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17 Nov 2003 : Column 544W—continued
Fair Trade (Universities)
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department has taken to promote fair trade accreditation at UK universities. [138388]
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Alan Johnson: The Government are committed to encouraging responsible trade and encourages all organisations to consider whether their purchasing policies can be adjusted to benefit the poor in developing countries. Through the Department for International Development, the Government have provided £0.5million to support UK development awareness and education campaigns centred around Fairtrade over the past two years. Higher education institutions are however independent, autonomous bodies, entirely responsible for their own trading arrangements, and we cannot directly influence their trading choices.
Falling Rolls
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England have falling rolls; and if he will make a statement. [136792]
Mr. Miliband: In January 2003, out of a total of 17,861 maintained primary schools, there were 10,100 schools that showed a decrease in pupil numbers of at least one pupil compared to January 2002.
Also in January 2003, out of a total of 3,436 maintained secondary schools, there were 1,017 schools that showed a decrease in pupil numbers of at least one pupil compared to January 2002.
Funding
Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many bodies receive some or all their funding from his Department; what funding was received by each body in each year since 1997; and who the chief executive is of each body. [133677]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information on funding of executive non departmental public bodies is published annually in the Departmental Report. Information on the chief executives is contained in the individual annual reports issued by each of the executive non departmental public bodies. Information on other bodies is not available, except at disproportionate cost.
Gifted Pupils
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what differences there are in the amounts that rural and urban areas received for gifted pupils; and what the reasons are for the differences. [138385]
Mr. Miliband: The majority of dedicated funding for gifted and talented education is made available through Excellence in Cities, including Excellence Clusters and Aim Higher. These programmes are targeted at areas of greatest deprivation which are concentrated in urban areas although not exclusively so. Each area receives only a notional allocation for work on gifted and talented education. It is for the local partnership or cluster to decide how much to spend on this, relative to other dimensions of their programme.
Local education authorities and schools can also use funding from other sources for gifted and talented education, and choose whether or not to take up a range of national resources available to them. These decisions are influenced by a variety of local priorities and needs.
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GNVQs
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 27 October 2003, Official Report, columns 73–6W, on GNVQs, what the total percentage was of pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE/GNVQ level was in each year since 1996; and if he will make a statement. [136715]
Mr. Miliband: The percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE/GNVQ are as follows:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1995/96 | 44.5 |
| 1996/97 | 45.1 |
| 1997/98 | 46.3 |
| 1998/99 | 47.9 |
| 1999/2000 | 49.2 |
| 2000/01 | 50.0 |
| 2001/02 | 51.6 |
| 2002/03 (Provisional) | 52.6 |
This information can be found in Statistical First Releases and Statistical Volumes on the Department's Research and Statistics website, at http://www. dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway
Graduate Tax
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he had with colleagues from other departments on variants of a graduate tax as alternatives to fund higher education. [138549]
Alan Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had a number of discussions with colleagues across Government on all aspects of the proposals set out in the recent in the White Paper "The future of higher education" (Cm 5735).
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his letter of 11 April, on student funding, for what reasons it was stated that a graduate tax arrangement could not run alongside the existing student loan repayment scheme. [138562]
Alan Johnson: The circular referred to is a party political document. I will write to my hon. Friend separately.
Higher Education
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students from (a) the North West Region, (b) Merseyside, (c) St. Helens and (d) England in higher education received (i) a grant and (ii) a student loan in each year since 1997. [138000]
Alan Johnson: The support arrangements under the mandatory awards scheme for eligible undergraduate students domiciled in England and Wales on courses which began before 1 September 1998 consisted of payment, usually in full, of their tuition fees, a grant towards their maintenance, depending on income, and a non-income assessed loan. New students in academic year 1998/99, with a few exceptions, were expected to contribute up to £1,000 a year towards the cost of their tuition depending on family income. In 1998/99,
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income-assessed grants on average only formed about a quarter of the support available and all students were entitled to a non income-assessed loan which comprised the remaining three-quarters of support available and which will be repayable on an income contingent basis. New entrants to higher education from 1999/2000, together with those who started in 1998/99, received support for living costs solely through loans which are partly income-assessed. Grants for living costs are no longer available except for some limited allowances, e.g. for students with dependants; students who require assistance with travel, books and equipment; lone parent students; students leaving care; students with dependant children who are eligible for school meals grants; and disabled students.
National level data are published annually in the Department's Statistical First Releases (SFRs) (SFR 11/2003 for 2001/02). Data on grants 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. The percentage of English domiciled students receiving a grant is shown in the table.
| Percentage of students receiving a full or partial maintenance grant | |
|---|---|
| 1997/98 | |
| Student Support Scheme(29) | Not applicable |
| Mandatory awards(30) | 72 |
| All students | 72 |
| 1998/99 | |
| Student Support Scheme(29),(31) | 71 |
| Mandatory awards(30) | 69 |
| All students | 70 |
| 1999/2000 | |
| Student Support Scheme(29),(32) | 5 |
| Mandatory awards(30) | 69 |
| All students | 30 |
| 2000/01 | |
| Student Support Scheme(29),(32) | 7 |
| Mandatory awards(30) | 65 |
| All students | 14 |
| 2001/02 | |
| Student Support Scheme(29),(32) | 7 |
| Mandatory Awards(30) | 64 |
| All students | 9 |
(28) Awards made by local education authorities in England to students normally domiciled in their area.
