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28 Jan 2004 : Column 405W—continued
Modern Apprenticeships
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of employer engagement with the modern apprenticeship scheme. [150003]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: "The Learning and Training at Work 2002" survey reveals that 10 per cent. of all employers of 16 to 24 year olds employ Foundation Modern Apprenticeships (FMA) and 4 per cent. employ Advanced Modern Apprenticeships (AMA). Larger employers are much more likely to employ modern apprentices than small firms: of all employers with over 500 staff who employ 16 to 24 year olds, 29 per cent. employ FMAs and 24 per cent. employ AMAs.
In 2002, 57 per cent. of employers were aware of AMAs (compared to 51 per cent. in 2001). Meanwhile, 45 per cent. of employers were aware of FMAs (compared to 39 per cent. in 2001).
The latest survey of MA employers reveals that, in 89 per cent. of cases, employers are very satisfied with the MA programme. Moreover, the majority of current employers (representing 91 per cent. of MAs) say they intend to continue offering MAs in the future.
National Botanic Gardens of Wales
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government colleagues with regard to funding for the National Botanic Gardens of Wales. [150665]
Mr. Hain: I have been asked to reply.
I have regular discussions with Assembly Ministers about issues affecting Wales, these have included the National Botanical Gardens. It is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government to determine funding priorities in Wales.
Student Loans
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to raise the threshold at which existing graduates start repaying student loans. [151469]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 27 January 2004]: We plan to increase the threshold for the repayment of student loans from £10,000 to £15,000 with effect from April 2005. The increase in the threshold to £15,000 will apply to all borrowers regardless of when they took our their income contingent student loan.
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Top-up Fees
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of tuition fees on the number of doctors choosing to work abroad after qualification. [151120]
Alan Johnson: There is no reason to expect a significant effect. The Government have no evidence that there is a problem of more doctors leaving the UK permanently to work overseas. Doctors earn considerably in excess of the national average. So medical graduates will be able to pay off their student loan for living costs and for tuition fees comparatively rapidly.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Bribery
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General how many times since 1997 the Crown Prosecution Service has given advice to law enforcement agencies on whether an investigation into an offence of bribery of a foreign public official would have a realistic prospect of prosecution; and in how many of those instances its advice was that there would not be a realistic prospect of prosecution. [151440]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep records of the nationality of persons who are the subject of police investigations and about whom their advice is sought. In order to obtain this information all relevant files will have to be identified across the 42 Areas and individually checked. The information could not be obtained except at disproportionate costs. But even this would not necessarily provide comprehensive data as a number of relevant older files may well have been destroyed in accordance with archiving procedures.
Outsourcing
Norman Lamb: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the Department's procurement policy with regard to offshore IT and call centre outsourcing; whether the Department is outsourcing IT and call centre jobs to offshore companies; to which countries the Department has outsourced these jobs; how much the Department has spent on this outsourcing in each of the last two years; and how much has been budgeted for this purpose for the next two years. [147576]
The Solicitor-General: None of the Departments for which the Attorney General holds Ministerial responsibility currently outsource either call centre or IT services to offshore companies and have no current plans to do so. Consequently, the Departments have set no budget for this purpose over the next two years.
Security Passes
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in the Law Officers' Department in the last 12 months. [150842]
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The Solicitor-General: During 2003, CPS Headquarters was notified that 81 identity cards/access cards had been lost and five had been stolen.
28 security passes were reported as lost in the Treasury Solicitor's Department within the last 12 months. All 28 passes were reported as lost rather than stolen. Five security passes were reported as lost in the Serious Fraud Office within the last 12 months. All five were reported as lost rather than stolen. Six security passes were reported as lost in HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate within the last 12 months. All six were reported as lost rather than stolen.
No security passes were reported as either stolen or lost by my own department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, over that period.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Management Consultants
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to his Department of using management consultants has been in each of the last five years. [148022]
Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions was established in 2001. The latest financial year for which complete expenditure figures are available is 2002–03. Figures on the cost of management consultancy for the Department for Work and Pensions for 2001–02 and 2002–03 and for the former Department of Social Security for 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 are in the table. Information for the former Employment Service is not available.
| Department and financial year | Cost (£ million) |
|---|---|
| DWP 2002–03 | 47.57 |
| DWP 2001–02 | 23.79 |
| DSS 2000–01 | 21.90 |
| DSS 1999–2000 | 19.00 |
| DSS 1998–99 | 12.98 |
Maternity Allowance
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many maternity allowance claims were (a) processed and (b) awarded in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [149009]
- (2) what reasons are given for refusing maternity allowance claims; [149010]
(3) how many women were eligible for maternity allowance in each year since 1997. [149011]
Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table.
In order to receive maternity allowance (MA), a woman must have been employed and/or self-employed in at least 26 weeks in the 66 week period ending with the week before her expected week of childbirth (the test period), and earn on average at least £30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in that test period.
28 Jan 2004 : Column 408W
In most cases where a claim to MA does not result in an award, it is because the qualifying conditions have not been met. In a very small number of cases, a claim will not result in an award because it was outside the time limits; the earliest a woman may claim MA is 14 weeks before here expected week of childbirth, and a claim must be made within three months of the date her MA is due to start.
Information on the number of claims that were processed and the number of women who were eligible for MA is not available.
| Period | Awarded | Disallowed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 March 1997–31 August 1997 | 19,100 | — |
| 1 September 1997–31 August 1998 | 40,100 | — |
| 1 September 1998–31 August 1999 | 39,400 | — |
| 1 September 1999–31 August 2000 | 38,900 | 700 |
| 1 September 2000–31 August 2001 | 50,600 | 3,400 |
| 1 September 2001–31 August 2002 | 50,800 | 2,700 |
| 1 September 2002–31 August 2003 | 51,800 | 2,700 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. These figures have been updated to include late notification commencements.
3. Figures for the latest year are subject to changes due to late notifications.
4. Data for disallowed claims prior to August 2000 is not available.
Source:
DWP Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples.
CABINET OFFICE
Disabled People
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what remit the Strategy Unit has in relation to its work relating to people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [150530]
Mr. Alexander: The Strategy Unit has been asked to provide supporting analysis and a strategic assessment of disabled people's life chances—the opportunities available to disabled people, both children and adults, to improve their quality of life.
- improve understanding of disabled people's life chances, and of their underlying drivers; assess the implications of this analysis for disabled people, their families and for wider society; and inform the ongoing development of policy.
The Unit will work with disabled people and their representatives, with other interested organisations and with other Government Departments, and will report to the Minister for Disabled People.
The Unit's analysis will be fed into the Spending Review 2004.
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