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10 Sept 2003 : Column 380W—continued
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
A-Levels
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many A-levels were taken in (a) French and (b) German in 2003; what percentage change these figures represent from 2002; and what estimate he has made of the number of French and German A-levels which will be taken in 2004. [128548]
Mr. Miliband: These are provisional figures published recently by the Joint Council for General Qualifications. They cover GCE A-level entries for candidates of all ages in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
| Entries | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2002 | 2003 | % change |
| French | 15,614 | 15,531 | -0.5 |
| German | 7,013 | 6,950 | -0.9 |
The DfES has not made an estimate of the numbers taking these exams in 2004 due to unavailability of data.
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Exclusions
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded from (a) primary schools, (b) city technology colleges,
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(c) other secondary schools and (d) special schools in each year since 1988; how many of these exclusions were taken to appeal; and how many of these exclusions were successfully overturned by an appeals panel. [127901]
Mr. Miliband: The available information, shown in the table, relates to permanent exclusions from 1995/96 onward.
| 1995/96 | 1996/97 | 1997/98 | 1998/99 | 1999/00 | 2000/01 | 2001/01 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXCLUSIONS | |||||||
| PRIMARY SCHOOLS(1) | |||||||
| Number of permanent exclusions | 1,608 | 1,573 | 1,539 | 1,366 | 1,226 | 1,436 | 1,450 |
| Percentage of school population(2) | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| SECONDARY SCHOOLS(1) | |||||||
| Number of permanent exclusions | 10,344 | 10,463 | 10,187 | 8,636 | 6,713 | 7,305 | 7,740 |
| Percentage of school population(2) | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 0.28 | 0.21 | 0.23 | 0.24 |
| SPECIAL SCHOOLS(3) | |||||||
| Number of permanent exclusions | 524 | 632 | 572 | 436 | 384 | 394 | 340 |
| Percentage of school population(2) | 0.54 | 0.64 | 0.58 | 0.45 | 0.40 | 0.41 | 0.36 |
| CITY TECHNOLOGY COLLEGES(4) | |||||||
| Number of permanent exclusions | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | 32 |
| Percentage of school population(2) | - | - | - | - | - | 0.12 | 0.20 |
| EXCLUSION APPEALS | |||||||
| PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SPECIAL SCHOOLS(5) | |||||||
| Number of appeals lodged by parents | 1,339 | 1,455 | 1,287 | 1,216 | 948 | 1,095 | 1,125 |
| Number of appeals overturned by an appeals panel | 185 | 225 | 204 | 220 | 317 | 314 | 259 |
| Percentage of appeals overturned by an appeals panel(6) | 17.0 | 19.9 | 20.2 | 22.8 | 36.7 | 31.9 | 24.4 |
(1) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(2) Number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of full and part-time pupils of all ages (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January each year.
(3) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools.
(4) Information on exclusions from City Technology Colleges was collected for the first time in 2002 (relating to academic year 2000/01). There was no checking exercise to confirm the quality of exclusions data from City Technology Colleges so these figures should be used with caution.
(5) Information on exclusion appeals is collected at LEA-level for primary, secondary and special schools. This information is not available by school type.
(6) Number of appeals decided in parents' favour expressed as a percentage of all appeals heard by an appeals panel.
provisional
—not available
GCSE/GNVQ
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the percentage change was between 2002 and 2003 in the number of pupils attaining A* and A grades in all GCSE subjects; and if he will make a statement. [128554]
Mr. Miliband: It is not possible at this stage to calculate numbers of 15 year-old pupils achieving GCSEs, how many GCSEs they achieved or at what grade. This information can be made available on a provisional basis in late October.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the equivalent GCSE grades represented by a GNVQ intermediate full award are at (a) distinction, (b) merit and (c) pass; and if he will make a statement. [128552]
Mr. Miliband: The contribution to the average GCSE/GNVQ point score is shown in the table below:
| Grade | Points | Points per GCSE equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Distinction | 30 | 7.5 |
| Merit | 24 | 6 |
| Pass | 20 | 5 |
Points awarded for GCSEs range from 8 for a grade A* to 1 for a grade G. A GNVQ intermediate full award is the equivalent of 4 grades A*-C at GCSE, regardless of whether a distinction, merit or pass is achieved.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has established this equivalence.
