House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 7 May 2003 (pt 2)

7 May 2003 : Column 683W—continued

Landfill Tax

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised by the landfill tax in the UK in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and how much revenue he estimates will be raised in 2003–04. [111836]

John Healey: Landfill tax receipts figures for the financial years 2001–02 to 2003–04 were published in the April 2003 Financial Statement and Budget Report (FSBR). The 2001–02 figure is an outturn figure, while that for 2002–03 is an estimate and that for 2003–04 is a forecast. The published rounded figures are:

£ billion

2001–02 0.5

2002–03 0.5

2003–04 0.7

	£ billion
2001–02	0.5
2002–03	0.5
2003–04	0.7

National Insurance

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the national insurance lower earnings limit. [111751]

Dawn Primarolo: None. The lower earnings limit is currently £77 per week and it is linked to the weekly rate of the basic state pension.

Road Fuel Gases

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received regarding his decision to consult stakeholders before announcing decisions on fuel duty rates on road fuel gases. [112093]

7 May 2003 : Column 684W

John Healey: Treasury Ministers have received no representations on this decision to consult.

Stakeholder Pensions

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints concerning the sale of stakeholder pensions have been received in each year since their introduction; and what broad categories these complaints fell into. [111440]

Ruth Kelly: If the Treasury receives complaints about the sale of stakeholder pensions, it refers complainants to the firm concerned. Where it is evident that the complainant has already complained to the firm concerned, and is dissatisfied with the handling of his complaint, the complainant is generally referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Financial Ombudsman Service tells me that, between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003, they received 115 complaints about stakeholder pensions.

These complaints principally concerned administrative difficulties at the time of the initial purchase, in collecting premiums, in promptly transferring money into plans, and in providing information at the point of sale.

Tax Credits

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons previously on disabled persons tax credit are awaiting transfer to regular working tax credit payments. [111669]

Dawn Primarolo: Claim forms for working and child tax credits were sent to all individuals and couples who were receiving disabled person's tax credit. Awards are already being paid to all those who made their claims by 31 January 2003, except in a very few cases where further information is needed to make a decision on the claim. In these cases, the Inland Revenue should already have been in touch with claimants to ask for further information.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will post information on the Inland Revenue microsite for tax credits and on any reprints of tax credit application forms, stating that children may also be eligible for free school meals as a result of the credit; [111448]

Dawn Primarolo: There are a number of 'passported benefits' that may attach to the new tax credits, and the tax credits award notice and accompanying notes alert people to the fact they may qualify as a result of their award. In addition, a new Inland Revenue leaflet providing information and giving contact points for details on some of the more common benefits was published on the Inland Revenue website on 2 May 2003 . It will soon also be available in paper format.

7 May 2003 : Column 685W

Taxation

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people resident in Buckinghamshire pay income tax at the top rate of 40 per cent. [111726]

Dawn Primarolo: Around 10,000 Buckinghamshire residents paid income tax at the 40 per cent. rate in the 2000–01 tax year. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes. This is the latest year for which estimates are available.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Education (Wandsworth)

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much he has given to the London borough of Wandsworth for education services in the borough in the last three years. [112051]

Mr. Miliband: The following table shows the Department's total Education Standard Spending Assessment, recurrent and capital grant allocated to Wandsworth local education authority for the financial years 2000–01 to 2002–03. Complete figures for 2003–04 are not yet available.

£ million

2000–01 2001–02 2002–03

SSA 101.9 105.2 102.9

Recurrent grant 8.8 14.2 22.2

Capital grant 7.4 7.0 12.3

Total 118.1 126.4 137.4

	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
SSA	101.9	105.2	102.9
Recurrent grant	8.8	14.2	22.2
Capital grant	7.4	7.0	12.3
Total	118.1	126.4	137.4

Education Benefits

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to promote the benefits of (a) adult, (b) further and (c) higher education to school leavers, adults and those not in full-time employment; and if he will make a statement. [111148]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Learning and Skills Council has specific legal responsibility for widening participation in learning across post-16 education and training in England. This Department supports the agenda to promote the benefits of learning across all sectors of education. This includes the "Aim Higher" campaign which promotes the benefits of higher education.

Examination Results

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in England achieving A-levels in (a) mathematics and (b) English achieved grade A in (i) the best performing local education authority and (ii) the worst performing local education authority in the last year for which figures are available. [110191]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested is given in the following table.

7 May 2003 : Column 686W

Percentage of A level passes that were grade A in 2002

LEA Percentage

Maths

Highest Reading 58.5

Lowest Lambeth 5.6

English

Highest Reading 30.2

Lowest Hackney 0.8

	LEA	Percentage
Maths
Highest	Reading	58.5
Lowest	Lambeth	5.6

English
Highest	Reading	30.2
Lowest	Hackney	0.8

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of GCSE students in the London Borough of Havering achieved five or more C grades, or higher, last year; and what the proportion was in other London boroughs. [110581]

Mr. Miliband: The percentage of 15-year-olds achieving five or more GCSE grades C and above or the GNVQ equivalent in the London Borough of Havering in 2001/02 was 57.3. The figures for the other London boroughs are as follows.

London Borough Percentage of 15 year olds with 5 A*-C or better

Barking and Dagenham 42.3

Barnet 59.1

Bexley 52.6

Brent 49.6

Bromley 59.9

Camden 48.4

Croydon 48.9

Ealing 49.8

Enfield 46.2

Greenwich 33.3

Hackney 31.1

Hammersmith and Fulham 50.3

Haringey 35.4

Harrow 59.1

Hillingdon 46.0

Hounslow 49.5

Islington 32.9

Kensington and Chelsea 55.7

Kingston upon Thames 60.0

Lambeth 40.1

Lewisham 38.7

Merton 40.9

Newham 42.4

Redbridge 63.7

Richmond upon Thames 51.4

Southwark 35.7

Sutton 64.8

Tower Hamlets 43.6

Waltham Forest 44.3

Wandsworth 48.6

Westminster, city of 41.5

London Borough	Percentage of 15 year olds with 5 A-C or better*
Barking and Dagenham	42.3
Barnet	59.1
Bexley	52.6
Brent	49.6
Bromley	59.9
Camden	48.4
Croydon	48.9
Ealing	49.8
Enfield	46.2
Greenwich	33.3
Hackney	31.1
Hammersmith and Fulham	50.3
Haringey	35.4
Harrow	59.1
Hillingdon	46.0
Hounslow	49.5
Islington	32.9
Kensington and Chelsea	55.7
Kingston upon Thames	60.0
Lambeth	40.1
Lewisham	38.7
Merton	40.9
Newham	42.4
Redbridge	63.7
Richmond upon Thames	51.4
Southwark	35.7
Sutton	64.8
Tower Hamlets	43.6
Waltham Forest	44.3
Wandsworth	48.6
Westminster, city of	41.5

Individual Learning Accounts

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to include small-scale learning providers within the ambit of a revised Individual Learning Account scheme. [111283]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: For all its failings, ILA was successful in getting non-traditional learners back into learning, and that success was based in part on the role played by the best providers, many of them small scale, who were able to encourage learners to take the first step. This influence will be as important in the successor scheme as it was in the original programme. The scheme will promote high quality relevant learning, whether from

7 May 2003 : Column 687W

small or large scale providers. Details of the scheme will be announced next month as part of the Skills Strategy.

Oxford and Cambridge (Admissions)

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many, and what percentage, of (a) applicants and (b) successful applicants there were to (i) Oxford and (ii) Cambridge University from (A) fee paying schools, (B) local authority 11–18 comprehensive schools, (C) sixth form colleges, (D)

7 May 2003 : Column 688W

state grammar schools and (E) further education colleges, in each of the last three years, broken down by constituent college. [101040]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 10 March 2003]: The available information for the constituent colleges of Oxford and Cambridge is shown in the following tables. These figures are compiled by the institutions themselves, who are responsible for its accuracy. The tables cover all applicants, irrespective of their qualifications, and therefore take no account of any differential levels of A-level attainment between students from the maintained and independent school sectors.

Percentage of applications from maintained sector Percentage of acceptances from maintained sector

Year of entry Year of entry

Cambridge University 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002

Christ's 55 58 61 37 51 54

Churchill 75 68 70 68 58 66

Clare 56 65 66 55 59 60

Corpus Christi 49 56 57 39 53 52

Downing 51 47 54 41 46 50

Emmanuel 61 59 57 54 53 54

Fitzwilliam 71 68 72 66 60 69

Girton 61 62 64 61 58 51

Gonville and Caius 48 46 52 48 36 46

Homerton⁽³⁾ — — 76 — — 72

Hughes Hall⁽⁴⁾ — — 60 — — 100

Jesus 57 53 53 54 56 56

King's 84 85 80 77 78 69

Lucy Cavendish⁽⁴⁾ — — 89 — — 100

Magdalene 42 42 48 36 44 55

New Hall 59 58 65 58 55 54

Newnham 58 64 62 49 59 61

Pembroke 55 57 59 50 50 51

Peterhouse 52 45 53 43 43 53

Queen's 60 60 57 55 53 47

Robinson 65 64 69 56 64 62

Selwyn 58 54 61 49 48 58

Sidney Sussex 55 58 58 45 52 58

St. Catherine's 58 52 59 52 51 57

St. Edmund's⁽⁴⁾ — — 100 — — —

St. John's 52 55 50 45 49 45

Trinity 56 52 54 48 45 44

Trinity Hall 55 53 52 47 50 43

Wolfson⁽⁴⁾ — — 83 — — 83

All standard colleges 59 58 60 52 53 55

Mature student colleges (Hugh Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St. Edmunds and Wilfson) 86 86 — 87 87 —

