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15 Dec 2003 : Column 670W—continued
Student Finance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average student loan taken out by students from (a) Stroud, (b) the South West Region and (c) England was in each year since 1999–2000. [143105]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 9 December 2003]: The table shows the average full-time income-contingent loan taken out by students in the South West Government Office Region and England.
| Academic year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999/2000 | 2000/01(13) | 2001/02(14) | |
| South West Government Office Region(15) | 3,240 | 3,190 | 3,250 |
| England | 3,180 | 3,160 | 3,190 |
(9) Loans available to students who entered higher education from September 1998, excludes the fixed rate loans (£500) for eligible part-time students, introduced in September 2000.
(10) Mandatory award holders, i.e. those eligible for mortgage style loans, made applications for student loans through their education institution; data are therefore not available for these students.
(11) 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 are only those loans actually paid.
(12) Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10.
(13) The apparent fall in the average value of income-contingent loan taken out in 2000/01 can be explained mainly by the fact that this was the third year of this loan scheme; students on the third year of a three year course will receive the final year rate of loan which is at a lower rate as it does not cover the summer vacation. This effect is not present in 1999/2000 and has been levelled out in the years subsequent to 2000/01. Additionally, this is likely to be the first year in which those students on sandwich courses have their placement year and are therefore in receipt of the reduced rate of loan.
(14) Latest year for which data are available.
(15) Government Office Region of domicile of student.
Data on the average student loan taken out by students from Stroud are not available.
Source:
Student Loans Company
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Student Loans
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department will continue to repay student loans for teachers of shortage subjects under the Repayment of Teachers' Loans Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [142650]
Alan Johnson: This Department will continue to repay the student loans of teachers who were accepted onto the scheme during the current three-year pilot. A thorough evaluation of the pilot will be undertaken and will inform the decisions on the scheme's future beyond 2004–05.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the total cost of funding the increased student loan book after the introduction of top-up fees in 2006. [143692]
Alan Johnson: The increase in the amount of student loan after the introduction of variable fees will depend on the following factors: the numbers of students entering Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); the level of fees charged by each HEI; and the proportion of students who choose to take out loans to cover the cost of their fees, and the value of such loans. We will make further details available in the New Year in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will set out the financial implications of the policies announced in the Higher Education White Paper.
Workforce Reform
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the paper, "Workforce Reform—Blue Skies". [143417]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 11 December 2003]: This note by officials was produced without the authority or knowledge of Ministers. It is not policy and will not become policy.
TREASURY
Cancer
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the survival rates were for the most common forms of cancer in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other members of the European Union in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available. [143724]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
15 Dec 2003 : Column 672W
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. James Clappison, dated 15 December 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the survival rates for the most common forms of cancer in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other members of the European Union in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available. [143724]
- Comparable information on cancer survival in the European Union is provided by the EUROCARE study. This covers parts of the UK and Europe. The most recently published results from this study are in "Survival of Cancer Patients in Europe: the EUROCARE-2 Study" (IARC Scientific Publications No. 151); a copy is available in the House of Commons Library. These results relate to patients diagnosed with cancer during 1985–89 and followed up to the end of 1994.
- Findings from EUROCARE-3 are currently due to be published in the Annals of Oncology in early 2004. This will provide information on survival up to five years after diagnosis for patients diagnosed with cancer during 1990–94 and followed up to the end of 1999.
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the size of the ethnic minority population in England and Wales as a proportion of the general population in 2009. [143404]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Oaten, dated 15 December 2003:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the estimated ethnic minority population in England and Wales as a proportion of the general population in 2009. (143404)
- There are currently no official projections of the ethnic minority population for England and Wales. However, the Office for National Statistics is currently carrying out a research project aiming to produce national and subnational population projections by ethnic group, fully consistent with the official national population projections, using existing data sources.
Customs
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when Customs records relating to regulatory controls on the importation of firearms at Farnborough airport in 1999 were destroyed; how many (a) prohibited firearms were controlled arising from a single flight arriving in March 1999 and (b) non-prohibited firearms were controlled at other times in 1999; and whether the date of March 1999 recorded as the month in which prohibited weapons were controlled at Farnborough has been ascertained from (i) a contemporaneous record and (ii) a secondary record; [143605]
- (2) how many prohibited firearms were surrendered to Customs by passengers who arrived at United Kingdom airports in 1999 on civilian flights in such a manner that the incidents were deemed by Customs not to be irregular. [143673]
15 Dec 2003 : Column 673W
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 20 November 2003, Official Report, column 1330W. The Customs records referred to in that answer were destroyed in February 2002. The date recorded in relation to the movement of prohibited weapons in March 1999 was obtained from a secondary record.
All four of the firearms controlled by HM Customs and Excise in the single importation in March 1999 were prohibited within the meaning of the Firearms Act 1968.
An accurate total of the number of non-prohibited firearms controlled by Customs at other times in 1999 is no longer available, as the only records still in existence are incomplete.
Information on the numbers of prohibited firearms surrendered at UK airports in 1999 could be provided only at disproportionate cost, and are also likely to be incomplete.
In accordance with international aviation agreements and Civil Aviation Authority regulations, Customs do not regard importations of prohibited firearms by air passengers as irregular where they are declared by:
- a sky marshal who holds a firearm for the purposes of protecting and aircraft and its passengers;
a VIP bodyguard;
a properly authorised UK police officer; or
any other passenger who is resident in a foreign state and whose possession of that firearm is lawful in that state.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Customs facilities at Farnborough airport included red and green physical channels in 1999. [143672]
John Healey: Customs controls at Farnborough airport in 1999 operated on the basis of individual clearance of all the incoming international passengers, rather than use of the red and green Channels system.
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