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10 Mar 2003 : Column 78W—continued
Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of the introduction of education maintenance allowance and post-16 education on neighbouring local authorities. [100598]
Margaret Hodge: Our assessment of the effects of introducing the education maintenance allowance compares participation by young people in post-16 education in pilot areas with participation by young people in control areas. We have not made an assessment of the effects of introducing EMA on neighbouring local authorities as we intend to introduce the scheme nationally from September 2004.
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the retention rates are of pupils moving into post-16 education in (a) education maintenance allowance and (b) non-education maintenance allowance authorities. [100599]
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Margaret Hodge: An independent evaluation of EMAs has been taking place since 1999. Evidence from the second year of the pilots, which was published last year, shows that EMAs have had a positive effect, increasing the number of eligible young people in full time education in year 12 in the pilot areas by 5.9 percentage points, compared to the local authority areas without EMA that we have used as controls.
Foundation Degree Courses
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have enrolled on foundation degree courses in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002; and if he will make a statement. [98502]
Margaret Hodge: Latest figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) show that there were 12,000 students enrolled on Foundation Degrees in 2002–03, compared with 4,200 in 2001–02. Figures published recently by UCAS, covering students applying for HE courses in 2003–04, show that the number of applications for Foundation Degree courses have more than doubled.
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We welcome the increase in numbers. We now need to build on this as we look to make Foundation Degrees the standard two year qualification at this level.
Free School Meals
James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children will be entitled to free school meals under the Government's new child tax credits from April. [101142]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: From 6 April 2003, we estimate that 1.2 million children in England will be entitled to receive free school lunches. This estimate includes around 162,000 children who will be entitled to receive free school lunches because their parents claim the new child tax credits. This figure includes 75,000 new recipients who would not have previously benefited from this entitlement.
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Northampton, South are entitled to free school meals; and what the average is in English constituencies. [100785]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The latest information available is shown in the table:
| Day pupils(20) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery and primary schools | Secondary schools | ||||||
| Number on roll | Number known to be eligible for free meals | Percentage known to be eligible forfree meals | Number on roll | Number known to be eligible for free meals | Percentage known to be eligible forfree meals | ||
| Northampton, South | 7,721 | 753 | 9.8 | 9,013 | 978 | 10.9 | |
| England | 4,405,639 | 754,511 | 17.1 | 3,260,931 | 486,353 | 14.9 | |
(19) Includes middle schools as deemed
(20) Excludes boarding pupils
Higher and Further Education
Mr. Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students were in higher education in each year since 1980. [94709]
Margaret Hodge: The latest available information is given in the table.
| Year | Postgraduate | Undergraduate | Total(22) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980–61 | 101,400 | 699,800 | 801,200 |
| 1981–82 | 102,600 | 728,900 | 831,500 |
| 1982–83 | 100,000 | 749,600 | 849,700 |
| 1983–84 | 103,400 | 767,900 | 871,300 |
| 1984–85 | 107,300 | 774,500 | 881,700 |
| 1985–86 | 114,200 | 795,100 | 909,300 |
| 1986–87 | 121,200 | 823,800 | 945,000 |
| 1987–88 | 125,600 | 842,300 | 968,000 |
| 1988–89 | 134,500 | 869,100 | 1,003,600 |
| 1989–90 | 145,700 | 920,900 | 1,066,700 |
| 1990–91 | 163,600 | 982,400 | 1,146,100 |
| 1991–92 | 188,900 | 1,079,000 | 1,267,900 |
| 1992–93 | 213,100 | 1,195,700 | 1,408,800 |
| 1993–94 | 236,900 | 1,304,400 | 1,541,300 |
| 1994–95 | 297,000 | 1,400,800 | 1,697,800 |
| 1995–96 | 310,800 | 1,476,200 | 1,787,000 |
| 1996–97 | 310,300 | 1,534,500 | 1,844,800 |
| 1997–98 | 321,400 | 1,561,200 | 1,882,600 |
| 1998–99 | 337,900 | 1,579,500 | 1,917,500 |
| 1999–2000 | 351,300 | 1,586,100 | 1,937,500 |
| 2000–01 | 363,600 | 1,620,800 | 1,984,400 |
| 2001–02(23) | 371,800 | 1,669,100 | 2,040,900 |
(21) Census count as at December 31 in years up to 1993–94, and as at December 1 subsequent years. Includes home and overseas HE students studying both full and part time courses at HE institutions, FE institutions and the Open University.
