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24 Feb 2004 : Column 407W—continued
Statutory Sick Pay
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people employed in his Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997. [148625]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The numbers of staff in my Department who have claimed statutory sick pay during the years 2000 to 2003 are as follows. The numbers include DfES staff working in the Government office regions. No records are held for the years prior to this.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than one week | 598 | 667 | 692 | 694 |
| One to three weeks | 448 | 424 | 458 | 481 |
| Four to six weeks | 100 | 128 | 156 | 139 |
| Seven to 12 weeks | 93 | 121 | 131 | 120 |
| 13 to 20 weeks | 65 | 82 | 111 | 98 |
| 21 to 28 weeks | 41 | 64 | 84 | 53 |
| Total | 1,345 | 1,486 | 1,632 | 1,585 |
Student Finance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of graduates in receipt of income contingent student loans who will take career breaks to bring up children; and what assumptions about the consequent subsidy costs have been included in the Government's overall estimates for student loan subsidy provisions. [155374]
Alan Johnson: Our estimates of the cost of subsidising both maintenance and fee loans in 2006–07 terms were published in the Regulatory Impact Assessment
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associated with the HE Bill. The economic cost of providing student loans is made up of the interest rate subsidy on loans together with the cost of any loans that are never repaid (e.g. due to death, permanent disability or loans being written-off after 25 years). Modelling this cost requires taking into account a great number of factors. Important factors include:
- (i) The number of students in Higher Education;
- (ii) The parental income of those students (or their own income if independent);
- (iii) The proportions of students studying in London, at home or elsewhere;
- (iv) The propensity of students to take out each loan;
- (v) The distribution of fees actually charged by Higher Education institutions from 2006–7;
- (vi) The distribution of lengths of courses (based on internal modelling);
- (vii) The pattern of withdrawals from HE courses (based on internal modelling);
- (viii) The earnings profiles of graduates; and
- (ix) Macroeconomic conditions.
In relation to factor (vii), the modelling of the cost of providing student loans uses Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to inform the probability of borrowers being in employment, unemployment, or economically inactive. We have used the LFS data to take account of those people who take career breaks—to raise children or for other reasons. The impact of those who take career breaks to raise children is thus reflected in the modelling but it is not possible to estimate how many borrowers will take career breaks for this reason—or to estimate the cost associated with this factor—in isolation.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial assumptions were made in calculating the provision of £25 million to cover the cost of writing off outstanding student loans after 25 years. [155375]
Alan Johnson: Our estimates of the cost of subsidising both maintenance and fee loans in 2006–07 terms were published in the Regulatory Impact Assessment associated with the HE Bill. The economic cost of providing student loans is made up of the interest rate subsidy on loans together with the cost of any loans that are never repaid (e.g. due to death, permanent disability or loans being written-off after 25 years). Modelling this cost requires taking into account a great number of factors. Important factors include:
- (i) The number of students in Higher Education;
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- (ii) The parental income of those students (or their own income if independent);
- (iii) The proportions of students studying in London, at home or elsewhere;
- (iv) The propensity of students to take out each loan;
- (v) The distribution of fees actually charged by Higher Education institutions from 2006–7;
- (vi) The distribution of lengths of courses (based on internal modelling);
- (vii) The pattern of withdrawals from HE courses (based on internal modelling);
- (viii) The earnings profiles of graduates; and
- (ix) Macroeconomic conditions.
The Regulatory Impact Assessment estimated the cost of writing-off loans at 25 years at £30 million. This is the extra economic cost of not collecting any repayments that would have been made on loans older than 25 years.
Temporary Mobile Classrooms
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in each London borough make use of temporary mobile classroom accommodation; and what the timetable for replacement of this accommodation is in each borough. [155091]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 23 February 2004]: The following table shows the number of schools with temporary classrooms in each London borough. It is based on data provided to the Department in May 2002, by local education authorities as part of the asset management planning process.
The bulk of schools' capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of temporary accommodation in poor condition. Prioritisation of need is through asset management planning and on an open and rigorous consultative process, based on the needs of all schools. The Department does not collect detailed information on investment plans or timetables of authorities.
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Where no figures are shown, either no data have been supplied by LEAs, or there are clearly significant data anomalies.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Bankruptcies
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals in the East Riding of Yorkshire were declared bankrupt in each of the past five years. [154563]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Bankruptcy figures are only available on the basis of the Official Receivers Office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to separate bankruptcies pertaining to the East Riding of Yorkshire exactly. The following table gives annual figures for the number of individual bankruptcies dealt with by the Official Receivers Office in Hull, which covers the county courts of Beverley, Great Grimsby, Grimsby, Hull, Kingston-upon-Hull, Malton, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Whitby and York. The Hull Office covers the majority of the East Riding of Yorkshire but also includes a number of county courts from neighbouring counties/unitary authorities. A small part of the East Riding of Yorkshire (the county court of Goole) is administered by the Official Receivers Office at Sheffield.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 690 |
| 2000 | 796 |
| 2001 | 907 |
| 2002 | 926 |
| 2003 | 906 |
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) personal and (b) corporate bankruptcies there were in East Devon in each of the past seven years. [155297]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Insolvency figures are only available on the basis of the Official Receivers Office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to identify precisely
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insolvencies in East Devon. Company insolvencies are made up of Company Compulsory Liquidations and Creditors Voluntary Liquidations of which only Company Compulsory Liquidations are available on an Official Receivers Office basis. The following table gives
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annual figures for the number of individual bankruptcies and company compulsory liquidations dealt with by the Official Receivers Office in Exeter, which covers the county courts of Barnstaple, Exeter, Newton Abbott, Shaftsbury, Torquay and Yeovil.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual insolvencies | 494 | 628 | 761 | 566 | 795 | 919 | 902 |
| Company compulsory liquidations | 46 | 51 | 56 | 43 | 38 | 64 | 33 |
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) personal and (b) company bankruptcies in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough there were in each of the last three years for which figures are available; what assessment she has made of recent trends; and if she will make a statement. [155275]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 23 February 2004]: Insolvency figures are only available on the basis of the Official Receivers Office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to identify precisely insolvencies in Greater London or in individual boroughs. Company insolvencies are made up of Company Compulsory Liquidations and Creditors Voluntary Liquidations of which only Company Compulsory Liquidations are available on an Official Receivers Office basis. The following table gives annual figures for the number of individual Bankruptcies and Company Compulsory Liquidations dealt with by the Official Receivers Office in London, which covers the county courts of Barnet, Bloomsbury and Marylebone, Bow, Brentford, Chingford, Clerkenwell, Edmonton, Lambeth, Marylebone, Bloomsbury, Mayor's and City of London, Shoreditch, Wandsworth, West London, Westminster and Willesden.
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Bankruptcies | 1,427 | 1,457 | 1,933 |
| Company Compulsory Liquidations | 911 | 1,147 | 864 |
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