House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 19 Jun 2003 (pt 10)

19 Jun 2003 : Column 368W—continued

School Students

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students living in catchment areas in north-east Lincolnshire attend schools outside the north-east Lincolnshire LEA area. [120060]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested is given in the following table.

Total number of pupils resident in north-east Lincolnshire Of which attend schools situated within the LEA Of which attend schools situated outside the LEA

LEA Number Percentage Number Percentage

2003 27,479 26,776 97.4 703 2.6

2002 27,466 26,794 97.6 672 2.4

	Total number of pupils resident in north-east Lincolnshire		Of which attend schools situated within the LEA		Of which attend schools situated outside the LEA
	LEA	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
2003	27,479	26,776	97.4	703	2.6
2002	27,466	26,794	97.6	672	2.4

19 Jun 2003 : Column 369W

Breakdown of percentage of all pupils living in NE Lincolnshire LEA but attending schools in other LEAsJanuary 2002 and 2003

LEA name in which school attended ⁽¹⁴⁾Percentage

January 2003 Calderdale ⁽¹⁵⁾—

Kirklees ⁽¹⁵⁾—

City of Kingston Upon Hull 0.1

East Riding of Yorkshire ⁽¹⁵⁾—

North Lincolnshire 0.1

North Yorkshire ⁽¹⁵⁾—

Nottinghamshire ⁽¹⁵⁾—

Lincolnshire 2.3

January 2002 City of Kingston Upon Hull 0.1

East Riding of Yorkshire ⁽¹⁵⁾—

North Lincolnshire 0.1

North Yorkshire ⁽¹⁵⁾—

Lancashire ⁽¹⁵⁾—

Lincolnshire 2.3

	LEA name in which school attended	⁽¹⁴⁾Percentage
January 2003	Calderdale	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	Kirklees	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	City of Kingston Upon Hull	0.1
	East Riding of Yorkshire	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	North Lincolnshire	0.1
	North Yorkshire	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	Nottinghamshire	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	Lincolnshire	2.3
January 2002	City of Kingston Upon Hull	0.1
	East Riding of Yorkshire	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	North Lincolnshire	0.1
	North Yorkshire	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	Lancashire	⁽¹⁵⁾—
	Lincolnshire	2.3

⁽¹⁴⁾ Figures may not add to overall total because of rounding

⁽¹⁵⁾ Percentage below 0.1 per cent.

Student Finance

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what help is given to school leavers who wish to attend non-university courses and apprenticeships; and what financial assistance is available to them. [119622]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: There is a range of financial support and assistance available to young people on leaving school. The Minimum Training Allowance is available for those who follow a work-based vocational route and who do not have waged status. For those continuing in learning, the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is available in 56 LEA areas in England. The EMA is a weekly allowance for 16–19 year olds and will be made available nationally from September 2004.

For those who face specific barriers there is financial support available through the Learner Support Funds. This provides help towards transport costs, books and equipment, residential allowances and help with child care. The Connexions Service provides a wide range of advice and support to young people regarding entry into further education and training. In addition, the Connexions Card enables students to collect rewards and discounts for participating in learning.

The support arrangements for school leavers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.

Teachers

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of (a) nursery/primary and (b) secondary school qualified teachers who are not employed in the maintained sector in each year since 1990. [118120]

Mr. Miliband: The following table provides the available data on qualified teachers who were not in service in the maintained schools sector in England and Wales at 31 March of each year shown. Data are not available by phase of training or for years prior to 1998.

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No service recorded⁽¹⁶⁾ Previously in service⁽¹⁷⁾ Teachers in service outside the maintained schools sector⁽¹⁸⁾

1998 84,800 307,200 70,800

1999 86,400 304,700 72,600

2000 87,700 304,000 74,000

2001 88,000 300,200 74,600

	No service recorded⁽¹⁶⁾	Previously in service⁽¹⁷⁾	Teachers in service outside the maintained schools sector⁽¹⁸⁾
1998	84,800	307,200	70,800
1999	86,400	304,700	72,600
2000	87,700	304,000	74,000
2001	88,000	300,200	74,600

⁽¹⁶⁾ Includes those who qualified in England or Wales who have no known service in England or Wales. Some may have entered service not recorded on the DTR, which is maintained primarily for the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), e.g. in some independent schools or outside of England and Wales.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Qualified teachers with some previous service in any sector in England and Wales. Includes teachers who qualified other than in England and Wales. Some teachers will return to service after career breaks.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Qualified teachers in service in England and Wales outside the maintained schools sector, e.g. those in the independent sector, further or higher education sectors or miscellaneous establishments who are members of the TPS.

