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Imams

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many institutions in the United Kingdom provide training for those wishing to qualify as imams; how many places each offered in 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [136103]

Alan Johnson: The latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that 12 universities currently offer courses in Islamic studies, although completion of these courses would not necessarily entitle the successful student to qualify as an Imam. The number of places on each course is not held centrally.

The Home Office and Learning and Skills Council have recently invited representatives of the Islamic community to join a new working group to advise on training and qualifications for Imams, including pilot programmes to test different models. The group's interim advice (due in spring 2004) will inform the development of generic competence-based qualifications for community leadership which may be supported by the Learning and Skills Council.

Maintenance Grants

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with colleagues from other Departments regarding increasing annual maintenance grants above those proposed in the White Paper on Higher Education. [139166]

Alan Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to my previous reply to him of 17 November 2003 (references 139627 and 139629).

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"Making Contact Work"

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the report, "Making Contact Work". [138685]

Margaret Hodge: The Government published an interim response to "Making Contact Work" on 6 August 2002. Stakeholder Groups were established to look in detail at the recommendations and their work has helped to inform the development of our response to the report. I am currently considering the recommendations further in the light of the advice of the Groups and a final response will be published shortly.

Market Research

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published. [137011]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: 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.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement. [139979]

Mr. Charles Clarke: 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.

Medical Students

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many medical students there were in each year since 1992; and how many medical students are attending Hull York Medical School in its initial year. [136055]

Alan Johnson: 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.

Modern Apprenticeships

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what evaluation he has made of employer response to the introduction of modern apprenticeships. [133251]

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.

Neighbourhood Support Fund (Leeds)

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people in (a) Leeds and (b) Leeds, West have been reached by the neighbourhood support fund. [132733]

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Margaret Hodge: The number of young people engaged in learning and self developmental activities through NSF projects based in Leeds local education authority since the start of the pilot is 3,017, through 37 projects. Young people supported by NSF projects based in Leeds, West number 542, through a total of eight projects. This information has been collected via the Department's managing agents on a central database. However, it is difficult to give totally accurate figures for young people from Leeds, West because young people can, and do, attend NSF projects outside of their immediate area. The database only holds information by project and does not link to the addresses of the young people attending them. These statistics cover the period from April 2000 to September 2003.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. since 1977. [139970]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. provided my Department with financial advice on the sale of student loan debt from 1996 onwards and at the end of 2000 they also conducted research on the future of the National Grid for Learning (NGfL).

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many people have been employed by each of the non-departmental bodies directly funded by his Department on a (a) part-time, (b) full-time and (c) contractual basis in each year since 1997. [137207]

Mr. Charles Clarke: 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.

Ofsted

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what studies have been carried out on the impact of school closure on educational attainment of former pupils relocated to a different school following a failed Ofsted inspection. [140057]

Mr. Miliband: No formal studies have been commissioned, but there are several recent instances of the successful transfer of pupils from a failing school to another school, and where the pupils have subsequently improved their attainment rate. This is also the experience of most pupil groups in new schools created under the Government's Fresh Start programme.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools were closed following an Ofsted inspection in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [140058]

Mr. Miliband: In the last 12 months, 16 maintained schools have closed after receiving an Ofsted inspection report indicating that special measures were required. Four of these schools were given a Fresh Start. One

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independent school served with a Notice of Complaint following an Ofsted inspection also closed in that period.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 27 October, Official Report, column 76W, how many Ofsted inspectors in the Teacher Education Division were recruited from posts as (a) headteachers and (b) local education authority advisers. [140339]

Mr. Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Performance Monitoring

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost was of (a) setting, (b) monitoring and (c) measuring the performance targets for his Department in 2002–03; and how many and what grades of civil servants monitor these targets. [137945]

Mr. Charles Clarke: 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. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the performance targets that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are required to meet; and if he will specify for each target (i) who sets it and (ii) who monitors achievement against it. [137961]

Mr. Charles Clarke: 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.

Physical Education

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to ensure that girls are receiving the minimum two hours physical education in school a week. [139566]

Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 19 November 2003]: The Government are investing more than £1 billion to transform Physical Education (PE), school sport and club links in England. This funding will help deliver an ambitious Public Service Agreement target, shared by DCMS and DfES, to increase the percentage of school children, including girls, who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006.

Spearheading action is the creation of a network of 400 Specialist Sports Colleges and School Sport Partnerships (families of schools that come together to provide additional sports opportunities for all children). A third of schools in England are already benefiting from being within a school sport partnership. All partnerships set specific targets to increase participation of groups (including girls) that traditionally can be marginalised by PE and sport. Additionally there are five girls' only sports colleges.

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