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19 May 2003 : Column 556W—continued
Faith Schools
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what approaches have been made to his Department by groups wishing to (a) establish new faith schools and (b) bring independent faith schools into the maintained sector in the last 12 months. [110183]
Mr. Miliband: Since April 2002 my Department has received eleven initial inquiries:
(a) eight by groups interested in establishing new faith schools (one Morman, five Muslim, one Sikh, one Greek Orthodox); and
(b) three by groups interested in bringing independent faith schools into the maintained sector (two Muslim, one Jewish).
Financing of Maintained Schools (England)Regulations
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received about the Financing of Maintained Schools (England) Regulations. [109958]
Mr. Miliband: These regulations are revised annually following consultation with local education authorities and relevant national organisations as to their content
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and wording. A number of consultees commented on the Regulations for 2003, which were laid before Parliament on 28 February 2003 (Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 453).
Foundation Degree
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will report progress on the establishment of the Foundation Degrees Forward concept. [112201]
Margaret Hodge: Discussions are under way between officials in the Department and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Further details will be announced by the Summer.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made on the incorporation of Higher National Diplomas and Higher National Certificates within the Foundation Degree framework; and what representations he has received on this matter. [112203]
Margaret Hodge: Following the publication of 'The Future of Higher Education' (Cm 5735) Edexcel has announced its plans to integrate its Higher National Diplomas into the foundation degree framework. A working group comprising representatives from the Department for Education and Skills, Edexcel, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the Council of Validating Universities and employers has been established to oversee this work. This group will also consider the future of the Higher National Certificate.
A wide range of representations have been received on the plans set out in Cm 5735. We are currently looking carefully at the views expressed.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the future funding of (a) development work, (b) validation, (c) institutional funding and (d) student support for those undertaking foundation degrees. [112204]
Margaret Hodge: The Government's plans are set out in "The Future of Higher Education" (Cm 5735). Details are currently being worked up, in collaboration with the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Further announcements will be made later in the year.
Funding (Sunderland)
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from Sunderland city council on his figures for the percentage of education funds passed to schools by the council; and what action he plans to take. [113348]
Mr. Miliband: The Council replied to the Department's letter of 2 May about school funding on 9 May. The Department will be having further
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discussions on the figures underlying the percentage of schools funding passed on to the authority's schools budget with the Council shortly.
GCSE Point Scores
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average GCSE point score for pupils in (a) technology, (b) sports, (c) arts, (d) languages, (e) engineering, (f) science, (g) maths and computing and (h) business and enterprise specialist schools was in the last year for which figures are available. [113721]
Mr. Miliband: The 2002 results for schools, which were operational specialist schools 1 as at September 2001, are shown in the table. There were no designated business and enterprise, engineering, science, mathematics and computing colleges in operation until September 2002, and therefore, no results are available.
- 1 Special schools are excluded from these figures.
| Technology colleges | 36.2 |
| Sports colleges | 33.7 |
| Art colleges | 34.2 |
(18) Average capped GCSE/GNVQ point scores are calculated using the best eight GCSE/GNVQ results.
(19) GCSE/GNVQ point scores are calculated as follows:
GCSE grades A* to G count as 8 to 1 points respectively, GCSE Short Courses grades A* to G count as 4 to 1/2 respectively. The GNVQ grades D, M and P count as 71/2, 6 and 5 points respectively at Intermediate level, and 4, 3 and 11/2 points respectively at Foundation level. These points need to be multiplied by 2 for GNVQ Part One and by 4 for Full GNVQs.
Higher Education
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of UK entrants to initial (a) full time and (b) part time higher education aged 21 or more was from each social class group between 1980 and 2000; and if he will make a statement. [106449]
Margaret Hodge: The available information for the years since 1994, showing students accepted to full-time undergraduate courses via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is given in the table. UCAS does not cover students applying to part-time courses, the majority of whom are mature. Around three-quarters of all mature students enter part-time courses. Comparable figures for earlier years are not held centrally. In 2002, a new socio-economic classification was introduced, which is not directly comparable with the social class figures for previous years. The Department has increased significantly its targeted support for mature students, through increased Access and Hardship funds but also through a package of help for student parents including a generous childcare grant introduced in 2001. In addition, the AimHigher HE roadshow and advertising campaign have been launched to promote the benefits of higher education.
