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24 Feb 2003 : Column 160W—continued
Higher Education (Student Costs)
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the average cost per student place in higher education for each university and higher education institution for (a) undergraduate students and (b) post-graduate students in each year since 1980. [94707]
Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not held centrally. The Government allocates funding for higher education in England to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The HEFCE provide teaching grants on the basis that similar courses are funded at similar rates irrespective of the institution providing the education. The detailed allocations are calculated according to the numbers and types of students in the institutions, and the courses they are taking. Different courses are weighted at different levels to reflect, for example, the higher costs of providing laboratory-based and medical courses. There are also adjustments made to the calculations to reflect London weighting, the additional costs of teaching students from disadvantaged backgrounds and mature and part-time students. Average funding per student in institutions will therefore reflect these weightings and adjustments.
Funding for post-graduate research students is also provided through the HEFCE's research funding allocation. The Council allocate funding for research selectively to institutions according to their relative strength in research as measured through the periodic Research Assessment Exercise. The amount of research funding therefore varies widely between institutions.
Institutions receive their teaching and research funding as a block grant and are able to decide how it should be spent.
Hull University
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students at Hull University he estimates will be eligible for maintenance grant under "The Future of Higher Education White Paper." [94306]
Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
We have not made estimates of the proportion of students who will be eligible for the higher education grant at individual universities. That proportion will depend on the background of applicants to each university. Our intention is that nationally around 30 per cent. of students will benefit from the full grant.
Judicial Review
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which decisions by his Department were challenged by judicial review in each session since 1997; and in how many cases the (a) Department's decision was upheld by the court, (b) court found for the applicant, (c) Department submitted to the judgment and (d) Department appealed successfully against the decision. [96664]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is contained in a table, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.
Key Stage 3
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many schools in Key Stage 3 pilot local authorities administered the new Year 7 progress tests in English and mathematics that were trialled in 2002; [97765]
- (2) what percentage of Year 7 pupils who had achieved level 3 at Key Stage 2 in 2001 achieved level 4 or above in the English and mathematics Year 7 progress tests that were trialled in 2002; [97766]
(3) how many pupils took the new Year 7 progress tests in (a) English and (b) mathematics that were trialled in 2002; [97767]
(4) what was the cost of (a) developing, (b) printing and distributing and (c) marking the Year 7 progress tests in English and mathematics that were trialled in 2002. [97768]
Mr. Miliband: There were 58 schools in Key Stage 3 pilot local authorities who administered the new Year 7 progress tests in English and mathematics that were trialled in 2002.
Level thresholds are not set at this stage of test development. Schools who took part in the trial have only been given an indication of the levels achieved by their pupils. The final level thresholds will not be set for the new progress tests until August 2003.
The trial of the 2003 tests that took place in 2002 was based on 52 schools for mathematics producing an entry of approximately 2400 pupils and 44 schools in English producing an entry of approximately 2100 pupils.
The overall cost of the 2002 trial of the 2003 year 7 progress tests was 21600. These costs include:
- Project Management costs of £8950
- Printing Costs of £2500
- Packaging and distribution costs of 2750
- Marking costs of £7400
Development costs are not included as the tests trialled in 2002 did not have a separate or discrete development that can be costed. The costs are therefore part of the overall development costs for the 2003 Year 7 progress tests.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils attained (a) Level 5 and above and (b) Level 6 and above in Key Stage 3 Science in each year from 1999–2001. [97157]
Mr. Miliband: The percentage of pupils who achieved (a) level 5 or above and (b) level 6 or above in Key Stage 3 science in each year from 1999–2001 is shown in the table.
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| Key Stage 3 science test | Key Stage 3 scienceteacher assessment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Level 5 or above | (b) Level 6 or above | (a) Level 5 or above | (b) Level 6 or above | |
| 1999 | 55 | 24 | 60 | 29 |
| 2000 | 59 | 29 | 62 | 30 |
| 2001 | 66 | 34 | 64 | 32 |
Note:
Figures cover all schools in England.
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the work of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. [97088]
Margaret Hodge: The Secretary of State has made no assessment of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which is not designated to receive funding directly from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. However, the Institute is exploring whether it can be so designated. To this end the Funding Council and the Quality Assurance Agency are working with the Institute to assess its progress towards meeting the criteria for direct funding.
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many times since 2001 he has taken flights on departmental duties in the UK; how many of these were (a) charter flights, (b) first or club class and (c) by helicopter; and who accompanied him on each trip. [95396]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I have taken one flight to Manchester, one flight to Norwich and a flight to Glasgow; all of these were commercial flights. I was accompanied on the flights to Manchester and Glasgow by one official. My predecessor Estelle Morris did not take any flights in the UK.
All travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers which are available in the Libraries of the House.
National Curriculum (Support Staff)
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of support staff in National Curriculum teaching. [97153]
Mr Miliband: The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) published an evaluation report in April 2002 on the quality and impact of the work of teaching assistants in primary schools. The report reinforced the Government's view that well-trained and well-managed teaching assistants have the potential to help schools raise standards by showing that the quality of teaching in lessons with teaching assistants is better than in lessons without them.
In a survey of headteachers (July 2002) relating to the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, 89 per cent. said that teaching assistants
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made a positive contribution to the quality of literacy teaching and the same percentage said that teaching assistants contributed to improving the teaching of mathematics.
OECD PISA Survey
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the position in which the United Kingdom came in the OECD PISA 2001 survey in mathematics. [97001]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The performance of young people from the United Kingdom in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000, published in December 2001, was encouraging. Out of the 32 countries participating in the study, the United Kingdom came eighth on the mathematical literacy scale and was only significantly outperformed by Japan and Korea.
Pre-School Provision
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list for each year since 1997 the percentage of rural parishes with (a) no nursery, (b) no parent and toddler group and (c) no pre-school play group. [91985]
Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the form requested.
Figures on Day Care Facilities in England were published by the DfES in Statistical Bulletin 08/01 "Children's Day Care facilities at 31 March 2001" in October 2001, a copy of which is available from the Library. An electronic copy of this publication is also available on the DfES' web-site: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics
Statistics were collected at top-tier local authority level, not split between urban and rural areas. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring full coverage of both urban and rural areas within their areas.
£22 million has been allocated for a pilot project to develop 50 Mini Sure Start local programmes in areas with pockets of deprivation either in rural areas or in towns and cities that have small numbers of families living in poverty. Managed through local authorities, these Mini Sure Start local programmes are building on new Neighbourhood Nurseries and existing childcare facilities to deliver outreach, family support and additional health services. Of the 50 Mini Sure Start pilots, 29 are in rural areas.
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