 GDP deflators.

Note:

Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Table 2: Estimated Grant Funding in cash terms£m

Year	England	Wales	Total
1998–99	1,815	111	1,926
1999–2000	1,855	114	1,969
2000–01	1,880	119	1,998
2001–02	1,950	123	2,073
2002–03	2,018	128	2,145

Note:

Figures may not sum due to rounding

These are approximate estimates derived by applying the grant arrangements in 1997–98 to numbers of England and Welsh students for the academic years 1998–99 to 2002–03. Costs for English and Welsh students have been pro-rated on the basis of numbers of students from each country.

Tables 3 and 4 shows the award payments for fees and maintenance made by LEAs in real and cash terms under the XMandatory Awards" scheme for each of the financial years 1998–99 to 2002–03.

Table 3: Outturn Grant Payments in real⁽¹⁸⁾ terms£m

Year	England	Wales	Total
1998–99	1,491	91	1,582
1999–2000	672	41	713
2000–01	268	71	8
2001–02	71	4	75
2002–03	8	1	9

⁽¹⁸⁾ Figures have been converted to 1998–99 price levels using the September 2002 GDP deflators.

Note:

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding

2. Figures for England and Wales have been estimated.

3. 2000–01 outturn is provisional.

Table 4: Outturn Grant Payments (cash terms)£m

Year	England	Wales	Total
1998–99	1,491	91	1,582
1999–2000	688	42	730
2000–01	281	18	298
2001–02	76	5	80
2002–03	9	1	9

Note:

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. Figures for England and Wales have been estimated.

3. 2000–01 outturn is provisional

Costs for English and Welsh students have been pro-rated on the basis of numbers of students from each country.

2 Dec 2002 : Column 565W

In addition, students also receive a subsidised loan towards living costs.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking to minimise overpayment of student loans under the Inland Revenue collection arrangements. [83940]

Margaret Hodge: The Student Loans Company (SLC) has this month introduced a special service for borrowers who have nearly completed repayment of their income-contingent loans. Based on a projection of earnings from the borrower, the SLC will tell the Inland Revenue when repayments should stop being collected. This Xself-predictor" model is designed to prevent employers collecting too much and the borrower having to obtain a refund.

My officials are also working with the SLC on more advanced web-based approaches as part of our programme to modernise the delivery of student support.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he is taking in conjunction with the Student Loans Company to improve availability of information on the amount of outstanding loan liabilities for individual graduates. [83941]

Margaret Hodge: Borrowers under the pre-1998–99 scheme of mortgage style loans receive annual statements from the Student Loans Company (SLC) showing what has been repaid and the outstanding balance owed. Borrowers can call or write to the SLC at any time, and be given an up to date statement.

For most borrowers under the current income-contingent loans scheme, repayments will be collected by their employers through deductions from their earnings, with tax and national insurance contributions. These borrowers receive a statement from the SLC after the end of the tax year, once it has received details of what has been collected by the Inland Revenue.

As well as the yearly statement, borrowers' payslips contain details of their repayments. If a borrower contacts the SLC, it can provide an estimate of the amounts repaid and what is outstanding using the information on the borrower's payslips. Borrowers can contact the SLC over the phone for this information.

The SLC has this month introduced a service for borrowers under the income-contingent loan scheme who have nearly completed repayment of their loan. Based on a projection of earnings from the borrower, the company will tell the Inland Revenue when repayments should stop being collected. This is designed to prevent employers collecting too much and the borrower having to obtain a refund.

Self-employed borrowers receive their statements after making their self-assessment return to the Inland Revenue.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will pay interest on repayments in cases where individual graduates have overpaid their student loan liabilities. [83942]

Margaret Hodge: Borrowers who have overpaid their student loans, through deductions from their salaries, are entitled to a full refund of the amount overpaid with

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interest. The interest is paid at the same rate as it is charged on the loan—at the rate of inflation—and is tax free.

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