(29) Students who entered higher education from 1998/99.
(30) Students who entered higher education up to 1997/98 and those who entered in 1998/99 to whom the existing arrangements still applied. These students are eligible for income assessed maintenance grants and non means tested loans repayable on a mortgage style, fixed term, basis.
(31) Student Support Scheme students in 1998/99 received support for maintenance through income-assessed grants (comprising about a quarter of the support available) and non income assessed student loans (comprising about three-quarters of the support available) repayable on an income contingent basis.
(32) Data on maintenance expenditure for student support scheme students from 1999/2000 relate to additional allowances/grants available to eligible students for extra help depending on their circumstances, e.g. students with disabilities, students with dependents, single parent students, those incurring certain travel costs, and those who have recently left care. Includes students who are eligible for allowances/grants but who may not receive the means tested grants following income assessment.
Source:
Form F503G survey of local education authorities on student support school meals grants; and disabled students.
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The percentage of students taking out a student loan is shown in the table.
| Percentage of students receiving a loan(33) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Income contingent loans (Student Support Scheme students)(34) | Mortgage style loans (mandatory awards)(35) | |
| 1997/98(36) | ||
| UK | Not applicable | 64 |
| 1998/99(36) | ||
| UK | 69 | 68 |
| 1999/2000 | ||
| England(37) | 75 | 65 |
| North West(37) | 82 | Not available |
| Merseyside(37),(38) | 81 | Not available |
| 2000/01 | ||
| England(37) | 80 | 67 |
| North West(37),(38) | 85 | Not available |
| Merseyside(37),(39) | 88 | Not available |
| 2001/02 | ||
| England(37) | 82 | 72 |
| North West(37),(38) | 84 | Not available |
| Merseyside(37),(39) | 88 | Not available |
(33) New student support arrangements were introduced from academic year 1998/99. New students in 1998/99 (apart from certain specified exceptions) received support for maintenance expenditure through means-tested grants (comprising about a quarter of the support available) and non income-assessed student loans (comprising about three-quarters of the support available). From 1999/2000, students who entered higher education after 1998/99 received support for maintenance expenditure through loans, of which approximately three-quarters of the value was non income-assessed. Loans made under these arrangements are repayable on an income contingent basis.
(34) Excludes the fixed rate loans (£500) for eligible part-time students, introduced in September 2000.
(35) Data on mandatory awards are available only at England level.
(36) Data up to an including 1998/99 are not available below United Kingdom level.
(37) Data at a level below England have been taken from available data and may include a small number of loans which have been authorised for payment but not paid: England data include only those loans actually paid.
(38) The North West Government Office Region.
(39) Merseyside includes Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helens and Wirral local education authorities.
Source:
Student Loans Company.
Information on the region or local education authority of domicile of applicants for student loans is not available prior to academic year 1999/2000; data on the domicile of students taking out fixed rate mortgage style loans (normally those who entered higher education before 1998/99) is not available because applications are made through their education institution. The number of students estimated to be eligible for loans is compiled from data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (covering HEIs)
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and from separate surveys covering higher education students in further education colleges. These estimates do not allow for robust disaggregation to LEA level.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from (a) the North West Region, (b) Merseyside, (c) St. Helens and (d) England in higher education paid up-front fees in each year since 1997. [138001]
Alan Johnson: The student support arrangements up to, and including, academic year 1997/98 included the payment of tuition fees in full from public funds on behalf of eligible students domiciled in England and Wales. New student support arrangements came into effect at the start of academic year 1998/99 when new entrants to higher education were expected to contribute towards the cost of their tuition. The amount of the contribution depends on family income.
The number of students in England in academic years 1998/99 to 2001/02 (latest year for which data are available) who have been assessed to make a partial or full contribution towards the cost of their tuition is shown in the table.
| Academic year | Full or partial contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner(42) |
|---|---|
| 1998/99 | 125 |
| 1999/2000 | 244 |
| 2000/01 | 375 |
| 2001/02 | 402 |
(40) Contributions towards the cost of tuition are assessed by local education authorities in England for students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
(41) Data for academic year 1998/99 comprise the cohort of students who entered higher education in that year; data for 1999/2000 comprise the 1998/99 and 1999/2000 cohorts; data for 2000/01 comprise those who entered in 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/01; and data for 2001/02 comprise those students still in study from 1998/99 onwards and new entrants from 2001/02.
(42) Includes students who withdrew from their course before the fee due date (and therefore no fee payment was made by the local education authority). In 1998/99, includes estimation for students who, because they did not expect to receive a contribution towards the cost of their tuition from public funds, did not make an application to their local authority.
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.
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