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10 Feb 2004 : Column 1395W—continued
Regional Development Agencies
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is his policy that Regional Development Agencies should have a statutory involvement in the provision of (a) higher education and (b) higher education research. [152702]
Alan Johnson: Regional Development Agencies' statutory purposes are: to further economic development and regeneration of their area, to promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness in their area, to promote employment in their area, to enhance development and application of skills relevant to employment in their area, and to contribute to sustainable development in the UK.
The Future of Higher Education White Paper outlines the growing role that RDAs have in HE and other knowledge transfer programmes and in addition outlines the following proposals:
- An enhanced role for the RDAs in matching supply and demand for higher education. RDAs already have a direct input into determining new higher education provision in their regions to ensure it meets regional priorities;
- To involve RDAs further in the AimHigher campaign, to help address regional needs for access to higher education;
- To encourage RDAs to play a proactive role in developing the work of the New Technology Institutes (NTIs), including through funding; and
- To ask RDAs to take responsibility for galvanising the business community to work harder to make best use of the opportunities offered by higher education; and to play a particular role in helping small and medium-sized enterprises articulate their needs, and make links with higher education.
Our research policy treats research as a national priority, and therefore funds the best research wherever it exists. The Higher Education Funding Council for England distributes research funding to universities by a formula according to the quality and volume of their research as measured in periodic Research Assessment Exercises. There is no explicit regional element in the formula and to introduce one might weaken our ability to compete in the international marketplace.
The RDAs are instrumental as drivers for regional growth and development, often in partnership with higher education institutions within their respective regions. This can involve supporting the research base within their region. However, this is a matter for the RDAs themselves to decide.
Religious Symbols
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from the general public concerning the proposed policy in France of banning all religious symbols in public schools. [153532]
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Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has received no representations from members of the general public concerning the proposed policy in France of banning all religious symbols in schools.
School Absenteeism
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many half-days have been lost owing to unauthorised absence of pupils in (a) East Midlands and (b) West Derbyshire in each year since 1997 (i) in absolute terms and (ii) as a proportion of the total number of half-days. [150879]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| East Midlands | West Derbyshire | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AcademicYear | Number of half dayslost due to authorised absences | Percentage of half days lost | Number of half dayslost due to authorised absences | Percentage of half days lost |
| 1997–98 | 1,347,350 | 0.8 | 11,003 | 0.4 |
| 1998–99 | 1,343,440 | 0.8 | 14,437 | 0.4 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,291,409 | 0.7 | 12,210 | 0.4 |
| 2000–01 | 1,357,059 | 0.8 | 15,625 | 0.5 |
| 2001–02 | 1,419,100 | 0.8 | 15,849 | 0.5 |
| 2002–03 | 1,411,852 | 0.8 | 15,186 | 0.4 |
Notes:
1. Figures relate to maintained primary and secondary schools but exclude maintained special schools and CTCs.
2. Figures cover pupils that were absent between September and May for each year
Sex Education
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is on giving a social and moral context to sex advice offered to under 16-year-olds. [153667]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Our policy on Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) is clearly set out in our Guidance published in July 2000. Our Guidance clearly states that 'the objective of SRE is to help and support young people through their physical, emotional and moral development and prepare them for adult life. A successful programme firmly embedded in Personal, Social and Health Education, sets a strong social and moral context to help young people develop personal and social skills and understand the importance of attitudes and values such as the importance of family life.'
Staying-on Rates (Nottingham)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what contribution has been made by (a) further education colleges in the Nottingham area and (b) the Nottingham Learning and Skills Council to the improvement of staying-on rates at schools in Nottingham North since 1997. [152955]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: School sixth form provision is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). It is for them to comment on the specific contribution of the FE sector and the local LSC to improving staying on rates at schools in Nottingham North since 1997. I have
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asked their Chief Executive, Mark Haysom, to write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested and place a copy of his reply in the Library.
