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22 May 2003 : Column 1001W—continued
Children's Commissioner
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the Ninth Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Session 2002–03, HC666, on The Case for a Children's Commissioner for England; and if he will make a statement. [113772]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 19 May 2003]: Ministers are considering the Joint Committee's report, and the Government's response will be submitted to the Committee in due course.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of regional variations in staff turnover in his Department. [112753]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Staff turnover for my Department in 2002 for each of the regions in which it operates were:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| London | 30 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 18 |
| North East | 13 |
| North West | 12 |
Departmental Underspending
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to reduce his Department's underspend in 2003–04 from that of 2002–03. [112781]
Mr. Charles Clarke: End Year Flexibility allows us to manage our resources better over a three year cycle and get the best value for public investment, It avoids the old rush to spend at the end of the year and allows us to take account of the difficulties of forecasting such things as capital expenditure.
Planned spending, including the planned use of End Year Flexibility, for the next three years is set out in my Departmental Annual Report published 14 May; Chapter 3, table 3.2 pages 25 and 26.
Document Costs
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was to his Department and its predecessor of publishing documents, brochures, leaflets and consultation papers in each of the last five years for which information is available. [111681]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Department produces a number of different types of publications each year, for a variety of purposes. There are however, no central records of the costs of these. Many, but not all, such publications are handled through the Department's
22 May 2003 : Column 1002W
Publicity Division. The following figures show expenditure on design and print work placed by that Division:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | (16)0.8 |
| 1999–2000 | (16)2.8 |
| 2000–01 | 11.2 |
| 2001–02 | 12.3 |
| 2002–03 | 6.3 |
(16) Expenditure from central budgets only—information on expenditure from individual programme budgets not available.
It should be noted that from 2002–03 an increasing proportion of such work is handled outside Publicity Division through a system of devolving non-priority work to individual policy teams.
Drugs
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have to expand drugs education for children of primary school age. [114218]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Laxton) during the Drugs Cross Cutting oral session in Westminster Hall.
Education Funding
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding was allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council to institutions (a) in each region of England and (b) in total in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04 (estimated). [113211]
Margaret Hodge: The recurrent funding for teaching and research paid by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to higher and further education institutions by region is shown in the following table.
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 334 | 349 | 373 |
| East of England | 306 | 308 | 331 |
| London | 977 | 1,020 | 1,087 |
| North-East | 223 | 239 | 256 |
| North-West | 511 | 543 | 578 |
| Open University | 138 | 147 | 149 |
| South-East | 540 | 569 | 611 |
| South-West | 303 | 330 | 355 |
| West Midlands | 355 | 375 | 397 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 429 | 459 | 489 |
| Total | 4,116 | 4,339 | 4,624 |
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the ceiling on funding for South Gloucestershire Council on education funding in South Gloucestershire. [115003]
Mr. Miliband: The system of floors and ceilings is essential to the funding system. Authorities on the ceiling face the same choices as other authorities about how much council tax to add to Government grant and how to distribute the money between schools.
22 May 2003 : Column 1003W
Education, Youth and Culture Council
Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the outcome was of the Education, Youth and Culture Council held on 5–6 May 2003; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement. [112543]
Margaret Hodge: I attended the Education session of this Council.
After discussion, the Council adopted conclusions on benchmarking. Benchmarking will feature in the 2004 spring report to Heads of State and Government on the contribution of education to the Lisbon objectives.
Ministers adopted a common position on the planned higher education programme Erasmus Mundus, including the budget at Euro180 million. The programme aims to provide higher education institutions with scholarships, offering further opportunities to attract overseas students, and helping them to forge useful and stronger partnerships between themselves, and with those in third countries.
The Council adopted a common position on the e-Learning programme, including the budget at Euro33 million. This programme aims to promote schools internet twinning, virtual campuses and digital literacy. Both these programmes will now go to the European Parliament for second reading.
Ministers discussed the future role of European universities, including the importance of excellence in research, encouraging private investment, and of maintaining the competitive edge of European higher education in the world market.
The Council adopted the Resolution on Equal Opportunities for Learners with Disabilities without debate.
The Deputy UK Representative represented the UK at the Youth session. After debate on the objectives proposed in the Commission's Communication on the Youth Open Method of Co-ordination, Ministers agreed to aim to adopt a set of common objectives at the November Youth Council. The Declaration on Social Value of Sport for Young People was adopted without debate.
A copy of the Council minutes will be placed in the Library in due course.
Further Education
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) consulted on the contribution of further education to the economy. [112214]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 20 May 2003]: No research has been commissioned on the specific contribution of the further education sector to the economy, although research on the economic returns to the skills and qualifications provided through further education is a major component of the work of the DfES-sponsored Research Centre for the Economics of Education. Reviews have been conducted of research on the benefits of education and skills to the economy, including those provided through further education. A
22 May 2003 : Column 1004W
range of evidence is discussed and cited in my Department's publications of 26 March 2003: "Developing a National Skills Strategy and Delivery Plan: Underlying Evidence" and of 6 May 2003: "Education and Skills: the Economic Benefit".
GCSE
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the basis for the Government's policy on the importance of the GCSE as a certificate for all 16-year-olds. [114418]
Mr. Miliband: GCSE serves several important functions, it provides:
- a clear and worthwhile goal for students at the end of Key Stage 4;
a progress check in subjects and helps young people choose what they want to study after 16;
a record of what has been achieved in subjects that will not be pursued after 16;
an important accountability measure for outcomes of 11–16 schools.
Honours
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many officials in his Department have received honours; and how many honours are held by his officials, broken down by category of honour. [111483]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Our departmental records on this go back to 1998. Since then, 48 members of the Department for Education and Skills (and previously the Department for Education and Employment, not including the Employment Service) have received an honour. 20 of those recipients have since left the Department, therefore 28 honours are currently held by DfES officials. Four hold CBs (Companion of the Order of the Bath), three CBEs (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), seven OBEs (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and 14 MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire). Any awards for staff before they joined the Department or for achievements not related to official duties have not been included.
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