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| Year of entry | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Numbers | ||||||||
| I Professional | 5,686 | 5,743 | 5,044 | 2,976 | 2,695 | 2,185 | 2,017 | 2,128 |
| II Intermediate | 18,588 | 18,712 | 17,656 | 17,560 | 15,473 | 13,815 | 14,159 | 14,846 |
| IIIN Skilled non manual | 7,115 | 7,228 | 7,913 | 11,324 | 9,606 | 9,228 | 9,703 | 10,716 |
| HIM Skilled manual | 9,995 | 10,530 | 8,868 | 8,030 | 6,911 | 6,152 | 6,202 | 6,773 |
| IV Semi Skilled | 4,864 | 5,339 | 5,156 | 6,767 | 5,897 | 5,801 | 6,071 | 6,308 |
| V Unskilled | 1,431 | 1,561 | 1,254 | 1,321 | 1,138 | 1,077 | 982 | 887 |
| Total known | 47,679 | 49,113 | 45,891 | 47,978 | 41,720 | 38,258 | 39,134 | 41,658 |
| Not Known | 8,623 | 11,968 | 13,301 | 17,821 | 16,837 | 19,181 | 19,035 | 22,049 |
| Total | 56,302 | 61,081 | 59,193 | 65,799 | 58,557 | 57,439 | 58,169 | 63,707 |
| Total I-IIIN | 31,389 | 31,683 | 30,613 | 31,860 | 27,774 | 25,228 | 25,879 | 27,690 |
| Total IIIM-V | 16,290 | 17,430 | 15,278 | 16,118 | 13,946 | 13,030 | 13,255 | 13,968 |
| Percentages(20) | ||||||||
| I Professional | 11.9 | 11.7 | 11.0 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| II Intermediate | 39.0 | 38.1 | 38.5 | 36.6 | 37.1 | 36.1 | 36.2 | 35.6 |
| IIIN Skilled non-manual | 14.9 | 14.7 | 17.2 | 23.6 | 23.0 | 24.1 | 24.8 | 25.7 |
| IIIM Skilled manual | 21.0 | 21.4 | 19.3 | 16.7 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 15.8 | 16.3 |
| IV Semi-skilled | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.2 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 15.2 | 15.5 | 15.1 |
| V Unskilled | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Total I-IIIN | 65.8 | 64.5 | 66.7 | 66.4 | 66.6 | 65.9 | 66.1 | 66.5 |
| Total IIIM-V | 34.2 | 35.5 | 33.3 | 33.6 | 33.4 | 34.1 | 33.9 | 33.5 |
(20) Based on students whose occupation was known.
| Numbers | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Higher managerial/professional occupations | 3,680 |
| Lower managerial/professional occupations | 10,294 |
| Intermediate occupations | 9,438 |
| Small employers and own account workers | 2,076 |
| Lower supervisory and technical occupations | 1,293 |
| Semi-routine occupations | 9,512 |
| Routine occupations | 3,306 |
| Total known | 39,599 |
| Not known | 27,412 |
| Total | 67,011 |
| Percentages(21) | |
| Higher managerial/professional occupations | 9.2 |
| Lower managerial/professional occupations | 26.0 |
| Intermediate occupations | 23.8 |
| Small employers and own account workers | 5.2 |
| Lower supervisory and technical occupations | 3.3 |
| Semi-routine occupations | 24.0 |
| Routine occupations | 8.3 |
| Total | 100.0 |
(21) Based on students whose occupation was known.
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action the Government are taking to encourage higher educational institutions to develop stronger structures of regional planning. [R] [113208]
Margaret Hodge: Our White Paper 'The Future of Higher Education' acknowledged the critical involvement of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in regional, social and economic development. It welcomed the involvement of HEIs in developing Regional Economic Strategies and the new Frameworks for Regional Employment and Skills Action. The White Paper proposed strengthening the growing HE partnerships with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and confirmed a larger formal role for RDAs within the next round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund to ensure that the funding is properly focused on regional development priorities.
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The allocation of funding for additional student places, widening access, and higher education working with business and community is also informed by regional and sub-regional priorities. To help determine these priorities, the Higher Education Funding Council for England works with regional advisory groups which include the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).
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