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EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU Co-ordination Group to promote uniformity of application of the general system for the recognition of higher education diplomas (first general system), the number of times and the dates on which it has met since January 2002, the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, the decisions it has made since January 2002 and the means used to communicate these decisions to the House. [110501]

Ms Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.

The Department of Trade and Industry is represented in discussions at the EU Co-ordinators meetings on the first general system by the UK Co-ordinator for Directive 89/48, a post currently divided between two Range 8 government officials.

The mandate for the Co-ordination Group of the first general system directive can be found in Article 9 (2) of Directive 89/48 EEC:

'A co-ordinating group shall be set up under the aegis of the Commission, composed of the co-ordinators appointed by each Member State or their deputies and chaired by a representative of the Commission.'

The group normally meets twice yearly. However, this has not been the case in the last year as work on enlargement of the EU has meant that meetings of this group have had to be postponed. The only meeting held since January 2002 was on 9 July 2002. The next meeting will take place on 25 June 2003.

The main issues considered by the last meeting in July 2002 were:

The proposed reform of the recognition of professional qualifications which will simplify and consolidate the legislation in this area


State of accession negotiations


Entry into force of an agreement which extends the provisions of the first general system to Switzerland


Notification of the measures transposing Directive 99/42


Discussion of the new SOLVIT system, a mechanism for effective problem solving (including mutual recognition of qualifications problems) in the Internal Market


A pilot project to examine and assist physiotherapists working in other Member States


The use and legitimacy of bi-lateral agreements between various Member States for specific professions


Discussion of a new computerised system to assist the health professions.

The main purpose of this committee is not decision making but:

to facilitate the implementation of this Directive,


to collect all useful information for its application in Member States.


The group may be consulted by the Commission on any changes to the existing system that may be contemplated.

Together with member states, the Commission is currently conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of comitology committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission".

As an obligation to this Decision, the Commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of committees. The first report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 26 February 2002 (Commission Document 5685/02).

As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.

EU Directives

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the EU Directives and Regulations which have been implemented by his Department since 17 April 2002. [106826]

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Margaret Hodge: Since 17 April 2002, the Department for Education and Skills has implemented one Directive:

Directive 2001/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2001 amending Council Directives 89/48/EEC and 92/51/EEC on the second general system for the recognition of professional qualifications and Council Directives 77/452/EEC, 77/453/EEC, 78/686/EEC, 78/687/EEC, 78/1026/EEC, 78/1027/EEC, 80/154/EEC, 80/155/EEC, 85/384/EEC, 85/432/EEC, 85/433/EEC and 93/16/EEC concerning the professions of nurse responsible for general care, dental practitioner, veterinary surgeon, midwife, architect, pharmacist and doctor.

EC Regulations are, in general, directly applicable in the member states, without the need for further incorporation into national law. However, some Regulations require UK measures to make them workable and enforceable. Some Regulations enact small or technical amendments. As far as we have been able to verify, the Department for Education and Skills has had no Regulation for implementation since 17 April 2002.

Examination Results

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the local education authorities in the (a) first decile and (b) tenth decile for results at (i) Key Stage 2, (ii) Key Stage 3 and (iii) GCSEs in each year since 1997. [110122]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in England achieving GCSEs in (a) mathematics and (b) English achieved grades A or above in (i) the best peforming local education authority and (ii) the worst performing local education authority in the last year for which figures are available. [110192]

Mr. Miliband: The percentages of pupil achieving A or above at GCSE in (a) Mathematics and (b) English in the highest and lowest performing LEAs are shown in the following tables:

Local education authority	Percentage of pupils achieving grade A or above GCSE in 2002
Maths
(i) Highest percentage
Sutton	29.5
(ii) Lowest percentage
Knowsley	3.1
English
(i) Highest percentage
Sutton	27.8
(ii) Lowest percentage
Knowsley	4.3

Graduate Incomes

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans further studies on the

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comparative lifetime incomes of graduates and non-graduates, with particular reference to (a) courses studied and (b) subsequent sector of employment. [110914]

Margaret Hodge: I have no immediate plans to produce estimates of the lifetime incomes or premiums of graduates broken down by courses studied and subsequent sector of employment. There are, however, plans to publish work later in the year which explores the variation in graduate lifetime earnings by type of institution attended.

As we make clear in the recent White Paper, those with higher education qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than those who do not. The White Paper also refers to other well-founded research evidence which shows that there is substantial variation in the percentage returns to higher education by subject of degree ¹ , and there will inevitably be variations in graduate earnings by sector of employment.

¹ For example, see Walker and Zhu (2002), "The Returns to Education: Evidence from the Labour Force Survey".

Higher Education

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to improve access to higher education courses other than foundation or first degrees for those from less privileged backgrounds. [110059]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have introduced a wide range of measures to encourage wider participation in higher education at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, such as the child care grant, the disabled students allowance and funds to create 1,000 new academic fellowships for postgraduates.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what evidence he has collated on the fairness of existing higher education admissions systems. [110882]

Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to "The Future of Higher Education" (Cmd 5735) and "Widening Participation in Higher Education", both of which are available in the Library.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what credit will be given to efforts by an individual higher education institution to encourage wider participation by students in their area, notwithstanding that some may attend institutions elsewhere. [110926]

Margaret Hodge: Many universities and colleges are already engaged in partnership work with schools designed to raise levels of participation in higher education generally, including through the Department's Aimhigher programme. These activities would be included in the relevant access agreements.

Local Education Authorities

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what contracts have been entered into by his Department for research into the performance of selective local education authority areas; and if he will give the (a) terms of reference and (b) costs in each case. [112742]

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Mr. Miliband: The Department has not commissioned any specific research into the performance of selective local education authorities. However, we are aware of various research which has been published by others, and continue to note the conclusions reached.

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