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7 Apr 2003 : Column 68W—continued
Sudan
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will carry out an urgent investigation into cases of torture in the Sudan. [105775]
Mr. Rammell: We are concerned about torture in Sudan. We part-fund the work of the Sudanese Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) which monitors incidences. SOAT'S annual report states that incidences of torture have decreased across the population as a whole but that the practice continues to be used against the people of Darfur, and in particular students.
The Sudanese government has signed the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Our Embassy in Khartoum regularly lobbies the Government of Sudan to ratify the Convention.
Tasmania
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to mark Tasmania's bicentenary. [105956]
Mr. Rammell: I discussed UK involvement in the celebrations of Tasmania's bicentenary with the Premier of Tasmania, Jim Bacon, during his visit to the UK in January this year. We have taken no decision at this stage on marking the bicentenary in 2004.
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Tel Aviv Airport
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning allegations of intrusive searches and harassment of UK citizens at Tel Aviv airport. [106077]
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have not received formal representations about the treatment of British citizens at Tel Aviv airport. But British officials visiting Israel on official business have been subjected to stringent security checks on arrival at Tel Aviv; and our embassy in Tel Aviv is aware of British citizens, including at least one Member of Parliament, who have been detained at the airport for detailed questioning.
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Referred Workers
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are listed on the Department's List 99 of referred workers. [106605]
Mr. Miliband: There are currently 3,139 people on the list of people whose employment is barred or restricted by the Secretary of State for Employment and Skills (List 99).
Award Schemes
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time. [102078]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Degrees
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the completion rate for degrees was in each academic year since 1997; [104703]
- (2) what the completion rate was for students from (a) I Professional, (b) II Intermediate, (c) IIIN Skilled Non-Manual, (d) IIIM Skilled Manual, (e) IV Semi-skilled Manual, (f) V Unskilled and (g) unknown socio-economic backgrounds at universities in England in each academic year since 1997; [104708]
(3) what the (a) initial entry rate, (b) drop-out rate and (c) participation rate for higher education institutions in England was in each academic year since 1997. [104707]
Margaret Hodge: Information on completion and non-completion rates of HE students is published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in "Performance Indicators in Higher Education (HE)". The latest available data are shown in the first table as follows. HEFCE do not calculate these figures by social class. Figures published in 2002 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that the UK as a whole has one of the lowest non-completion rates among OECD countries.
The second table as follows shows the latest available figures for the Initial Entry Rate (IER) and Age Participation Index (API). Historically, the API has been the standard measure of participation in HE; the IER has been developed recently to monitor progress towards the Government's goal of 50 per cent. participation in HE by 2010. The IER differs from the API in both coverage and method of calculation. The API calculates the proportion of UK domiciled students who enter full-time HE by the age of 20; the IER calculates the proportion of English domiciled students
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who enter full or part-time HE courses, lasting at least one year, by the age of 30. The API is expressed as a percentage of the averaged 18 to 19-year-old population; the IER sums the percentages of each single year of the 18–30 age group.
| Projected outcomes(6) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Students starting in: | Obtained degree | Obtained no qualification | Other(7) |
| 1996–97 | 80 | 18 | 2 |
| 1997–98 | 81 | 17 | 2 |
| 1998–99 | 81 | 17 | 2 |
| 1999–2000 | 81 | 17 | 2 |
(6) The projected outcomes are calculated on the assumption that the progression paths of new entrants will be the same as those for students currently in the system.
(7) Includes students who obtain undergraduate qualifications other than a degree (eg an HND).
| API(8) | IER(9) | |
|---|---|---|
| Actual | ||
| 1997–98 | 33 | n/a |
| 1998–99 | 31 | n/a |
| 1999–2000 | 32 | 41 |
| 2000–01 | 33 | 42 |
| Estimated | ||
| 2001–02 | 34–36 | 43 |
(8) The API is defined as the number of young (under 21) UK domiciled initial entrants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses, expressed as a percentage of the averaged 18 to 19-year-old population.
(9) The IER is the number of English domiciled initial entrants who enter full or part-time HE courses, lasting at least one year, by the age of 30, expressed as a percentage of the relevant 18–30 age group.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the expenditure of his Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002. [106298]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the outcome was of the evaluation of the Education Maintenance Allowance pilot scheme. [107173]
Margaret Hodge: An independent evaluation of EMA's has been taking place since 1999. The evaluation has tested the effectiveness of the scheme in increasing participation. Evidence from the second year of the pilots, which was published in July 2002, shows that EMAs have increased the number of eligible young people in full time education in year 12 in pilot areas by
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5.9 percentage points compared to the local authority areas without EMAs. The EMA scheme will be available from September 2004 across the whole of England. The evaluation is continuing. Reports on implementation and on vulnerable young people were published in March 2003. Forthcoming reports include a qualitative report to be published later this month and the 3rd year quantitative report due in the autumn.
Higher Education
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cash value is of loans granted to higher education students by the Student Loans Company in each year since 1997. [105938]
Margaret Hodge: The number and value of loans paid to higher education students by the Student Loans Company in each academic year since 1996–97 are shown in the table:
| Student loans (United Kingdom)(11) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Academic year | Number of loans (thousand)(12) | Value of loans (£ million) |
| 1996–97 | 589.6 | 877.2 |
| 1997–98 | 615.1 | 941.0 |
| 1998–99 of which: | 659.5 | 1,233.5 |
| Student Support Scheme Students(13) | 275.9 | 557.3 |
| Mandatory Scheme Students(14) | 443.6 | 676.2 |
| 1999–2000 of which: | 699.7 | 1,795.4 |
| Student Support Scheme Students(13) | 456.5 | 7,439.2 |
| Mandatory Scheme Students(14) | 243.2 | 356.3 |
| 2000–01 of which: | 759.9 | 2,203.7 |
| Student Support Scheme Students(13) | 666.4 | 2,068.4 |
| Mandatory Scheme Students(14) | 93.5 | 735.3 |
| 2001–02 (provisional) of which: | 809.3 | 2,485.2 |
| Student Support Scheme Students(13) | 786.0 | 2,450.7 |
| Mandatory Scheme Students(14) | 23.4 | 35.0 |
(10) New student support arrangements were introduced from academic year 1998–99. New students in 1998–99 (apart from certain specified exceptions) received support for maintenance expenditure through means-tested grants (comprising about a quarter of the support available) and non income-assessed student loans (comprising about three quarters of the support available). From 1999–2000 students who entered higher education after 1998–99 received support for maintenance expenditure through loans, of which approximately three quarters of the value was non income-assessed. Loans made under these arrangements are repayable on an income contingent basis. The ratio of support for mandatory award holders, i.e. those who entered higher education up to 1997–98, was roughly 50 per cent. means-tested grant and 50 per cent. non means-tested loan repayable on a mortgage style basis.
(11) Student loans are available to eligible students normally domiciled in the United Kingdom on full-time undergraduate HE courses (and students on full-time and part-time postgraduate course of initial teacher training).
(12) Refers to loans advanced in the target year only, which include those to students in their first, second, third and any subsequent year of their course. Excludes hardship loans and 5,700 (2000–01) and an estimated 7,700 (2001–02) fixed rate loans of £500 for part-time students introduced in September 2000.
(13) Students starting their course from September 1998 under the new arrangements.
(14) Students who entered higher education up to 1997–98 and those who entered in 1998–99 under the existing arrangements.
Source:
The Student Loans Company
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Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his latest estimate is of (a) the annual cost to public funds of increasing participation in higher education to 50 per cent. over the next five years and (b) the cost of the higher education system in 2002–03; and what assumptions he has made in drawing up these estimates. [105940]
Margaret Hodge: The Spending review settlement for higher education in England for the years 2002–03 to 2005–06 is set out in the table on page 19 of the White Paper 'The future of higher education' (Cm 5735). That table shows a 31per cent. increase in expenditure between those two years, an element of which accounts for the increase in student numbers over that period. The increase in participation towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18–30, will come mainly through two-year work-focussed foundation degrees.
The cost of higher education per student varies according to the subject, type and length of their course. The overall costs of increasing student numbers beyond 2005–06 will therefore depend on their pattern of study.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his latest estimate is of the capital value of the higher education estate; and what proportion he estimates was paid for by public funds. [105941]
Margaret Hodge: Recent studies have estimated the insurance value of the higher education estate to be some £31 billion. The estimated value of the equipment and other contents of the buildings are estimated to be a further £8 billion. Producing an estimate of the proportion of the estate that has been purchased from public funds could be done only at disproportionate cost.
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