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Pupils

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils, after finishing their GCSEs, (a) remained at the same

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school, (b) went on to a different further education institution and (c) left secondary education, in each of the last five years. [113571]

Mr. Miliband: The table shows the proportion of the year group who, following their completion of compulsory education, (a) remained in the same school, (b) remained in education in a different institution and (c) did not continue in full-time education.

Percentage

	1998	2000	2002
Same school	33	33	32
Further education institution	36	38	39
Left education	31	29	29

Source:

Youth Cohort Study, Cohorts 9, 10, 11.

Figures are for England and Wales and are taken from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS). The YCS is a biennial survey; data for 1999, 2001 and 2003 are not available.

School Toilets

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 8 May 2003, Official Report, column 842W, on school toilets, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 are adhered to; and on how many occasions in each year since the regulations came into force the standards of hygiene in school toilets have been found to be below the required standard. [113271]

Mr. Miliband: Since the Education (School Premises) Regulations came into force on 1 February 1999, the Department's Schools Building and Design Unit has received five written (including E-mail) complaints concerning the condition of toilets in maintained schools, four in 2000 and 1 in 2003. It is not possible to assess the findings resulting for visits to schools by the Department's staff, or of telephone inquiries.

School Uniforms

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on encouraging the use of school uniforms. [113572]

Mr. Miliband: It is for school governing bodies to determine whether their school has a uniform. The Department issued revised school uniform guidance in February 2002. This gives advice to schools and parents on issues relating to school uniform. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills recently confirmed his support for school uniform when he announced the results of our school uniform survey. He welcomed the results as they confirmed that the majority of parents were in favour of uniform and think it can contribute to improved behaviour and standards.

Steiner Schools

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what decisions he has made about public funding for Steiner schools. [113518]

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Mr. Miliband: The Department has been working with the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, and several LEAs, for three years to see whether independent Steiner Schools might be able to enter the maintained sector. As yet no decisions have been taken.

Stoke-on-Trent LEA

Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds in Stoke-on-Trent LEA have moved into (a) further education and (b) higher education over the last five years; what percentage the figures represent of the total number of 16 to 18-year-olds in the area; and what the national average figures are. [112977]

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows:

(a) The percentages of 16 and 17-year-olds participating in full-time education in Stoke-on-Trent LEA, in the four years for which data are available are set out in the table. Prior to 1997/98 Stoke on Trent LEA was part of Staffordshire LEA. Participation rates at sub-national level are only available for 16 and 17-year-olds.

Participation in full-time further education⁽²²⁾Percentage of age group

	End 1997	End 1998	End 1999	End 2000
16-year-olds
Stoke-on-Trent LEA	49	52	58	60
England	70	70	71	71
17- year- olds
Stoke-on-Trent LEA	38	38	41	46
England	57	57	58	58

⁽²²⁾ Includes participation in schools, sixth form colleges and further and higher education institutions.

Note:

Population data do not include any revisions following the 2001 census.

Source:

DfES Statistical Bulletin, published 16 December 2002.

Participation rates by LEA for 16 and 17-year-olds are published in an annual statistical bulletin, 'Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17-Year-Olds in Each Local Area in England'. This bulletin is available on the departmental website www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics.

(b) The proportion of students domiciled in Stoke-on-Trent LEA and England, aged 18 and accepted through UCAS to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK is given in the table.

	17-year-old population	18-year-olds accepted to HE	Proportion entering Higher Education (Percentage)
Stoke-on-Trent LEA
Autumn 1997 entry	2,900	331	11.3
Autumn 1998 entry	3,000	360	11.9
Autumn 1999 entry	3,100	339	11.0
Autumn 2000 entry	3,000	382	12.8
Autumn 2001 entry	3,100	502	16.1
Autumn 2002 entry	3,000	431	14.6
England
Autumn 1997 entry	601,100	123,121	20.5
Autumn 1998 entry	619,700	124,533	20.1
Autumn 1999 entry	612,100	123,441	20.2
Autumn 2000 entry	601,000	123,708	20.6
Autumn 2001 entry	610,900	131,322	21.5
Autumn 2002 entry	613,600	134,840	22.0

Note:

Participation rates have been calculated using the 17-year-old population from the previous year to reduce the distortion caused to LEA populations by the migration of students to their place of study. Figures include a very small number of accepted applicants of unknown English domicile. Population figures relate to persons aged 17 at 31 August in the year prior to entry, counts taken at the following 1 January; accepted applicants are aged 18 at 30 September in the year of entry.

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Student Finance

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the distribution of lifetime postgraduate income premiums by (a) types of course followed at university and (b) institution attended. [109333]

Margaret Hodge: We said in the White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education", that graduates enjoy different returns from different courses and according to the institution attended. Recent research found a 44 percentage point difference in average returns between graduates from institutions at the two extremes of the graduate pay scale. No specific estimates have been made of the distribution of lifetime earnings premia by type of course or institution attended, for either first-degree graduates or post-graduates. However, we will be publishing research evidence later this year on how lifetime earnings premia might differ according to institution attended.

Academic research on graduate returns at a point in time shows that while higher education is a good investment for the average graduate, returns do vary according to degree subject. External research also indicates that graduate earnings vary according to the institution attended. These findings suggest that graduate lifetime earnings differentials may be influenced by degree subject and institution attended.

Supply Teachers

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of supply teachers working in maintained schools, broken down by local authority area, in the current academic year. [109420]

Mr. Miliband: Occasional teacher numbers (teachers on contracts of less than a month who were in service for the whole of the survey date) in the maintained schools sector in England are shown in table 17 of the January 2002 edition of Statistics of Education: School Workforce in England. This table shows data for January 2002 the most recent data currently available. A copy of this volume has been placed in the Library. The table is also available on the statistics section of the DfES website at: www.dfes.qov.uk/statistics/DBA/OL/v0380/456-t17.htm.

Teacher Numbers

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) male and (b) female teachers are employed in (i) primary schools and (ii) secondary schools. [110127]

Mr. Miliband: Full-time regular qualified teachers in the maintained schools sector in England by phase, grade and sex are shown in table 21 of the January 2002

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edition of Statistics of Education: School Workforce in England. This table shows data up to March 2001 which are the most recent available. A copy of this volume has been placed in the Library. The table is also available on the statistics section of the DfES website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DBA/OL/v0380/456-t21.htm.

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