(22) Numbers may not add as totals were calculated before rounding.
(23) Provisional.
Note:
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have been enrolled in (a) higher and (b) further education in each academic year since 1997–98. [96702]
Margaret Hodge: The latest information is shown in the table.
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| Academic year | Higher education(24) | Further education(25) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,568,200 | 3,767,300 |
| 1998–99 | 1,591,400 | 3,662,300 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,610,000 | 3,608,100 |
| 2000–01 | 1,651,600 | 3,671,400 |
| 2001–02 | (26)1,690,900 | Not available(27) |
(24) Census count as at 1 December. Covers all home and overseas students on postgraduate and undergraduate courses, including HE students in FE colleges and the Open University.
(25) Based on a whole year count of students. Includes FE students in HE institutions.
(26) HE figures are provisional.
(27) The whole year count of students in FE sector colleges is collected retrospectively after the end of the academic year.
Maintenance Awards
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when Education Maintenance Awards will be introduced in (a) Blackpool and (b) Lancashire. [101492]
Margaret Hodge: The national Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme will be available from September 2004 across the whole of England.
In areas such as Blackpool which are not part of the pilot scheme, the first tranche of eligible students will be those who reach the compulsory school leaving age in the 2003–04 academic year.
East Lancashire is currently piloting a variant of EMA whereby young people are given help with transport costs. This will continue until the national scheme is introduced.
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the overseas trips made by himself and other members of his ministerial team in 2002; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost was in each case. [101482]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.
Sure Start
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sure Start schemes; if he will list by education authority those approved to date; and if he will make a statement. [99814]
Maria Eagle: A major evaluation of Sure Start began in January 2001. It will examine the impact of Sure Start on children, families and communities, both in the short, medium and long term by tracking a sample of 8,000 children and their families over time. Information on impact and effectiveness will become available over the next 12–18 months. 427 of the 524 planned Sure Start local programmes have been approved to date. In addition we are funding 50 Mini Sure Start local programmes in rural areas and areas with pockets of deprivation. Of these, 49 have been approved to date.
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A list of the programs has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Sure Start schemes there are in (a) rural and (b) urban areas. [99815]
Maria Eagle: Of the 524 planned Sure Start local programmes there are 15 based in identifiably rural areas and 509 located in predominantly urban areas. Of these, 427 Sure Start local programmes have had their funding approved to date.
In addition, we are funding a pilot project of 50 Mini Sure Start local programmes in rural areas and areas with pockets of deprivation. These programmes cover areas where the number of disadvantaged children living in a defined area is less than the 800 required for a full local programme and so would not be covered by the traditional Sure Start model. The Mini Sure Start local programmes are building on existing services like Neighbourhood Nurseries or other facilities delivering children's services and using Sure Start funding to deliver outreach and additional health work. Of the 50 Mini Sure Start pilots, 29 are in rural areas.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Sure Start programmes have been established in Somerset; if he will list them; and if he will make a statement. [99821]
Maria Eagle: Since 1997 three Sure Start local programmes have been established in Somerset. These are Bridgwater (Sedgemoor); West Somerset (West Somerset); and Taunton Deane (Taunton Deane).
Two mini Sure Start programmes have also been established in Somerset in this time period, and are located in Glastonbury and Chard. These mini Sure Start programmes are building on Neighbourhood Nurseries and are using Sure Start funding to deliver outreach and additional health work.
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