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27 Apr 2004 : Column 969W—continued

Apprenticeships (Preston)

Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many residents of Preston have undertaken apprenticeships in each of the last five years. [168115]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Nor is the information available on a consistent geographical basis over the last five years. However, the following table shows the number of starts on modern apprenticeships in the Lancashire LSC area between April 2001 and the end of July 2003, as well as the number of starts from
 
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April 1996 to March 2001 in the two TECs that amalgamated into Lancashire LSC—ELTEC and LAWTEC.

Time period 1 and TEC/LSC	Advanced MA	Foundation MA
April 1998 to March 1999
ELTEC	1,000	400
LAWTEC	1,600	100
April 1999 to March 2000
ELTEC	800	1,100
LAWTEC	1,900	1,800
April 2000 to March 2001
ELTEC	900	1,300
LAWTEC	1,800	2,100
April 2001 to July 2002
Lancashire LSC	1,900	4,100
August 2002 to July 2003
Lancashire LSC	1,500	3,300

⁽²⁵⁾ TECs reported the figures in financial years. LSC reports figures in academic years. The first LSC 'year' was 16 months in order to bring the financial year figures into line with academic years.
Sources:
TEC Management Information
LSC Individualised Learner Record

Civil Servants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list for each civil service grade within his (a) Department and (b) Department's Executive agencies, the total number of staff employed, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) ethnic group and (iii) age group; and how many are registered disabled. [166398]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The total number of staff employed in my Department, broken down into the requested equality categories are:
(i) Gender

	AA	AO	EO	HEO	SEO	Grade 7/6	SCS	Total
Male	105	319	375	471	287	316	82	1,955
Female	108	646	751	687	328	298	51	2,869
All staff	213	965	1,126	1,158	615	614	133	4,824

(ii) Ethnic group

	AA	AO	EO	HEO	SEO	Grade 7/6	SCS 1
White	137	592	745	827	482	478	*
Ethnic Minority	26	161	180	133	36	28	*
Not known	50	212	201	198	97	108	*
All staff	213	965	1126	1158	615	614	133

(iii) Recorded disability

	AA	AO	EO	HEO	SEO	Grade 7/6	SOS 2
Recorded disability	17	46	51	75	17	19	*
Others	196	919	1075	1083	598	595	*
All staff	213	965	1126	1158	615	614	133

⁽²⁶⁾* In accord with civil service guidelines for disclosing equality data SCS numbers deleted out because numbers in one category fall below six.
⁽²⁷⁾* SCS as for ethnic group.





 
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(iv) Age group

	AA	AO	EO	HEO	SEO	Grade 7/6 and SCS	Total
Under 29	48	259	279	239	36	25	886
30–39	44	282	377	361	186	160	1,410
40–49	36	236	309	379	245	311	1,516
50+	85	188	161	179	148	251	1,012
All staff	213	965	1,126	1,158	615	747	4,824

SCS and Grade 7/6 numbers amalgamated and age categories under 24 and 60+ amalgamated with next age band as some numbers fall below six.

My Department has no Executive agencies.

Departmental Consultations

Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list each consultation that his Department has held in each year since 1997; and what the cost was of these consultations. [167559]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: A list of the initiatives my Department has consulted on can be found at www. dfes.gov.uk/consultations/

It is not possible to provide the cost of consultations undertaken since 1997 as the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was established after the general election in 2001. Prior to this date the Department for   Education and Employment (DfEE) conducted consultations dating back to 1997. The DfEE operated under different accounting standards to the DfES, making it difficult to provide a consistent cost breakdown for the period in question. In 2001 and 2002 Cabinet Office's monitoring of compliance with the Code of Practice on Consultation included the cost of consultation exercises. The total cost of DfES consultation exercises identified was £514,921.04 in 2001 and £2,508,687.60 in 2002.

Education

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in Heywood and Middleton have received a computer to assist in seeking employment or retraining. [168511]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: At present no centrally funded schemes exist which enable people to acquire free or low price recycled computers. In the past such schemes have been trialled but have proved costly to administer to ensure fair distribution of equipment.

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the effects on schools of changes since 1997 in the level of   investment in school sports in Stalybridge and Hyde. [168762]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information is not held in the format requested. Within the context of the statutory National Curriculum, where Physical Education (PE) is compulsory for pupils aged 5–16, it is for individual schools to use their budgets as they judge appropriate.

The Government is investing more than £1 billion in England to transform PE, school sport and club links. The funding will help deliver an ambitious Public
 
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Service Agreement target, shared with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to increase the percentage of 5 to16-year-olds 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.

The Department is providing just over £400,000 to support the delivery of one School Sport Partnerships in the Tameside LEA area. The partnership includes six   secondary and 18 primary schools and provides enhanced sports opportunities for all young people to ensure that their pupils spend a minimum of two hours a week on high quality PE and School Sport. A key objective for all School Sport Partnerships is to ensure that the improvements and enhanced opportunities that they deliver are sustainable and embedded within schools to ensure a lasting legacy. The New Opportunities Fund has provided schools in the Tameside LEA area with over £3 million specifically to enhance PE and school sport facilities.

Latest research, published by the Departments on 4 March shows that 68 per cent. of pupils in schools that have been in a partnership for three years, are taking up the two hour entitlement, rising to 90 per cent. at Key Stage 3. Data has been collected from remaining partnerships and will be published in April.

English/Mathematics

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils in Burnley reached the (a) mathematics and (b) English standard in each of the last seven years. [167927]

Mr. Miliband: The results from the 2003 National Curriculum tests showed that 75 per cent. of 11-year-olds in England reached Level 4 in English and 73 per cent. in mathematics. These results represent a significant improvement in standards—of 12 percentage points in English and 11 percentage points in mathematics—since 1997, reflecting the impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on primary schools. We remain absolutely committed, through our new Primary Strategy, to supporting schools to achieve the ambitious targets we have set for standards of literacy and numeracy.

The following table shows the number and percentage of pupils in Burnley who have achieved Level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics tests since 1997. The results for Burnley are below the national average but show improvements since 1997 in both English and mathematics which are only slightly below the improvements nationally.
 
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	Number of pupils(28)		Percentage of pupils
	English	Mathematics	English	Mathematics
1997	785	784	59	59
1998	762	655	60	51
1999	798	794	62	61
2000	844	819	67	65
2001	894	827	67	62
2002	843	864	66	68
2003	850	851	68	68

⁽²⁸⁾ The number of eligible pupils for the Key Stage 2 tests varies slightly from year to year

Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils in Preston reached the (a) mathematics and   (b) English standard in each of the last seven years. [168126]

Mr. Miliband: The results from the 2003 National Curriculum tests showed that 75 per cent. of 11-year-olds in England reached Level 4 in English and 73 per cent. in mathematics. These results represent a significant improvement in standards—of 12 percentage points in English and 11 percentage points in mathematics—since 1997, reflecting the impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on primary schools. We remain absolutely committed, through our new Primary Strategy, to supporting schools to achieve the ambitious targets we have set for standards of literacy and numeracy.

The following table shows the number and percentage of pupils in Preston who have achieved Level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics tests since 1997. The results for Preston are below the national average but show significant improvements since 1997 in both English and mathematics which are greater than the improvements nationally.

	Number of pupils(29)		Percentage of pupils
	English	Mathematics	English	Mathematics
1997	666	664	53	52
1998	830	775	62	58
1999	909	913	66	66
2000	935	896	73	70
2001	905	879	70	70
2002	931	939	68	70
2003	918	876	70	67

⁽²⁹⁾ The number of eligible pupils for the Key Stage 2 tests varies slightly from year to year.

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