Key Stage 2
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 11 year-olds in (a) the Taunton constituency and (b) Somerset have achieved Key Stage 2 in each year since 1997 in (i) Mathematics and (ii) English. [127774]
Mr. Miliband: The percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 or above at Key Stage 2 in (a) the Taunton constituency and (b) Somerset Local Education Authority (LEA) from 1997 to 2003 is as follows:
* Provisional
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Solway Firth Wind Farm
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from Allerdale district council on the proposed Solway Firth wind farm. [127861]
Mr. Timms: The Scottish Executive were responsible for dealing with the application for consent for the Solway Firth wind farm. There was no DTI involvement in the consents process and any representations made in respect of the application were dealt with by the executive.
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions (a) she and (b) senior members of her Department have had with (i) UK based non-governmental organisations, (ii) EU based non-governmental organisations, (iii) non-governmental organisations based in the Caucasus region and (iv) US based non-governmental organisations on the issue of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project; when these discussions took place; what the result of these discussions was; and if she will make a statement. [128066]
Mr. Timms: The following discussions have been held with NGOs on the issue of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project:
(a) The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry: none.
(b) Officials in the Export Credits Guarantee Department:
- The Corner House—30 November 2002 (at DFID), 29 May 2003 (at DFID) and 3 June 2003 (at ECGD)
Kurdish Human Rights Project—30 November 2002 (at DFID), 29 May 2003 (at DFID) and 3 June 2003 (at ECGD)
Bretton Woods Project—30 November 2002 (at DFID) and 29 May 2003 (at DFID)
PLATFORM—29 May (at DFID), 3 June (at ECGD) and 11 June (at EBRD)
Friends of the Earth—29 May (at DFID) and 3 June (at ECGD)
WWF(UK)—29 May (at DFID) and 3 June (at ECGD)
Amnesty International—20 May (at Carlton Terrace), 29 May (at DFID), 3 June (at ECGD) and 4 August (at ECGD)
Transparency International—3 June (at ECGD)
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-
(ii) EU based NGOs: None
- Society for Democratic Reform, Azerbaijan—30 November 2002 (at DFID)
Social-Democratic Party, Azerbaijan—30 November 2002 (at DFID)
Young Lawyers' Association, Georgia—30 November 2002 (at DFID)
IHD, Turkey—30 November 2002 (at DFID)
University of Mersin, Turkey—30 November 2002 (at DFID)
Caucasus NGO Federation, Azerbaijan—29 May (at DFID) and 16 June (in Baku)
CLEE, Azerbaijan—18 June (in Baku)
Green Alternatives, Georgia—29 May (at DFID) and 19 June (in Tbilisi)
WWF (Caucasus)—19 June (in Tbilisi)
DEHAP, Turkey (Kurdish political party)—29 May (at DFID) and 22 June (in Ardahan)
RUDF, Turkey—24 June (in Ankara)
Ankara University—24 June (in Ankara)
Caucasus Sub-regional NGO Network—18 July (at ECGD)
Association of Women Scientists of Georgia—18 July (at ECGD)
Georgian Society of Nature Explorers "Orchis"—18 July (at ECGD)
Institute of Social Researches—18 July (at ECGD)
'Save Borjomi'—18 July (at ECGD)
Ecology of the Caucasus—18 July (at ECGD)
At all of these discussions the ECGD official(s) listened carefully to what was said and confirmed that they would take account of this information in their analyses of the potential environmental and social impacts of the project. The ECGD official(s) also stated that cover would only be offered if ECGD was satisfied that the relevant environmental, social and human rights impacts had been properly addressed and that the financial and project risks were acceptable.
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