		Percentage of applications from maintained sector		Percentage of acceptances from maintained sector
	Year of entry	Year of entry
Cambridge University	2000	2001	2002	2000	2001	2002
Christ's	55	58	61	37	51	54
Churchill	75	68	70	68	58	66
Clare	56	65	66	55	59	60
Corpus Christi	49	56	57	39	53	52
Downing	51	47	54	41	46	50
Emmanuel	61	59	57	54	53	54
Fitzwilliam	71	68	72	66	60	69
Girton	61	62	64	61	58	51
Gonville and Caius	48	46	52	48	36	46
Homerton⁽³⁾	—	—	76	—	—	72
Hughes Hall⁽⁴⁾	—	—	60	—	—	100
Jesus	57	53	53	54	56	56
King's	84	85	80	77	78	69
Lucy Cavendish⁽⁴⁾	—	—	89	—	—	100
Magdalene	42	42	48	36	44	55
New Hall	59	58	65	58	55	54
Newnham	58	64	62	49	59	61
Pembroke	55	57	59	50	50	51
Peterhouse	52	45	53	43	43	53
Queen's	60	60	57	55	53	47
Robinson	65	64	69	56	64	62
Selwyn	58	54	61	49	48	58
Sidney Sussex	55	58	58	45	52	58
St. Catherine's	58	52	59	52	51	57
St. Edmund's⁽⁴⁾	—	—	100	—	—	—
St. John's	52	55	50	45	49	45
Trinity	56	52	54	48	45	44
Trinity Hall	55	53	52	47	50	43
Wolfson⁽⁴⁾	—	—	83	—	—	83
All standard colleges	59	58	60	52	53	55
Mature student colleges (Hugh Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St. Edmunds and Wilfson)	86	86	—	87	87	—

⁽³⁾ Homerton College amalgamated with Cambridge on 1 April 2001.

⁽⁴⁾ Prior to 2002, figures for these colleges were amalgamated.

Percentage of applications from maintained sector Percentage of offers to maintained sector

Year of entry Year of entry

Oxford University 20001 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002

Balliol — 50 61 56 53 51

Brasenose — 40 40 44 44 49

Christ Church — 43 49 47 39 47

Corpus Christi — 57 60 56 52 58

Exeter — 51 52 60 56 48

Harris Manchester — 100 100 100 86 92

Hertford — 69 76 61 67 71

Jesus — 67 68 57 58 61

Keble — 58 63 65 60 59

Lady Margaret Hall — 46 51 47 41 52

Lincoln — 52 63 46 57 64

Magdalene — 56 57 46 52 52

Mansfield — 71 81 75 67 75

Merton — 61 59 61 54 53

New — 54 53 48 49 55

Oriel — 46 54 40 45 49

Pembroke — 45 46 45 55 51

Queen's — 50 49 53 57 46

Somerville — 55 55 60 61 64

St. Anne's — 53 61 61 57 55

St. Catherine's — 59 58 56 49 44

St. Edmund Hall — 40 46 42 60 55

St. Hilda's — 62 61 53 64 63

St. Hugh's — 63 62 50 66 74

St. John's — 67 80 70 53 51

St. Peter's — 50 49 51 61 64

Trinity — 47 49 44 54 51

University — 46 46 48 43 49

Wadham — 71 75 66 68 73

Worcester — 41 49 47 48 48

Total — 55 59 54 55 57

		Percentage of applications from maintained sector		Percentage of offers to maintained sector
		Year of entry		Year of entry
Oxford University	20001	2001	2002	2000	2001	2002
Balliol	—	50	61	56	53	51
Brasenose	—	40	40	44	44	49
Christ Church	—	43	49	47	39	47
Corpus Christi	—	57	60	56	52	58
Exeter	—	51	52	60	56	48
Harris Manchester	—	100	100	100	86	92
Hertford	—	69	76	61	67	71
Jesus	—	67	68	57	58	61
Keble	—	58	63	65	60	59
Lady Margaret Hall	—	46	51	47	41	52
Lincoln	—	52	63	46	57	64
Magdalene	—	56	57	46	52	52
Mansfield	—	71	81	75	67	75
Merton	—	61	59	61	54	53
New	—	54	53	48	49	55
Oriel	—	46	54	40	45	49
Pembroke	—	45	46	45	55	51
Queen's	—	50	49	53	57	46
Somerville	—	55	55	60	61	64
St. Anne's	—	53	61	61	57	55
St. Catherine's	—	59	58	56	49	44
St. Edmund Hall	—	40	46	42	60	55
St. Hilda's	—	62	61	53	64	63
St. Hugh's	—	63	62	50	66	74
St. John's	—	67	80	70	53	51
St. Peter's	—	50	49	51	61	64
Trinity	—	47	49	44	54	51
University	—	46	46	48	43	49
Wadham	—	71	75	66	68	73
Worcester	—	41	49	47	48	48
Total	—	55	59	54	55	57

⁽⁵⁾ Figures not available for applications in 2000.

7 May 2003 : Column 689W

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