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30 Oct 2003 : Column 363W—continued
Vocational Training
19. Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on vocational training for school children aged between 14 and 16. [135250]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government are committed to a far-reaching agenda for change in the curriculum for 14 to16-year-olds.
We have already introduced new GCSEs in vocational subjects and more are intended to follow. We are using our 14 to 19 Pathfinders to test new ways to
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deliver progression for pupils post-16. One of the key issues my right hon. Friend has asked Mike Tomlinson's 14 to 19 Working Group to consider is a stronger and more coherent vocational offer across the whole 14 to 19 phase. The group's recommendations are due in summer 2004.
GCSE (Specialist Schools)
Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the performance of specialist schools in achieving 5 A* to C grades at GCSE compared to the national average; and if he will make a statement. [135244]
Mr. Miliband: Based on provisional data, in 2003, specialist schools averaged 56.1 per cent. of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, compared to the national average of 48.7 per cent 1 . This is one of the reasons why we want every school that is ready to take on the challenge of specialist status.
- 1 Specialist schools cover the 979 maintained, mainstream schools which were operational specialists as at September 2002, with 2003 GCSE/GNVQ results.
GMOs
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the trial sites where GMOs are being released into the environment, including in each case the six-figure grid reference. [133406]
Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.
There are currently five active consents allowing companies to undertake clinical trials of GM bacteria for the development of vaccines in England. The sites of each release are set out in the table. There are currently no field trials of genetically modified crops taking place in the UK.
| Company | Type of GMO | Site of release | Ordnance survey grid reference | Consent reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acambis Research Ltd. | GM bacterium | St. Bartholomew's Hospital and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London | TQ 346 816 | 02/R35/1 |
| Acambis Research Ltd. | GM bacterium | Chiltern Clinical Research Unit, Slough, Berkshire | SU 983 793 | 03/R35/2 |
| Acambis Research Ltd. | GM bacterium | St. Bartholomew's Hospital and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London | TQ 346 816 | 03/R35/3 |
| MicroScience Ltd. | GM bacterium | St. George's Hospital Medical School, London | TQ 269 712 | 02/R37/01 |
| MicroScience Ltd. | GM bacterium | BIBRA International Ltd, Carshalton, Surrey | TQ 275 621 | 02/R37/02 |
Graduate Employment
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the percentage of graduates who are employed in jobs requiring a graduate qualification three years after graduation. [134340]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Survey evidence suggests that, three years after graduation 65 per cent. of employed graduates are in jobs for which their academic qualifications are a prerequisite. A further 14 per cent. of graduates undertake jobs which do not necessarily require a degree but nevertheless make use of their graduate level knowledge or skills. Therefore, around 80 per cent. of employed graduates utilise their undergraduate degrees to a greater or lesser extent three years after graduation 1 .
Although around 20 per cent. of graduates are employed in non-graduate jobs at this point, research following earlier cohorts of graduates up to seven years after they have graduated 2 suggests that the proportion falls to around 10 per cent. for men and 15 per cent. for women, as graduates settle further into the labour market. Furthermore, the rate at which graduates move
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out of non-graduate occupations in the early years following their graduation was similar for 1995 graduates and for those graduating 15 years earlier (1979/1980).
- 1 Elias, P. and Purcell, K. (1999) 'Moving On: Graduate Careers Three Years After Graduation' DfEE research report.
Graduate Employment Premium
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the graduate employment premium for lifetime earnings in comparison with (a) those with two Level 3 qualifications who do not enter university and (b) the overall cohort of school-leavers. [134123]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is not available in the exact form requested. Previous analyses of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimate that first degree graduates earn on average around 120,000 more—in present value terms—over their working lives than those with two or more A-levels 1 .
An equivalent estimate comparing the lifetime earnings of graduates with the population as a whole is not available. However, separate analyses of the LFS show that individuals with first or sub degree qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates 2 . The 50 per cent. premium is measured in a different way from the £120,000 lifetime earnings differential. In particular the comparator groups and methodologies used differ. However, both estimates provide evidence that individuals with Higher Education qualifications earn considerably more than those without.
- 1 DfES analysis of Spring 2002 Labour Force Survey data. The analysis involved constructing a lifetime earnings stream for first degree graduates and comparing it against the lifetime earnings of A-level holders. Both earnings streams were discounted, adjusted for real earnings growth and other factors affecting earnings, other than the qualification itself. The difference between the two earnings streams summed to £120,000.
Grammar Schools
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the future of grammar schools. [134093]
Mr. Miliband: Our position on selection by academic ability at 11 is clear—we do not wish to see it extended. Where grammar schools currently exist, we continue to support local decision making.
This can take place either through the process of a parental petition and ballot, or the publication by the school's governing body of statutory proposals to end selection. We have made clear that local authorities have a responsibility to look at standards in their area, and they may also publish statutory proposals to alter the pattern of school places.
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Higher Education
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of higher education students are drawn from the lowest third of families measured by household income. [135243]
Alan Johnson: The requested data are not available.
The data we currently collect for student support purposes is not based on household income since current arrangements assess the income of natural parents only. From 2004 we are moving to a new assessment based on household income.
Physics Teachers
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers were in training specialising in physics in each of the last five years for which information is available. [135459]
Mr. Miliband: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Answer that I gave on 27 October 2003, Official Report, columns 69–70W.
Post-compulsory Learning
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on progress on the development of a national credit framework for qualifications in post-compulsory learning. [134984]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Following the commitment given in "21st Century Skills Realising Our Potential" to developing a credit framework for adults, we have written to both the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on 9 September 2003. The QCA will continue to deliver the reform programme on unitisation of all qualifications within the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and then work with awarding bodies to assign credit values to the full range of units in the NQF. The LSC has been asked to review the credit systems currently operating outside the NQF and to identify how the application of credit to this other provision might drive quality and flexibility in further education and how such credit might be developed to provide progression into the NQF and higher education.
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