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24 Feb 2003 : Column 153W—continued
Further and Higher Education Colleges
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the colleges of further and higher education in England and Wales indicating the (a) capacity limit figures for each college and (b) actual numbers of (i) full-time and (ii) part-time students for each academic year since 1997–98. [96658]
Margaret Hodge: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) does not collect capacity information in this form.
The LSC publication 'Summary Statistics' available on the LSC website (http://www.lscdata.gov.uk/data/summarystatistics.html) provides student numbers in further education colleges in England for the most recent year 1999–2000. Prior to the LSC, the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) published 'Performance Indicators' which provides student numbers in further education colleges in England for the years 1997–98 and 1998–99, this information is also available on the LSC website (http://www.lscdata.gov.uk/data/performanceindicators.html).
Further Education Colleges
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase the quality of tuition in further education colleges. [95897]
Margaret Hodge: A new Standards Unit within DfES was established in January 2003 to drive the Government's strategy for reforming further education and training—'Success for AH'. The Unit will identify, develop and disseminate good practice to improve teaching standards in priority curriculum areas and develop associated teacher training and support. The Unit will also improve standards of teaching and learning and will improve further education teacher training, recruitment and retention and establish a new leadership college for the sector.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to improve (a) teaching standards and (b) results in further education colleges. [95961]
Margaret Hodge: Our comprehensive invest and reform strategy for further education and training "Success for All" was published on 19 November. "Success for All" will dramatically improve teaching standards and results in colleges.
We will invest an additional £1.2 billion in colleges over the next three years. The Learning and Skills Council will undertake Strategic Area Reviews to improve the effectiveness of the network of post-16
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provision and will introduce three year funding agreements for colleges based on tough new results targets.
A new Standards Unit within the Department for Education and Skills was set up in January 2003. The Standards Unit will improve standards of teaching and learning and will improve further education teacher training, recruitment and retention and establish a new Leadership College for the sector.
Government Offices for the Regions
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funds his Department has allocated to the Government Offices for the Regions in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06, (i) in cash terms and (ii) on a full resource budgeting basis. [96282]
Mr. Charles Clarke: In 2003–04 my Department has allocated £16.8 million to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister towards the funding of Government Offices. For 2004–05 and 2005–06 the funding for Government Offices is included in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's 2002 Spending Review settlement.
I have also agreed to provide an additional £1.4 million in 2003–04, £1.5 million in 2004–05, and £1.7 million in 2005–06 from my Department's 2002 Spending Review settlement, towards the central costs of the Regional Coordination Unit and Government Offices.
These figures are on a resource accounting basis; budgets are no longer allocated on a cash basis.
Graduate Debt
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he is taking to reduce the burden of debt on graduates. [97413]
Margaret Hodge: The Government will continue to meet the costs of fees up to £1,100 for those students whose family income falls below £20,000, and a proportion of that for those whose family income is between £20,000 and £30,000. In addition, from 2004, we are introducing new grants of £1,000 a year, which we intend to go in full to around 30 per cent. of students.
From 2006, under the new Graduate Contribution Scheme, no student or parent will have to pay any fees up-front: students will make repayments after they graduate, and only once they are earning above a certain level. Moreover, from 2005 we are raising the repayment threshold from £10,000 to £15,000. That means that the burden of repayments will be eased, by £450 a year. Graduates will have the option of making extra payments, if they wish to pay off their debt more quickly.
Graduate Earnings
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average gross earnings per year of students (a) immediately following graduation, (b) five years after graduation, (c) 10 years after graduation,
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(d) 20 years after graduation and (e) 25 years after graduation for each university and higher education institution. [94701]
Margaret Hodge: Information on annual graduate earnings over a lifetime is not available in the requested format, and estimated lifetime profiles at particular points in time are constrained by limitations of existing datasets.
Annual earnings by age are estimated using gross weekly earnings from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Estimating annual from weekly earnings is not ideal but the LFS allows us to provide the best available estimate of annual earnings by qualification. Earnings at particular ages are the best proxy we have of what young graduates might earn after various periods in the labour market, assuming that labour market conditions remain stable over time. The estimates should therefore be treated with caution. The table shows the estimated annual average earnings of graduates at various ages. The figures relate to graduates whose highest qualification is a first degree.
| Age band | Estimated annual earnings (£) |
|---|---|
| 21–24 | 18,200 |
| 25–29 | 24,440 |
| 30–39 | 33,280 |
| 40–49 | 36,400 |
| 50–59 | 34,320 |
Notes:
1. Estimates are based on gross weekly earnings in main job, for graduates who are in full-time employment.
2. Annual earnings are derived by multiplying weekly earnings, rounded to the nearest £10, by 52 weeks, and may therefore be upwardly biased.
3. A few individuals who graduated at the age of 20 will be included in the 21–24 age band.
Source:
Labour Force Survey, spring 2002, GB
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the relative distribution of the earnings of graduates is, broken down into multiples of £5,000. [94785]
Margaret Hodge: The information is not available directly in the requested format so has been estimated from available data. Annual earnings are estimated using gross weekly earnings from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Estimating annual from weekly earnings is not ideal but the LFS allows us to provide the best available estimate of annual earnings by qualification. The derived distribution of annual earnings should therefore be treated with caution. The table shows the distribution of estimated annual earnings for all individuals whose highest qualification is a first-degree.
Note:
Estimates are based on gross weekly earnings in main job, for graduates who are in full-time
The figures are derived from the distribution of weekly equivalent earnings associated with the annual earnings bands, on the assumption that individuals work 52 weeks per year.
Source:
Labour Force Survey, Spring 2002, GB
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Greater London Assembly
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial assistance his Department gave to the Greater London Assembly in 2002; and for what projects. [95852]
Mr. Charles Clarke: No financial assistance was given directly to the London Assembly by central government departments in 2002–03.
The London Assembly is part of the Greater London Authority. It is responsible for scrutinising and reviewing the Mayor's exercise of his statutory functions. It has particular power to investigate, and prepare reports on actions and decisions taken by the Mayor or any member of the Greater London Authority. The London Assembly's specific costs are part of the overall Greater London Authority budget which is proposed each year by the mayor and is subject to the Assembly's agreement.
The GLA grants from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2002/03 as reported on the RA02 form are as follows:
- Revenue Support Grant £659.641 million
- Redistributed Non-Domestic Rate £267.654 million
- General GLA Grant £27.950 million
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