Student Finance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what calculations he made to reach the conclusion in the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Higher Education Bill that the projected future cost of the student living cost loan subsidy will be 27 per cent. [152567]
Alan Johnson: The Regulatory Impact Assessment states that the future cost of maintenance loans is estimated at 29 per cent. of the value of loans advanced, which comprises the cost of loan write-offs and the interest subsidy. It was estimated using a simulation model of the distribution of future maintenance loan debt, graduate earnings and student loan repayments.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much total additional money he estimates will have to be advanced each year to students as student loans in order to meet the Government's recently announced increase to maximum loan levels. [152782]
Alan Johnson: We estimate that the additional amount of maintenance loan advanced as a result of the higher maximum loan rates will be around £160 million per annum in cash terms in 2006/07 terms.
As stated in the Regulatory Impact Assessment published on 8 January, the resource cost 1 of raising the maximum rate of maintenance loan to match the basic living costs expenditure of the mid-range student is estimated at £65 million in 2006/07 terms. This is the resource cost to the Government of both the additional amount of maintenance loan advanced (given above) and the resulting impact on the repayments of fee loans.
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1 Estimates of the resource cost of the loans represent the real economic cost to the Government of providing the loans and take into account the forecast loan repayments, the foregone interest and any loan write-offs.
Alan Johnson: Details of the proposed arrangements are set out in the Government's discussion paper "Moving toward a single combined grant for higher education". Copies of the paper were placed in the Library of the House on 19 January; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much grant part-time students will be entitled to under the terms of the Higher Education Bill. [152785]
Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Bill does not specify the levels of financial support available to part-time students. Levels are set out in the student support regulations which are made annually. In 2004–05 a new package of support is being introduced for part-time students. Students on low incomes will be able to get a grant of up to £575 for fees and a grant of up to £250 for course costs.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes the Government are making to (a) the minimum student loan level and (b) the levels of loan available to students at intermediate levels of family income between the maximum and minimum loan levels. [152786]
Alan Johnson: The proposed new means tested student loan figures are given below. The maximum student loan will be increased to meet the basic living costs expenditure of the mid-range student in the recent Student Income and Expenditure Survey.
| Category of student | Maximum loanin 2004/05 | Maximum loan in 2006/07 (before increase) at 2.5 per cent. inflation per year | New maximum loan for 2006/07 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First and second year students | |||
| Living away from home outside London (max.) | 4,095 | 4,300 | 4,405 |
| Living at home (max.) | 3,240 | 3,405 | 3,415 |
| Living away from home in London (max.) | 5,050 | 5,305 | 6,170 |
| Final year students | |||
| Living away from home outside London (max.) | 3,555 | 3,735 | 4,075 |
| Living at home (max.) | 2,830 | 2,975 | 3,085 |
| Living away from home in London (max.) | 4,380 | 4,600 | 5,620 |
The minimum means tested student loan for each category of student, as now, will be 75 per cent. of the maximum eg £3,305 for students living away from home outside London in 2006/07 instead of £3,070 in 2004/05. The loan reduces from £4,405 to £3,305 as parental or spouse income rises from about £33,500 to about £44,000. The minimum loan is available to every eligible student regardless of family income.
Where under our proposals low income students receive the maximum combined grant of £2,700, which is in addition to their continuing entitlement to loans, we currently expect them to have access to loans worth the maximum entitlement to loan as in the table less £850. Details of the proposed arrangements are set out in the Government's discussion paper "Moving toward a single combined grant for higher education".
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the change in the length of time that students will take to repay an average loan following the increase in the repayment threshold from £10,000 to £15,000. [152787]
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Alan Johnson: The estimate of the length of time to repay is the average across all students who take out a loan. This is different from the length of time it will take for some notional average graduate to repay. The estimate is from a model which simulates student loan repayments, based on assumed distributions of: length of time in Higher Education; size of means-tested loan taken out; size of fee loan, net of any fee remission; and borrower lifetime earnings. Some borrowers will repay more quickly than this estimated average and some less so.
As part of a package of reforms announced with the introduction of the Higher Education Bill, any debt outstanding after 25 years would be written-off. The threshold would increase to £15,000 in April 2005 and be increased with inflation from April 2010 onwards. The average time to repay would be around 13 years. Under the same approach to uprating the threshold, the average time to repay would be around 11 years with a £10,000 threshold.
The answer above is based on modelling on the basis of a separate fee grant and HE grant. Once the grants are combined, as announced by the Secretary of State to the House on 27 January 2004, the balance between
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maintenance loan and fee loan will be slightly different, though the impact on the overall time to repay is likely to be small.
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