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4 Apr 2003 : Column 906W—continued
Student Fees
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of higher education students' fees are wholly remitted on account of income; and what proportion of students have home postcodes which attract additional university funding from HEFCE. [104947]
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Margaret Hodge: In England and Wales students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition only if they can afford to do so. The percentage of students in England and Wales in academic year 2000/01 (latest year for which data are available) who have been assessed to make a nil contribution towards the cost of their tuition is 42 per cent. This figure includes those students eligible for student support studying in further education colleges, and also English and Welsh domiciled students studying at UK institutions.
According to latest available data, around 30 per cent. of English-domiciled students registered at English higher education institutions and 48 per cent. of English-domiciled students registered at English further education attracted additional funding from HEFCE. This funding was allocated on the basis of postcodes to support recruitment and retention of students from low participation neighbourhoods.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether student musicians will be exempted from increased tuition fees. [104508]
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he plans to recover post-course tuition fees from students who have been (a) resident in the UK but go abroad after graduation and (b) resident abroad before commencing their studies. [105399]
Margaret Hodge: There are mechanisms in place to recover loan repayments for maintenance from UK students who live abroad after graduation, and who are outside the UK tax system, through direct payments to the Student Loans Company. The arrangements for collecting varied fees from EU graduates and UK graduates that go abroad will be based on these mechanisms.
Vocational Qualifications
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people aged 14 to 19 are studying for a vocational qualification in (a) further education colleges, (b) schools and (c) on-the-job training in each of the learning and skills council areas. [105137]
Margaret Hodge: The numbers of 16 to 19-year-olds studying vocational qualifications in schools and further education colleges (including sixth form colleges) at end 2000 by each local Learning and Skills Council area are given in the following table. The year 2000 is the latest for which comparable figures are available. The figures include people studying NVQs, VCE A-levels, GNVQs and equivalents.
Also included are the numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds in Government Supported Training (GST). Local level information for other forms of work-based training is not available.
Numbers of 14 and 15-year-olds in schools are not available by type of course being studied.
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| 16 to 19-year-olds(9) | 16 to 18-year-olds(9) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| All Schools(10) | Sixth form and other FE colleges(11) | Government supported training(12) | |
| North East | |||
| County Durham | 600 | 6,000 | 3,000 |
| Northumberland | 1,000 | 2,700 | 1,400 |
| Tees Valley | 200 | 10,100 | 3,900 |
| Tyne and Wear | 2,200 | 12,400 | 5,900 |
| North West | |||
| Cheshire and Warrington | 1,300 | 8,600 | 3,200 |
| Cumbria | 900 | 4,700 | 2,600 |
| Greater Manchester | 900 | 31,500 | 11,300 |
| Greater Merseyside | 3,000 | 16,700 | 8,300 |
| Lancashire | 600 | 19,000 | 6,500 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | |||
| Humberside | 600 | 11,400 | 4,700 |
| North Yorkshire | 1,500 | 7,100 | 3,400 |
| South Yorkshire | 1,300 | 14,300 | 6,100 |
| West Yorkshire | 4,800 | 24,300 | 8,100 |
| East Midlands | |||
| Derbyshire | 1,100 | 9,700 | 4,100 |
| Leicestershire | 1,600 | 9,700 | 2,500 |
| Lincolnshire and Rutland | 900 | 6,100 | 2,500 |
| Northamptonshire | 1,300 | 5,900 | 2,300 |
| Nottinghamshire | 1,100 | 11,000 | 4,100 |
| West Midlands | |||
| Birmingham and Solihull | 2,300 | 14,500 | 3,000 |
| Coventry and Warwickshire | 1,000 | 9,400 | 3,200 |
| Herefordshire and Worcestershire | 900 | 7,900 | 2,300 |
| Shropshire | 200 | 5,100 | 1,900 |
| Staffordshire | 1,300 | 12,300 | 4,500 |
| The Black Country | 2,000 | 13,100 | 5,100 |
| East of England | |||
| Bedfordshire and Luton | 1,000 | 6,600 | 1,600 |
| Cambridgeshire | 1,300 | 6,300 | 1,900 |
| Essex | 2,100 | 14,500 | 4,100 |
| Hertfordshire | 2,000 | 8,500 | 2,000 |
