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21 May 2003 : Column 832W—continued

Ministerial Travel

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of (a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for his Department was in 2002. [101545]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Ministerial transport is provided by the Government Car Service. For information on the cost of ministerial cars and drivers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, (Mr. Alexander) on 20 May 2003, Official Report, column 663W.

The cost of taxis, for the Department in 2002, can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Part-time Students

Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether part-time students will be able to delay payment of fees until they have completed their courses.[R] [113229]

Margaret Hodge: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) on 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 562W, on our plans for improving the financial support offered to part-time students.

Physical Activity

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many school sports co-ordinators were in post in England on 1 April 2003; [114688]

(2) if he will estimate what percentage of children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools are receiving two hours of physical activity per week. [114689]

Mr. Miliband: There were 765 school sports co-ordinators in post in April 2003 working in 149 school sports co- ordinator partnerships with 3,525 primary or special school link teachers.

The Department for Education and Skills does not collect information on the amount of time school children spend on physical activity. Information is collected on progress towards ensuring school children spend at least two hours a week on high quality physical education and school sport within and beyond the

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curriculum. An ambitious Public Service Agreement target has been set to enhance the take up of sporting opportunities for 5 to 16-year-olds by increasing the percentage of school children who spend at least two hours a week on PE and school sport to 75 per cent. by 2006. Currently, about a quarter of schools provide this entitlement at Key Stage 1, two fifths at Key Stage 2 and a third at Key Stages 3 and 4.

Positive Activities for Young People

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the role of medium sized voluntary youth organisations in activity schemes for young people, with particular reference to Positive Activities for Young People. [114200]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Voluntary youth organisations are key to the successful delivery of youth work programmes. The sector supported the design of the new Positive Activities for Young People programme. As a result the programme has been designed to encourage voluntary sector involvement at the local level.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the administrative costs incurred as a result of using Connexions as the delivery agent for Positive Activities for Young People. [114201]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for Education and Skills provides a maximum of 10 per cent. of regional allocation to support administrative costs for Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) Lead Delivery Agents, many of whom are Connexions Partnerships. These costs include local marketing of the programme, staff resource to support the development of plans and the costs of implementing the programme. Evidence from the regions suggests that these administration costs are much less than this (e.g. 6 per cent. in the Wirral). A separate top slice of £2.6 million has been set aside to fund the national evaluation, national management information system, brand development and national support service.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the role of the voluntary sector within the Positive Activities for Young People scheme. [114203]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Government Offices (GOs) and Lead Delivery Agents (LDAs) have been advised to work with a variety of local partners including voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver Positive Activities for Young People. This sector has a very important role to play in the delivery of the programme and is able to reach the most disadvantaged young people. Very often community organisations have the best knowledge about the local needs of an area. This knowledge is being drawn on to inform the targeting of the programme in many areas.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to what extent (a) health, (b) underachievement and (c) exclusion are taken into account when targeting young people to participate in the Positive Activities for Young People scheme. [114205]

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Mr. Ivan Lewis: Positive Activities for Young People programme is aimed at diverting and developing those young people most at risk of social exclusion and committing crime, encouraging engagement in the community, and through voluntary activity programmes, contributing to the promotion of strong and active communities.Government Offices, Lead Delivery Agents and Connexions Partnerships are working closely with other key local partners such as the Youth Offending Teams, Children's Fund Partnerships and Behaviour and Improvement Schools. Together these agencies identify the young people to be targeted to receive intensive key worker support. The factors that are considered include truancy rates, involvement in crime, family background and academic achievement.

Post-16 Education

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what methodology was used to calculate the number of full-time equivalent students studying in (a) sixth form colleges and (b) further education colleges in each year since 1997. [112852]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 12 May 2003]: The latest published figures on full-time equivalent students are contained within the Departmental Annual Report (DAR) 2003, published on Wednesday 14 May 2003.

The methodology for calculating full-time equivalent students is the same for both sixth form colleges and further education colleges and has remained unchanged since 1997.

The Individualised Student Record (ISR), and now the Individualised Learner Record (ILR), contains information on each student's 'guided learning hours' depending on the number and type of qualifications they are studying for in the further education sector. Guided learning hours are described as 'all times when a member of staff is present to give specific guidance towards the qualification or module being studied on a programme'.

Students with total guided learning hours of 450 or more are classified as one full-time equivalent. Students with less than 450 guided learning hours are counted as a fraction of one full-time equivalent student. This fraction is calculated by dividing the student's guided learning hours by the median guided learning hours for students with a total of 450 or more guided learning hours. The median for students with a total of 450 or more guided learning hours is re-calculated each year.

Pupil Participation

Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) which organisations his Department has consulted in drafting the guidance for schools on pupil participation; [113015]

(2) when he will launch the public consultation on the draft guidance for schools on pupil participation. [113016]

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Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has involved two advisory groups, working in parallel in developing draft guidance; a group of adults and one of young people. The organisations represented on the adult group include: the National Youth Agency (NYA), National Children's Bureau (NCB), Save the Children, CYPU, QCA and Ofsted. Representatives of the teaching unions, LEAs and National Association of Governors and Managers (NAGM) also sit on the group. 12 young people sit on the young people's group.

We plan to launch the public consultation process before the summer recess.

Skills Training

Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received regarding making skills training and its funding more flexible in meeting the requirements of employers; and if he will make a statement. [113918]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government are consulting a wide range of external organisations and employers in the development of the National Skills Strategy. The process has included a series of regional Skill Summits and a monthly Stakeholder Group meeting. On 26 March the Department published a Progress Report, "Developing a National Skills Strategy and Delivery Plan", which invited comments from recipients. At the same time, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) published a consultation document on funding adult learning. Each local LSC is holding consultation events with employers and learning providers in their area. Responses are currently being considered. A summary of responses will be set out in the National Skills Strategy White Paper to be published in June. Throughout the process, a key message from employers has been the need to make adult skills training and funding more responsive to their needs.

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