| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
8 Sept 2003 : Column 123W—continued
Examination Awards
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions his staff have had with the examination awarding bodies since December 2002; and if he will make a statement. [128099]
Mr. Miliband: Discussions between DfES officials and the examination awarding bodies are held in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the DfES and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
DfES officials formally meet the chief executives from three unitary awarding bodies, AQA, Edexcel and OCR twice a year. Since December 2002, one meeting has taken place on 1 April and another is scheduled for November. The majority of DfES's contacts with the awarding bodies occur at meetings organised by the QCA.
8 Sept 2003 : Column 124W
Family Centre Places
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many family centre places have been provided by local authorities. [127889]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: This information is not available in the form requested. However, in 2001–02, (the latest date for which data are available), gross expenditure by councils in England on family centres was £139.4 million.
Formula Spending Share
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the transfers into and out of formula spending share for 2004–05, and grants which are due to cease at the end of 2003–04; and whether his Department plans consequently to adjust the baseline calculation for floors and ceilings. [127164]
Mr. Miliband: The Secretary of State's statement of 17 July on school funding indicated that the standards fund would be maintained at its 2003–04 levels.
Details of any transfers into or out of formula spending will be announced later in the year, as will details on the baseline for floors and ceilings. However, we will ensure that every school and LEA has a reasonable year-on-year increase in its overall per pupil funding.
Free School Milk
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he is taking to encourage local authorities to introduce free school milk for children aged seven years. [128236]
Mr. Miliband: This Department supports the provision of free and paid for milk in maintained schools and encourages schools and local education authorities to offer it to pupils. Guidance produced to assist schools to implement regulations, which set nutritional standards for school lunches includes a strong recommendation from the Secretary of State that drinking milk is available to all pupils as an option every day. Following a 20 per cent. reduction in the EU subsidy on school milk from January 2001, this Department agreed jointly with the Department of Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to top up the annual £1.5 million shortfall. This assistance helps prevent possible increased costs of providing school milk.
Free School Transport
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the maximum age is at which local education authorities must provide free transport to pupils who attend their nearest school if the distance between home and school is beyond the statutory walking distance. [127094]
Mr. Miliband: Statutory home to school transport provisions apply to pupils of compulsory school age. A pupil usually ceases to be of compulsory school age on the last Friday in June in the school year in which he or she reaches 16.
8 Sept 2003 : Column 125W
Further Education Colleges (Finance)
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost was of bids submitted by further education colleges for growth in 2003–04 in respect of (a) 16–19 and (b) adult provision; what proportion of the bids in each category have been met by the Learning and Skills Council; and if he will make a statement. [127959]
Alan Johnson: There has been very considerable growth in allocations to further education colleges. In the 2003–04 academic year, a total of £2,072 million was allocated for 16–18 year olds, £1,828 million for adult learning (including adult basic skills) and £321 million for Additional Learning Support. This represents increases of £284 million (16 per cent.), £181 million (11 per cent.), and £37 million (13 per cent.) respectively above the comparable allocations for 2002–03.
Plans for growth are agreed between the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and individual colleges as part of discussions on forward plans. Individual college proposals are supported by local LSCs where they fit with the Local Strategic Plan, which outlines the learning and skills needs in the local area. In 2003–04, all such proposals for growth in respect of participation by 16–18 year olds and basic skills provision for adults were met in full. In addition to the extra funding provided for Adult Learning, proposals totalling a further £30 million were unable to be met within available resources.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment has been made by his Department of the impact of the performance related funding system set out in Success for All on equality of opportunity for learners; and if he will make a statement. [127960]
Alan Johnson: The measures set out in Success for All will reward those colleges which meet their targets for student success and provide clear incentives for colleges to improve their performance in this respect. Floor targets have set clear expectations about minimum acceptable performance levels and these will drive up performance in colleges and providers whose learners currently have the lowest chance of securing the qualifications for which they are aiming. Through their agreed three year development plans, colleges and providers will set out their plans for improving student services and teaching standards. These approaches will benefit all learners, helping ensure more learners receive a high quality learning experience. In particular, they will benefit learners enrolled with colleges and providers whose performance is least good and this will enhance equality of opportunity for learners.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much of the funding totals shown for further education in the Departmental Annual Report 2003 is assumed to be for (a) participation, (b) investment, (c) local intervention and development funding and (d) other funding for the years (i) 2003–04, (ii) 2004–05 and (iii) 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [127993]
Alan Johnson: The information requested is set out in the table.
8 Sept 2003 : Column 126W
| 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | 4,278 | 4,625 | 4,988 |
| Investment | 266 | 316 | 343 |
| Local intervention and development funding | 132 | 177 | 191 |
| Other | 56 | 56 | 56 |
| Total | 4,732 | 5,173 | 5,579 |
These figures are rounded to the nearest £ million and are consistent with those published in the Departmental Annual Report 2003. We plan a 19 per cent. real terms increase in total funding in 2005–06 compared to 2002–03, which demonstrates this Government's commitment to further education.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what level of funding has been allowed in his Department's expenditure plans to compensate further education colleges for the transfer of responsibility for increases in the employer contributions to the teachers pension scheme in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [127994]
Alan Johnson: The Department has made available funding of £80 million in 2003–04 to compensate publicly funded further education colleges for changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme. In 2004–05 the funds available will rise to £84 million and in 2005–06 to £87 million.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated cost is to further education colleges of the increases in employer national insurance contributions introduced in April 2003 for (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [127995]
Alan Johnson: The additional cost in employers' national insurance contributions in 2003–04 for all further education institutions in England is estimated to be £25 million. Further education institutions receive funding for staff costs from a variety of sources, both public and private, so the element of the increase to be covered from public sources will be only a proportion of this. In 2003–04 assumed total funding for further education allocated to the Learning and Skills Council will increase by 6 per cent. in real terms compared with 2002–03. This places further education colleges in a good position to meet cost increases and invest in improving services for learners and employers.