| Norfolk | 800 | 7,100 | 2,100 |
| Suffolk | 1,100 | 6,100 | 2,300 |
| London | |||
| London Central | 3,000 | 11,000 | 1,900 |
| London East | 3,600 | 20,800 | 4,200 |
| London North | 2,000 | 10,700 | 1,600 |
| London South | 2,400 | 9,500 | 2,100 |
| London West | 3,600 | 13,400 | 2,100 |
| South East | |||
| Berkshire | 1,500 | 6,400 | 2,700 |
| Hampshire and the Isle of Wight | 700 | 19,100 | 5,200 |
| Kent and Medway | 4,400 | 13,000 | 3,700 |
| Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire | 2,600 | 10,900 | 3,900 |
| Surrey | 1,500 | 7,800 | 1,300 |
| Sussex | 2,200 | 13,300 | 3,000 |
| South West | |||
| Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole | 1,200 | 6,100 | 2,700 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 3,000 | 16,200 | 5,400 |
| Gloucestershire | 800 | 5,300 | 1,800 |
| Somerset | 400 | 6,000 | 2,000 |
| West of England | 1,400 | 8,900 | 2,700 |
| Wiltshire and Swindon | 700 | 6,700 | 1,600 |
(8) Highest qualification aim of student. There will be some whose highest aim is an academic qualification, but who combine this with a lower level vocational qualification.
(9) Age as at 31August.
(10) From January 2001 Annual Schools Census. Includes all 16 to 19-year-olds in maintained and independent schools and City Technology Colleges. Excludes special schools, as qualification breakdowns are not available.
(11) From the LSC's Individualised Student Record—final data for snapshot at 1 November 2000. Includes all 16 to 19-year-olds in sixth form colleges, general FE colleges, tertiary colleges and specialist colleges.
(12) From the Training and Enterprise Council's Management information Service combined with the trainee databases, as at end 2000.
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WORK AND PENSIONS
Employer Liability Insurance
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to ensure that main contractors working for government authorities ensure that their specialist and sub-contractors have in place employers liability compulsory insurance; and if he will make a statement. [100856]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mrs. Roe) on 27 March 2003, Official Report, columns 369–70W.
MPDI Networks
Mr. Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what effect HSE's October 2002 warning of the need for replacement of all non-Transco owned MPDI networks within 30 metres of buildings has had on the development of (a) a complete picture of all such networks, irrespective of ownership and (b) a programme of work for their replacement that is agreed with their owners. [102242]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued an alert to occupiers of sites and local authorities with their own gas mains that medium pressure ductile iron (MPDI) pipes need to be replaced. This followed enforcement action requiring Transco to carry out an agreed accelerated programme of replacement of all MPDI gas mains located within 30 metres of buildings by the end of 2002.
The effect of this was that a small number of additional sites with MPDI gas pipes have been identified as a result and HSE will ensure a programme of remedial measures is implemented.
Benefit Payments
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners collect benefits from post offices in Derbyshire. [98895]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of pensioners in Derbyshire receiving DWP benefits (including War Pensions) collectable from post offices is 88,274 as at the 28 December 2002. This figure includes benefits paid by giro cheque, which can also be paid into a bank or building society account.
Some customers who are paid direct into an account can also collect their benefit in cash at post offices through network banking arrangements at the Post Office. There are no data available on the number of benefit claims collected in this way.
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Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) number and (b) proportion of those who have their pension paid into a bank or building society account are paid (i) weekly and (ii) monthly in arrears in (A) the Scottish Borders, (B) Scotland and (C) the UK. [106646]
Mr. McCartney: The available information is in the table.
The number and proportion of retirement pensioners receiving payment directly into a bank or building society account as at 25 January 2003 is as follows:
| Area | Number | Proportion (percentage) |
|---|---|---|
| The Scottish Borders | 11,082 | 53.1 |
| Scotland | 368,348 | 45.9 |
| Great Britain | 4,547,874 | 49.6 |
Note:
Figures for the Scottish Borders are for the area of the local authority.
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