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12 Nov 2003 : Column 352W—continued
Teaching Assistants
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what national standards his Department (a) sets and (b) recognises for the employment of teaching assistants in schools, with particular reference to (i) pay and (ii) training. [137578]
Mr. Miliband: Pay for support staff including teaching assistants is a matter for local determination: the government believes that this is the best way of ensuring a flexible system that can respond to local needs and circumstances. It is also for employers to decide what skills, experience and qualifications are needed for teaching assistant posts and the training of support staff is the responsibility of local authorities and schools.
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In October the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services published guidance on the employment and grading of school support staff including examples of job profiles that can be used to support job evaluations and advice on training and development. The development of this guidance has been recognised by all signatories to the National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload as an important step to support the implementation of the agreement.
My Department supported the development of the National Occupational Standards for Teaching Assistants by the Local Government National Training Organisation, published in September 2001, which awarding bodies have used to develop NVQs at levels 2 and 3 available from September 2002.
We have also supported the development of standards for the new higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) role by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA). These were published in September 2003 and link to the standards for qualified teacher status (QTS). We continue to support the TTA as they develop an HLTA assessment and training programme which will be widely available from April 2004.
The Department has in addition, for the first time, introduced regulations which define the conditions under which school support staff can undertake specified work under the direction and supervision of a teacher. The new Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2003 emphasise the importance of headteachers satisfying themselves that the member of support staff has been adequately trained and refer to the HLTA standards.
Top-up Fees
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who he intends will be responsible for raising the maximum cap on top-up fees; and by what mechanism. [137554]
Alan Johnson: I can assure my hon. Friend that the £3,000 fee cap will not be raised by more than the rate of inflation for the lifetime of the next Parliament.
The precise mechanism for raising the fee cap will be established under the proposed legislation. Under the current arrangements, the standard fee can be uprated for inflation by negative resolution of the House. However, it can only be increased by more than inflation by affirmative resolution, which would require a debate and vote in both Houses.
Tuition Fees
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the amount that would be raised for higher education per £100 increase in annual tuition fees by all universities. [137569]
Alan Johnson: For every £100 increase in annual tuition fees by all universities, the higher education sector would receive approximately £75 million in additional income. 1 This figure was set out in the letter
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to my hon. Friend from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills dated 11 April 2003, a copy of which is in the House Library.
- 1 This is in addition to fee income to universities from the standard fee of £1,125, not including full time post graduates (apart from PGCE students). All figures are for students at English HE Institutions for 2003–04.
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what estimate he has made of the additional amount that will be raised by universities if his proposals for variable top-up fees are implemented; [137161]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the amount that would be raised for universities if tuition fees rose to (a) £1,500, (b) £2,000, (c) £2,500 and (d) £3,000 per annum for all universities. [137163]
Alan Johnson: From 2006, universities will be able to set their fees above the current standard fee, provided they have an access agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access.
The following table sets out the approximate extra income from fees if all universities set their fee for all courses at the levels specified 1 :
- 1 All figures are for students at English HE Institutions for 2003/04.
| Level of higher fee | Approx. additional income from fees(17) |
|---|---|
| £1,500 | 280 |
| £2,000 | 660 |
| £2,500 | 1,035 |
| £3,000 | 1,410 |
(17) This is in addition to fee income to universities from the standard fee of £1,125, not including full-time post graduates (apart from PGCE students).
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the impact on access by poorer students to medical places if they are charged the maximum tuition fee. [137214]
Alan Johnson: The Government have made a number of proposals to safeguard access to higher education for those from low income families. Such students will continue, as now, to have the cost of the standard tuition fee (£1,125 in 2003/04) met by the Government. Around three in 10 students will also receive means tested Higher Education Grants of £1,000 and, in addition, many students from lower income families will be eligible for partial fee remission and HE grant as well as bursaries and other support from universities under arrangements agreed by the Office of Fair Access.
Fees for English domiciled medical students in years five and six are currently paid by the Department of Health. These students also qualify for means tested NHS bursaries in their fifth and subsequent years of study. Department of Health Ministers have indicated that they will, if necessary, take measures to ensure that any increase in the level of tuition fees will not have an adverse impact on the supply, retention, diversity or quality of students on health professional courses, including medicine.
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Arrangements for repayment of fee loans will, for all graduates, be heavily subsidised: graduates will repay their loans at zero real rate of interest and only when their income exceeds £15,000 per year. Repayments will then be made at a rate of 9 per cent. of income above £15,000. Figures collected in March 2003 show that 73 per cent. of newly qualified medical graduates in hospital posts earn £34,533 per annum. This compares very favourably with the salaries of other newly qualified graduates. According to Graduate Prospects, the average starting salary for graduate-level jobs was £18,000 in 2002/03.
Finally, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 6 November in which I stated that I had placed in the House Library copies of a number of pieces of international research on the impact on social access to a range of university courses.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will break down by (a) region and (b) local education authority the proportion of students (i) not paying tuition fees and (ii) receiving a contribution towards tuition fees. [137476]
Alan Johnson: In England and Wales students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition only if they can afford to do so.
The percentage of students in England and Wales in academic year 2001/02 (latest year for which data are available) who have been assessed to make a nil or partial contribution towards the cost of their tuition is shown in the table:
| Academic year | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Nil contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner(19) | 43 |
| Partial contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner | 16 |
(18) Contributions towards the cost of tuition are assessed by local education authorities in England and Wales for students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
(19) Includes students on courses where the fee support was not subject to income-assessment (e.g. PGCE courses, and some other ITT courses; and designated courses at private institutions).
Source:
F503G survey of local education authorities
National level data are published annually in the Department's Statistical First Releases (SFRs) (SFR 11/2003 for 2001/02). Data are collected from the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to produce national estimates and the data collection exercise does not allow for the production of firm figures below this level, and therefore data by region and local education authority are not available.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to provide assistance for graduate teachers in the repayment of graduate contributions towards tuition fees and loans; and what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposals for graduate contributions on teacher recruitment. [137522]
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Alan Johnson: Since September 2002, the Repayment of Teachers' Loans Scheme has been available on a pilot basis for new teachers of priority subjects taking up employment in maintained schools. This scheme supplements the £6,000 training bursaries and £4,000 Golden Hellos that have been offered to eligible graduate trainees since September 2000. Any changes to these arrangements would be announced at the appropriate time.
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what research he has undertaken into the impact of tuition fee increases on student demand for university courses; [137654]
- (2) what research he has undertaken to establish the level of tuition fees that would set supply equal to demand for particular university courses; [137652]
(3) what research he has undertaken to establish the impact of differential tuition fees on the pattern of student demand for different university courses. [137653]
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research has been commissioned by his Department on the effect of (a) upfront tuition fees, (b) deferred repayment of tuition fees and (c) variable tuition fees on university applications. [137473]
Alan Johnson: Evidence from research into the impact of variable fees overseas indicates that there is little impact on demand for higher education. I have placed a number of pieces of relevant research in the House Library.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of variable tuition fees on (a) the number of young people deciding to pursue degree courses and (b) the long-term consequences on (i) skills and (ii) employability of the work force. [137679]
Alan Johnson: Evidence from research into the impact of variable fees overseas indicates that there is little impact on demand for higher education. I have placed a number of pieces of relevant research in the House Library. The HE White Paper also explained that research 1 demonstrates that the number of jobs in occupations most likely to be filled by those who have been through Higher Education will grow by over one and a half million over the next decade.
- 1 Wilson R. A. and Green A. E. (2001). Projections of qualifications: 2000/2001. Research in support of the National Skills Taskforce, Department for Education and Employment.
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