The likely cost of the increase in national insurance contributions in future years depends on a number of variables including the number of staff employed and the level of their pay. These are matters for colleges to determine within the resources that are available to them. Given this, the Department does not provide estimates of such costs for future years.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the level is of projected enrolments in terms of full time equivalents based on the funding assumed for participation in further education in the Departmental Report 2003 for (a) 16 to 19-year-olds and (b) adults in (i) 2002–03, (ii) 2003–04, (iii) 2004–05 and (iv) 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [127996]
8 Sept 2003 : Column 127W
Alan Johnson: Funding for participation in further education, as set out in the Departmental Report 2003, is based on the following assumptions of funded enrolments in terms of full-time equivalents (FTEs):
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16–18 year olds | 509 | 534 | 566 | 596 |
| 19+ year olds | 571 | 582 | 594 | 604 |
These are assumptions, not targets, that are subject to revision. The key assumption is that a rising proportion of the cohort of 16–18 year olds, which is itself increasing in size because of demographic changes, will
8 Sept 2003 : Column 128W
choose to enrol in FE sector colleges.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the planned total funding is per full-time equivalent student in further education for adults in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04, (c) 2004–05 and (d) 2005–06 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms at April 2003 prices, on the basis of GDP deflator projections (A) with and (B) without the additional funding made available to compensate colleges for increases in employer contributions to the teachers pension scheme; and if he will make a statement. [128028]
Alan Johnson: Unit of funding figures are not available separately for adults.
The total unit of funding in further education in cash and real terms in 2002–03 prices are set out as follows:
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash terms | ||||
| Including money for teachers' pension scheme | 4,020 | 4,310 | 4,530 | 4,720 |
| Excluding money for teachers' pension scheme | 4,020 | 4,240 | 4,460 | 4,650 |
| Real terms (2002–03 prices) | ||||
| Including money for teachers' pension scheme | 4,020 | 4,200 | 4,300 | 4,370 |
| Excluding money for teachers' pension scheme | 4,020 | 4,130 | 4,230 | 4,310 |
Source:
DfES estimates and projections.
The figures shown above for 2003–04 to 2005–06 are consistent with the Spending Review 2002 settlement for Further Education announced in November 2002 which was the most substantial increase in FE funding since college incorporation in 1993. They will deliver higher standards and reform of the local pattern of provision and therefore better meet the needs of learners and employers.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was allocated for (a) the Teaching Pay Initiative for further education colleges and (b) the staff development component of the Standards Fund for colleges in 2002–03; how much colleges will receive in 2003–04 from the 2 per cent. enhancement of funding rates allocated for the transfer under Success for All; and if he will make a statement. [128029]
Alan Johnson: In 2002–03 Further Education colleges were allocated £142 million pounds for the Teaching Pay Initiative, and £53 million for the staff development component of the Standards Fund. These funds were consolidated into participation funding for the academic year 2003–04 and the funding rate was increased by 3.5 per cent. to reflect this. Colleges will receive £138 million from the 3.5% increase. A further £50 million will be allocated to some colleges to meet the costs of implementing increased funding for colleges with high area costs and disadvantage factors, and to fund additional participation through pilots such as those in adult skills and partnerships for progression in 2003–4.
As well as consolidation of these funds, further education colleges will also receive an increase of £63 million or 2 per cent. in their core unit of funding per full time equivalent learner in return for agreeing a three year development plan. The real terms increase in the participation unit of funding, together with the consolidation of previously targeted funds and three year funding agreement, are what colleges were calling for. They give colleges more control over the funds allocated to them and a longer term planning horizon.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what average increase expressed in real terms he estimates further education colleges will receive in 2003–04 for (a) growth in participation and (b) other funding increases (i) in total funding and (ii) after discounting actual Teacher Pay Initiative and staff development allocations for 2002–03, the additional costs of employers contributions to the Teachers Pension Scheme from April 2003 and the additional costs arising from the increase in employers national insurance contributions from April 2003; and if he will make a statement. [128030]
Alan Johnson: The real terms increase in assumed total funding for further education allocated to the Learning and Skills Council for 2003–04 is 6 per cent. compared with 2002–03. This increase excludes the additional funding of £80 million made available to compensate colleges for an increase in the employer contribution rate arising from technical changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme. It includes funding for additional student numbers.
We estimate that funding available for participation will increase by around 7 per cent. in real terms. This includes funding for additional student numbers. We estimate that funding available for non-participation budgets for purposes such as investment to raise standards and improve the capital infrastructure will
8 Sept 2003 : Column 129W
increase by 3 per cent. in real terms. These figures exclude the impact of the transfer in 2003–04 of funding in respect of the Teaching Pay Initiative and staff development from the non-participation baseline into the participation baseline.
We estimate that the costs of the increase in employers' national insurance contributions and of the additional increase in employers' contributions to the Teachers Pension Scheme as a result of the latest actuarial revaluation, represents around 0.7 per cent. of the value of total funding, or around 0.8 per cent. of the value of funding for participation.
The real terms increases in funding for colleges in 2003–04 place them in a good position to meet cost increases and invest in improving services for learners and employers.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |