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18 Nov 2003 : Column 781W—continued
Minister for Children
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Minister for Children sought advice from departmental officials before writing to the Chairman of the BBC about child abuse in Islington; and if he will make a statement. [139027]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Minister for Children sought no advice from any departmental official, but did discuss in general terms with the Department's Special Advisers the possibility of writing to the BBC.
Modern Apprenticeships
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies carry out exit surveys with those who (i) complete and (ii) do not complete modern apprenticeships. [136975]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 17 November 2003]: DfES place the responsibility for planning and managing Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) on the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Both the Department and LSC place great importance on the role of learner surveys in quality strategies and improvement. The LSC have been running a learner satisfaction survey since early 2002 and the first report was published in November 2002. The main purpose of the survey is to interview those who are still in learning; however, it does cover some learners who have recently completed their course and also a small number who left early.
Both the Department and the LSC are also aware of the importance of labour market destination data. Some feasibility work has recently been concluded and DfES and LSC along with ALI and Ofsted will shortly be publishing proposals as to how best to implement the recommendations.
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of successfully completed modern apprenticeships in (a) 2001–02
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and (b) 2002–03 were provided by (i) further education colleges, (ii) private training providers and (iii) employers. [136976]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 17 November 2003]: The information requested is not available. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) published framework completion rates for modern apprenticeship programmes as a whole in July 2003. Current apprenticeships training is delivered in a variety of different ways, including collaboration between various providers and so is not always an exclusive relationship between one provider and one apprentice—hence it is not possible to estimate the proportion of modern apprenticeships successfully completed through different providers.
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of young people undertaking a modern apprenticeship in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03 had all or part of their training provided by a further education college. [136979]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 17 November 2003]: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) publish figures on modern apprenticeships learner volumes within figures for work-based learning as a whole. They estimate that around 20 per cent. of modern apprenticeships were delivered directly through further education colleges in 2002/03. This figure excludes cases where other training providers for work-based learning have sub-contracted their delivery through further education colleges.
Non-EU Students
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many non-European Union students registered for courses in (a) further education colleges and (b) universities in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [131723]
Alan Johnson: The latest available figures are in the table.
| FE colleges(8) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic year | Council funded | Non-Council funded | HE institutions(9) |
| 1997/98 | 5.1 | n/a | 92.7 |
| 1998/99 | 5.7 | n/a | 94.8 |
| 1999/2000 | 7.2 | n/a | 99.9 |
| 2000/01 | 8.4 | 18.5 | 109.7 |
| 2001/02 | 7.2 | 20.0 | 120.8 |
(8) FE data cover non-EU overseas students studying HE and FE in English FECs, based on a census count as at 1 November.
(9) HE figures cover non-EU overseas students studying HE and FE in English HEIs including the OU, based on a census count as at 1 December.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning Skills Council (LSC).
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National Vocational Qualifications
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he will take to raise the percentage of the London workforce with NVQ Level 2 qualifications. [137490]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Skills Strategy, published in July, set out our intention to introduce a new entitlement for any adult in the labour force to have access to free learning for their first full Level 2 qualification. This entitlement will enable individuals to reach a level of attainment that gives a platform of skills for employability, improve their position in the labour market, and increase their chances of undertaking further learning. We are working with the Learning and Skills Council nationwide on the phasing in of the Level 2 entitlement, with phase one in 2004–05 and full rollout beginning the following year.
The Secretary of State has asked the London Development Agency and its partners to produce proposals showing how they will work together to address the key themes of the Skills Strategy, including raising the percentage of the workforce with Level 2 qualifications. The five local London LSCs are working together as a regional pioneer to ensure a consistent approach to improving the quality and responsiveness of post-16 skills provision through the Success for All strategy.
Employer Training Pilots (ETPs) are testing new financial support measures to improve access to training and enable employees to attain basic and Level 2 skills. The East London pilot was launched in September this year and has already signed up 35 employers, 559 NVQ Level 2 learners and 26 basic skills learners.
In addition, London West LSC is one of the 10 areas piloting the new Adult Learning Grant. The grant offers up to £30 per week to adults on low incomes studying full time for a first full Level 2 qualification, and young adults on low incomes studying full time for a first full Level 3 qualification.
Poorer Students
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what incentives he plans to introduce to encourage universities to offer places to poorer students under a mandatory bursary scheme; [139167]
- (2) what form of bursary system he plans to adopt to help poorer students at universities that charge higher tuition fees; [139168]
(3) what assessment he has made of the potential effects of a bursary system on the offer of places at university for poorer students; [139169]
(4) what amount from higher top-up fees he will require universities to set aside for bursaries from poorer students; and by what mechanism. [139170]
Alan Johnson: We are considering and discussing the content of access agreements and the duties of the Office for Fair Access, and will make a statement in due course.
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what representations he has received from (a) Imperial College and (b) Sir Richard
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Sykes in respect of proposals to ask universities to provide bursaries for poorer students out of variable tuition fees; [139171]
- (2) what representations he has received from universities in England regarding proposals to provide bursaries for poorer students out of variable top-up fees; [139172]
(3) what discussions he has had with universities in England regarding their preferred methods of contributing to bursaries for poorer students from higher tuition fees. [139173]
Alan Johnson: In our discussions over the content of access agreements and the duties of the Office for Fair Access, we have had representations from a range of interested parties including higher education institutions.
Post-16 Education
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are in place to encourage schoolchildren to stay in school after the age of 16. [139609]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: "14–19: opportunity and excellence", issued in January 2003, sets out our plans to reform education and training for young people, offering a broader and more flexible range of options, including more vocational learning opportunities, to encourage greater participation and higher attainment throughout the 14–19 phase. Young people may choose to study at school, in a college or workplace, or a combination of these, depending on their individual needs and preferences.
From September 2004, education maintenance allowance will be available across the country, offering means-tested payments to help support young people in post-compulsory education.
The Connexions card is available to all young people aged 16–19 and offers a wide range of discounts on goods and services which help reduce the cost of learning. In addition young people attending a place of learning which adopts the card can earn points for attendance. These points can be exchanged for a wide variety of incentives and "money can't buy" opportunities which are exclusive to those who stay in learning.
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