House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 10 May 2004 (pt 12)

10 May 2004 : Column 40W—continued

Postgraduate Students

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from universities regarding difficulties in attracting and retaining postgraduate students from within the United Kingdom. [166734]

Alan Johnson: Both my right hon. Friend and I have received a number of representations from universities about postgraduate education and research. These have included trends and participation in postgraduate programmes. Over the period 1996–97 to 2002–03 there has been a 16 per cent. increase in the number of UK domiciled postgraduate students. The Government recognise the importance of encouraging more students into postgraduate and research study and have taken a number of initiatives to achieve this, including increases to stipends for PhD students and post-doctoral salaries.

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Private Sector HE Colleges

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the criteria are relating to private sector colleges of higher education (a) for Government support for fees charged to individual students and (b) for acceptance of the institution for support from a funding council. [171608]

Alan Johnson: If their course has been 'specifically designated' for student support by my Department, eligible students on courses of higher education at private institutions can apply for support for fees, loans for maintenance and, where appropriate, disabled students' allowance. Generally, the fee rate for a specifically designated course at a private institution will be lower than the publicly funded rate and is not subject to means test. For 2004/05, the fee rate is £1,075.

To be designated for support, a course must be:

at least Certificate of Higher Education level and less than postgraduate level;

validated by a recognised UK degree awarding body; and

of at least one academic year in duration.

Institutions funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are able to franchise courses to private sector colleges, which would receive indirect funding. To be directly funded by HEFCE, a private sector college would need to be designated for funding by the Secretary of State under section 129 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The Secretary of State, in reaching a decision on designation, will seek advice from HEFCE. In addition to considering what is affordable to fund, the criteria which the Council use in forming their advice can be found in HEFCE publication 01/05, "Transfers Between the Further and Higher Education Sectors", which I have placed in the House of Commons Library.

Recycled Paper

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when his Department expects to implement in full the quick win targets set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that (a) all copying paper bought by the Department is 100 per cent. recycled with a minimum of 75 per cent. post-consumer waste content and (b) all paper for printed publications bought by the Department is 60 per cent. recycled, of which a minimum is 75 per cent. post-consumer waste. [166787]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The "quick win targets" set by DEFRA were communicated widely within the Department, particularly to procurement sections, in October 2003. Due to a lack of re-contracting opportunities since that date it has not so far been possible to implement specific measures to ensure the Department meets the quick win targets. Procurement sections have undertaken to introduce these as soon as re-contracting opportunities arise.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the Department's main suppliers of (a) copier paper, (b) stationery, (c) envelopes and (d) paper for reports, in each case

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stating (i) the name of each paper used and (ii) the recycled and post-consumer recycled content of each paper. [166788]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department's main suppliers of (a) copier paper and (d) paper for reports are Banner Business Supplies, Guilbert UK Ltd., Glenmore Business Papers, the Paper Company (formerly known as Twenty c Paper) and Premium Paper. Suppliers for (c) envelopes are Banner Business Supplies and (b) stationery are Banner Business Supplies and AlphaGraphics. However information for parts (i) and (ii) is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of copying paper used by the Department in 2002–03 was from recycled sources; and how much post-consumer waste this paper contained. [166789]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department had no procedures in place to capture information on copying paper in 2002–03. New environmental monitoring arrangements were put in place when new departmental printing contracts were introduced in 2003–04 but the available part-year data have not yet been compiled and analysed.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of paper for printed publications used by the Department in 2002–03 was from recycled sources; and how much post-consumer waste this paper contained. [166790]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department had no procedures in place to capture information on paper for printed publications in 2002–03. New environmental monitoring arrangements were put in place when new departmental printing contracts were introduced in 2003–04 but the available part-year data have not yet been compiled and analysed.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he has put in place to ensure that his Department meets the quick win targets set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that all copying paper bought by the Department is 100 per cent. recycled with a minimum of 75 per cent. post-consumer waste content. [166791]

School Buildings

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will set a target date for the completion of outstanding repairs to school buildings; [171237]

(2) if he will make a statement on the Government's progress towards achieving its target of rebuilding or remodelling 650 schools by 2004; [171239]

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(3) if he will make a statement on the Government's progress towards its target for substantial repairs to be made to 7,000 schools by this year. [171240]

Mr. Miliband: Central government capital support for investment in school buildings in England has increased from under £700 million in 1996–97 to £4.5 billion this year and will rise further to over £5 billion in 2005–06. Most of this funding is allocated by formula to schools and local education authorities so that they can address their investment needs, which are prioritised locally in asset management plans. My department does not collect detailed information on local investment decisions, in view of the unacceptable bureaucratic burden this would impose. The targets mentioned by the hon. Member were realistic estimates based on the increased levels of capital funding available to schools and to authorities. However, we are confident that local education authorities and schools have the investment available for their schools to reach these targets.

For instance, funding includes direct capital funding for every school. From 2002–03 to 2004–05, a typical secondary school has received over £200,000 of its own capital, and a typical primary school over £60,000, enabling them to improve their buildings in line with their priorities. Therefore, we believe that virtually every school in the country has now benefited from substantial repairs or improvements to its buildings, far in excess of the target of £7,000.

Further, funding also includes support for PFI projects. By September 2004, from signed PFI contracts, about 130 newly built or rebuilt schools are scheduled to be operating, plus a similar number of refurbished schools. There are a further 220 schools, new built and refurbished, which are also scheduled to benefit from these PFI contracts. Over 80 schools benefited from substantial investment from New Deal for Schools funding. In the voluntary aided sector, where we allocate funding directly to schools, there have been 90 new or rebuilt school projects in the last five to six years. In addition, authorities are investing in new and rebuilt schools to meet local population growth and the needs of 21st century teaching and learning.

By 2004–05, this government will have provided a total of £24 billion for investment in school buildings in England, enabling schools and authorities to address the backlog of repairs that had built up as a result of years of under-funding and to begin to make schools suitable for the teaching and learning needs of the 21st century.

Earlier this year, I announced the first wave of authorities to benefit from the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which aims to renew all secondary schools in England in 10–15 years from 2005–06, subject to future spending decisions. In addition to the BSF programme, we will continue to make substantial funding available for schools in the primary sector and those in the secondary sector not prioritised in BSF. School buildings will continue to be improved in line with local priorities, and support provided for the continuing cyclical, predictive and reactive maintenance needs which are a necessary part of the upkeep of all school buildings so that they do not again decay. In value for money terms, there may be occasions when it is preferable to wait for strategic

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renewal of a school rather than continue to patch and mend. This will be a local decision. Given this, I do not intend to set a target date for completion of outstanding repairs.

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