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12 Nov 2003 : Column 345W—continued
Smoking
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of raising the minimum age for smoking to (a) 18 and (b) 21 years old, with particular reference to the development and health of young people. [136811]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 November 2003]: The Government is aware of the difficulties in enforcing the existing age limit for smoking. We are not convinced that raising the minimum age to 18 or 21 will resolve the problem of teenage smoking. The key is to improve enforcement of existing legislation. The Department continues to work closely with representatives of Trading Standards and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services to achieve this.
STDs
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes for sexually transmitted diseases there were in each English region in each of the last six years. [137368]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 November 2003]: The number of finished consultant episodes for sexually transmitted diseases diagnosed in genitourinary medicine clinics in each of the English national health service regions (up to 2002) are shown in the table.
Data for episodes diagnosed and treated in other settings, such as contraception services, are not held centrally. Nor does the data identify the grades of staff undertaking the diagnoses, therefore it will include diagnoses and treatment undertaken by other clinic staff, such as nurses, as well as consultants.
Source:
Health Protection Agency, KC60 returns
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Termination Payments
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many termination payments have been made by NHS trusts to (a) chief executives and (b) senior managers since January 2000; and what the total amount paid was for each trust. [138100]
Mr. Hutton: This information is not collected centrally as determination of such payments are a local matter.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Ticket Office (College Green)
Mr. Flook: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission when the ticket office on College Green will be dismantled. [136945]
Sir Archy Kirkwood: The work will be carried out later this month.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Class Sizes
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Vale of York was for each of the previous three academic years. [137002]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Taught by one teacher | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position at January each year | Maintained primary | Maintained secondary |
| 2001 | 24.4 | 21.2 |
| 2002 | 23.6 | 20.8 |
| 2003 | 24.1 | 20.8 |
(14) Includes middle schools as deemed.
(15) Classes as taught during one selected period in each school on the day of the census in January.
(16) Classes taught by one teacher.
Source:
Annual Schools Census
Euro K4
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the local authorities allocated money under the Euro K4 project. [135649]
Alan Johnson: Euro K4 is a project run by Worcestershire county council. No other local authorities receive funding from the project.
Graduate Tax
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the expected deficits or surpluses are over the first 20 years for the Government in relation to higher education spending under the present proposals for income-contingent loans, assuming a zero real rate of interest; [137685]
- (2) whether his Department has commissioned outside institutions and individuals to model variants of a graduate tax; [137686]
(3) what discussions his Department has had with outside bodies regarding the hypothecation of revenues from a graduate tax for use solely in funding higher education; [137687]
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(4) how many (a) variants of a time-limited graduate tax, (b) principal variants of a quantum-limited graduate tax and (c) variants of a graduate tax were modelled by his Department in connection with its plans to fund higher education; [137744]
(5) which securitisation and bond issuance schemes his Department has assessed to fund or bridge the cash flow gap in the first years of the main variants of a graduate tax; [137753]
(6) if he will publish the estimated cash flow profile over 20 years for Government receipts under his present proposals for income-contingent loans; [137754]
(7) what assessment he has made of alternative models of a graduate tax based on an increase in national insurance contributions payable by graduates and businesses during (a) all and (b) part of a graduate's working life; [137755]
(8) what mechanisms his Department has assessed to fund or bridge the cash flow gap in the first years of the main variants of graduate tax modelled by his Department; [137756]
(9) what the cash flow profiles over 20 years are of the principal variants of a graduate tax which his Department has assessed; and what the main assumptions underlying them are; [137757]
(10) what (a) the average monthly repayments, (b) total payment made by the student and (c) the shortfall/surplus at a zero real rate of interest under a graduate tax levied would be at (i) 1p, (ii) 2p and (iii) 3p in the pound of income above £15,000 for (A) 10 years, (B) 15 years, (C) 20 years, (D) 25 years and (E) 30 years after leaving university. [137758]
Alan Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 30 October 2003, Official Report, column 429, and also to the two letters to my hon. Friend from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, dated 11 April 2003 and 3 June 2003. Copies of both letters are in the House Library.
Higher Education
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has commissioned on Government expenditure on higher education in EU member states. [137678]
Alan Johnson: My Department has not directly commissioned any specific research in this area. My Department uses OECD's annual "Education at a Glance" publication as the best source of comparative information of this nature, and we contribute both financially and in time spent by our statisticians, to its production. It gives statistical information on Government expenditure on higher education in all the current EU member states and in four of the states due to accede in 2004: Poland, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak republics.
In "Education at a Glance", each country's expenditure on higher education is reported as a percentage of total public expenditure and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product. The publication
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also gives the relative proportions of public and private expenditure on higher education institutions, for both 2000 and 1995.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what additional resources the Government have allocated to higher education establishments in each of the last five years in (a) the north west region and (b) St. Helens. [138012]
Alan Johnson: The table shows the resources for higher education provided via the Higher Education Funding Council for England in St. Helens and for the north west region in each of the last five years.
| North West | St. Helens | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 471.7 | 2.2 |
| 2000–01 | 488. 1 | 2.4 |
| 2001–02 | 505.8 | 2.5 |
| 2002–03 | 539.0 | 2.6 |
| 2003–04 | 576.3 | 2.5 |
| Total | 2,580.9 | 12.1 |
As a result of the 2002 Spending Review publicly planned spending per FTE in higher education will rise by 7 per cent. in real terms between 2002–03 and 2005–06. Higher education in the north west will receive its share of this increase.
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