Source:

Database of Teacher Records (DTR).

Top-up Fees

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) letters, (b) faxes, (c) phone calls, (d) e-mails and (e) petitions have been received by his Department since 2000 (i) in favour of and (ii) opposed to top-up fees. [118148]

Alan Johnson: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Training

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his strategy for the proposed increase in workplace-based learning. [117555]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: As part of the Skills Strategy we are considering how best to target the public funding of adult learning to ensure the significant investment we are making has the maximum impact in supporting adult skills, alongside investment from employers. We will set out our conclusions shortly.

Veterinary Science

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places for veterinary science were offered by UK universities in each of the last five years; and how many applications there were for university places in veterinary science in each of those years. [119227]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 16 June 2003]: Information on the numbers of places for veterinary science is not held centrally. The Higher Education Funding Council for England has responsibility for funding the number of HE places in English HE institutions, but these places are funded in terms of four broad price groups, rather than individual subjects. The price groups recognise that some subjects, such as those that involve laboratory or workshop activities, require higher levels of resource to those that are mainly classroom based. Veterinary Science is included in highest price group along with clinical medicine and dentistry.

19 Jun 2003 : Column 371W

The available figures for applicants and acceptances for Veterinary Science courses in the United Kingdom via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) are shown in the following table.

Applicants and acceptances to full-time undergraduate courses in Veterinary Science

Year of entry Applicants⁽¹⁹⁾ Acceptances⁽¹⁹⁾

1998 1,790 620

1999 1,800 630

2000 1,760 660

2001 1,610 700

2002 1,600 770

Year of entry	Applicants⁽¹⁹⁾	Acceptances⁽¹⁹⁾


1998	1,790	620
1999	1,800	630
2000	1,760	660
2001	1,610	700
2002	1,600	770

⁽¹⁹⁾ Covers both home and overseas students.

Note:

Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Correspondence

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many staff have been employed in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit of the Department in each of the last two years. [115869]

The Solicitor-General: A holding reply was given on 3 June 2003.

My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Serious Fraud Office, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate do not have dedicated Ministerial Correspondence Units due to the small size of the offices. Ministerial Correspondence is delegated for preparation of a response to the most appropriate person depending on the subject matter.

The Crown Prosecution Service's Correspondence Unit deals with all Ministerial Correspondence sent to the Director, Chief Executive and the Law Officers, general correspondence from members of the public, the Public Enquiry Point and, in accordance with the third tier of the Crown Prosecution Service's Complaints Procedure, looks into all matters in which complainants remain dissatisfied with the responses received from branch and area level.

In 2001–02, four staff were assigned to the Correspondence Unit (one Higher Executive Officer, two Executive Officers and one Administrative Officer). In the following year the number rose to five when a further part-time Higher Executive Officer joined the Unit and was given specific responsibility for third tier

19 Jun 2003 : Column 372W

complaints. The Correspondence Unit forms part of the Director's Private Office and the staff report to the Director's Private Secretary.

Sally Clark

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 8 April 2003, Official Report, column 154W, whether she is now in a position to make a statement on the implications for the Crown Prosecution Service of the case of Mrs. Sally Clark. [119872]

The Solicitor-General: The Court of Appeal has now given its judgment in full in the case of Mrs. Sally Clark. In giving its reasons for quashing the murder convictions, the Court found the convictions were unsafe. No fault was attributed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Court of Appeal focused on the non-disclosure of potentially significant evidence by Dr. Williams. It also considered the use of statistical evidence by Professor Meadow.

The Crown Prosecution Service has already responded to the Sally Clark judgment. It is in the process of issuing guidance to all Chief Crown Prosecutors instructing them to identify cases involving either Doctor Williams or Professor Meadow and ensuring that the defence are made aware of the judgment. Such disclosure would also be applied to any future cases. The implications for previous cases involving Doctor Williams has been discussed and is still being assessed. The Crown Prosecution Service is involved, alongside other relevant agencies, in consideration of that issue.

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