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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1469W—continued
Contact Centres
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many contact centres there are in Wales; who is responsible for the funding of these centres; and what plans he has to increase the number of contact centres in Wales. [134841]
Margaret Hodge: There are six child contact centres in Wales that are members of the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC). These child contact centres are run on a voluntary basis and raise funds from a variety of sources. Two benefit from partnership funding from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. All NACCC member child contact centres will benefit from funding by the Children's Fund of NACCC's Change Programme. NACCC is using this funding to develop clear accreditation standards for all its member contact centres. Child contact centres may also seek support from funds (such as Cymorth) provided by the Welsh Assembly Government, where centres provide or seek to provide services in line with the Assembly Government's devolved responsibilities. The Welsh Assembly Government is currently giving careful consideration to the way forward for supervised contact services in Wales.
Bechtel
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list contracts for consultancy or work carried out by Bechtel in each year since 1997 stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [134680]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 November.
Correspondence
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his answer of 17 November 2003, reference 138562, for what reason he
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describes his letter of 11 April to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyne as a party political document. [140258]
Alan Johnson: The reference in my previous reply to the hon. Member to a "party political document" related to the document "The Government's Higher Education Proposals Explained", of 5 November, and not to my letter to him of 11 April.
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will set out the basis for his statement in his letter of 11 April to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme that he could not run a graduate tax arrangement alongside the existing loan repayment scheme. [140259]
Alan Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the letter I sent him on the 12 of November, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.
Director of Children's Services
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list those local authorities that have a Director of Children's Services; and on what date the post was created in each case. [129657]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 15 September 2003]: The Green Paper, "Every Child Matters", was published on 8 September and the consultation period extends until 1 December. It proposes the creation of Directors of Children's Services, accountable for local authority education and children's social services. This builds on practice in a number of local authorities. We are currently working with local authorities to identify how many authorities have integrated education and children's social services and have Directors of Children's Services.
Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his answer of 4 November 2003, Official Report, column 579W, if he will estimate how much it would cost to provide an education maintenance allowance of £40 a week rather than £30 a week, to all the young people who will be eligible for an EMA in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2006–07. [138320]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Education Revenue Accounts
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the percentage share of budget devoted to education revenue accounts by each English education authority for each of the last five years, in descending order. [140282]
Mr. Raynsford: I have been asked to reply.
I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
Education Spending
Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of GDP the
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United Kingdom spent on (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) higher education in the last year for which figures are available; and what information he collates on expenditure in other OECD countries. [139144]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my right hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Examination Results (Appeals)
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has commissioned into the reasons for the changes on appeal of (a) AS and (b) A2 examinations; and if he will make a statement. [138703]
Mr. Miliband: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Foundation Degrees
Mr. Boswell To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to encourage conversion of (a) existing courses and (b) qualifications at Higher National Diploma level to foundation degrees. [133427]
Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many people are studying for foundation degrees at (a) universities, (b) higher education colleges and (c) further education colleges in (i) Tyne and Wear, (ii) the North East and (iii) the UK; [137460]
- (2) how many different foundation degrees are offered at (a) universities, (b) higher education colleges and (c) further education colleges in (i) Tyne and Wear, (ii) the North East and (iii) the UK. [137459]
Alan Johnson: The latest available information from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), is given in the table.
| Number of students | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Institution type | Tyne and Wear | North East | England |
| University | 394 | 509 | 8,085 |
| FEC | 162 | 197 | 1162 |
| HEI | 3170 | ||
| Grand total | 556 | 706 | 12,417 |
(97) Covers students on full-time or part-time courses.
The latest figures published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions (UCAS) show that students on Foundation Degrees in 2003–04 will rise substantially: by early October, the number of students accepted for entry to full-time Foundation Degrees had increased by nearly 80 per cent. compared to the same point last year.
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The latest course information on the UCAS website (www.ucas.ac.uk) shows that, for the 2004–05 academic year, there are 2,446 Foundation Degree courses offered in England, of which 191 are offered in the North East. The website lists institutions individually and does not list courses by type of institution, and nor does it show figures for Tyne and Wear separately. Foundation Degrees were introduced to respond to sector needs and cover a wide range of courses.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will list by (a) course and (b) institution the number of students who obtained foundation degrees in 2003; [139081]
- (2) how many students who obtained foundation degrees in 2003 undertook the majority of their studies at (a) further education colleges, (b) institutes of higher education and (c) universities; [139082]
(3) how many students who obtained a foundation degree in 2003 studied (a) locally, (b) at an institution that required residential accommodation and (c) in the workplace; [139083]
(4) how many students who completed their foundation degree in 2003 enrolled for an honours degree course. [139080]
Alan Johnson: The information requested is not yet available. Information on the number of students who completed foundation degree (FD) courses in 2002/03 will not be available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) until January 2004.
The latest available figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), showing the distribution of all FD students by the type of institution in which they are studying, is given in the following table; the HEFCE figures do not identify whether the course has been studied locally, or in the workplace.
Information on the destinations of students who obtained FDs in 2002/03, including those who proceeded to further study, will not be available from HESA until July 2004.
| Type of institution | Students |
|---|---|
| University | 8,085 |
| FE college | 1,162 |
| HE institution | 3,170 |
| Total | 12,417 |
(98) Covers both full and part-time courses.
Source:
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students enrolled for foundation degrees in 2003, broken down by (a) course and (b) institution. [139084]
Alan Johnson: The latest available information for 2003/04 was published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on 7 October. It showed that the total number of students accepted for entry to full-time foundation degree (FD) courses had risen to 5,448, an increase of nearly 80 per cent. compared to the
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same point last year. The figures were not disaggregated by institution. UCAS however does not cover students applying to part-time courses, and in 2002/03 around half of all FD students were on part-time courses.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average annual cost of a foundation degree course was in the last year for which figures are available; and what the cost was of a traditional three year honours degree course. [139086]
Alan Johnson: Information on the cost of foundation degrees and honours degrees is not identified separately. The Higher Education Funding Council for England funds honours degree and foundation degree courses on the basis of the same formula which varies according to subject, institutional and student factors. This funding for teaching is allocated to institutions as a block grant and how they allocate this is for them to determine. Institutions also receive funding from other sources both public and private and may use it to subsidise some courses or faculties. The actual cost may therefore vary between institutions and subjects.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England are currently consulting on possible changes to their funding method for teaching and one proposal is that a 10 per cent. premium is introduced for foundation degrees for the short term. This would recognise the higher costs associated with partnerships between higher education institutions, further education colleges and employers. The consultation closed for comments on 14 November.
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