---

25 May 2004 : Column 1532W—continued

Post-16 Education/Training

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress he has made in talks with (a) the Learning and Skills Council and (b) the Association of Colleges about the respective roles, responsibilities and powers of those organisations and his Department in relation to the (i) provision and (ii)   withdrawal of post-16 education and training in local areas. [175248]

Alan Johnson: The working group, which will consider the LSC-college relationship in relation to post-16 education and training, has yet to meet. Its membership will be agreed between the Department for Education and Skills, the Learning and Skills Council and relevant sector bodies. The Learning and Skills
 
25 May 2004 : Column 1533W
 
Council is leading on establishing the group and will write to the hon. Member once the membership and remit for the group has been agreed.

School Absences

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines he has issued to   (a) schools and (b) local education authorities about levels of (i) authorised and (ii) unauthorised absence. [174717]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding reply 20 May 2004]: In December 2001, the Department asked all schools with above average levels of unauthorised absence to set themselves targets to reduce the level of unauthorised absence by the end of this school year. In February 2003, I wrote to all local education authorities reminding them of the importance that the Government attaches to improving the levels of school attendance and urging them to work with their schools in reducing both authorised and unauthorised absences. Also in 2003, we provided 56 local education authorities with expert advisers to help them work with schools to improve attendance levels, in particular, to reduce unauthorised absence to a level closer to that of authorities in similar circumstances. The Department also advises authorities and schools on appropriate levels of absence through analysis of targets set, for example, in Education Development Plans, under the Behaviour Improvement Programme or as part of Local Public Service Agreements.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment has been made of the causal links between absence from school and attainment at the level of (a) individual pupils, (b) schools and (c) local education authorities. [174718]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding reply 20 May 2004]: The information is as follows:

(a)   The Department has recently commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research to carry out an analysis of data to identify the links between individual pupils' attendance at school and their attainment in examinations. The report is expected in the summer of 2004.

(b)   Analysis of school level data for the 2002/3 academic year indicates that there is a correlation between attendance and attainment. For example, in schools with absence levels of 6.5 per cent. or lower, an average of 74.3 per cent. of pupils achieved five or more A*-C grades in GCSE examinations. However, the average fell to 26.7 per cent. in schools where absence levels exceeded 11 per cent.

(c)   The data also reveal a general correlation at local education authority level with attainment dropping as absence levels increase. Most authorities with absence levels of 7.0 per cent. or less have, on average, over 60 per cent. of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades. In those authorities with absence levels exceeding 10 per cent., on average, less than 45 per cent. of pupils achieve five or more A*-C GCSE grades.
 
25 May 2004 : Column 1534W
 

School Budgets (London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school budgets in Greater London, broken down by local education authority, were in deficit in each of the last seven years. [170498]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested is only available for the last four years and is contained in the following table:
Numbers of schools in Greater London with deficit budgets

LEA name	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
City of London	0	0	0	0
Camden	4	0	2	6
Greenwich	23	13	21	24
Hackney	21	15	21	13
Hammersmith and       Fulham	3	2	5	10
Islington	10	3	2	7
Kensington and Chelsea	4	1	3	2
Lambeth	19	12	13	14
Lewisham	10	11	20	22
Southwark	10	9	21	22
Tower Hamlets	20	17	23	26
Wandsworth	6	5	4	8
Westminster	9	17	12	11
Barking and Dagenham	14	4	6	14
Barnet	5	8	16	5
Bexley	11	5	11	10
Brent	10	10	14	17
Bromley	13	11	8	15
Croydon	7	2	2	9
Ealing	9	7	5	5
Enfield	5	5	4	5
Haringey	32	23	18	11
Harrow	2	2	0	2
Havering	5	6	4	7
Hillingdon	8	11	13	10
Hounslow	9	6	6	13
Kingston-upon-Thames	3	3	3	4
Merton	5	3	4	3
Newham	14	17	20	20
Redbridge	6	4	4	8
Richmond-upon-Thames	3	2	2	6
Sutton	1	2	3	2
Waltham Forest	10	7	12	13

Notes:
1. The data are taken from local education authorities' Section 52 Outturn Statements submitted to the DfES. Financial data used to determine budget is taken to the nearest pound.
2. School level data has only been collected by the DfES since the inception of Section 52 in 1999–2000.
3. For 1999–2000 to 2001–02 the data are taken from the Balance Carried Forward column. In 2002–03 data comes from Other Revenue Balance.
4. 2002–03 data subject to changes by the LEA which may alter the results for that period.

Student Assistance

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assistance his Department offers to students from low income backgrounds who are embarking on further or higher education before their 19th birthday; and if he will extend education maintenance allowances to such students. [174990]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Young people from lower income households who are aged 16 at the start of the 2004/05 academic year can apply to receive the education maintenance allowance. We are phasing in the scheme
 
25 May 2004 : Column 1535W
 
nationally from September 2004 to successive 16 year-old year groups. By 2006 all young people aged 16 to 19 who meet the eligibility requirements will be able to receive EMA. In addition, the Learner Support Fund provides a safety net to students who experience financial hardship. For those students in higher education from lower income backgrounds the £1,000 higher education grant is available from September 2004. This will ensure a continuous system of non-repayable support for tuition for those most in need.

Sure Start Unit

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people the Sure Start Unit employs; and what the Unit's expected budget is in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [175375]

Mr. Charles Clarke: As at 1 April 2004, the Sure Start Unit employed 299 permanent staff. The expected budget for 2004–05 will be £12.7 million. Budgets are set annually.

University Fees

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire are attending university; and how many (i) pay no tuition fees and (ii) pay partial tuition fees. [173767]

Alan Johnson: In England and Wales, students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition only if they can afford to do so.

For entry in 2002, there were 6,792 applicants domiciled in Lancashire LEA who were accepted through UCAS to full-time first degree and HND courses at UK institutions. Data on the number of students from Chorley attending university are not available.

The number and percentages of students in England and Wales in academic year 2002/03 (latest year for which data are available) who have been assessed to make a nil or partial contribution towards the cost of their tuition are shown in the table:
England and Wales: Academic year 2002/03 (provisions)

	Student Support Scheme Student numbers (000s)(12)	Student Support Scheme Students (Percentage)(12)
Nil contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/partner(13)	330	43
Partial contribution towards the cost of tuition from student/parents/spouse/ partner	116	15

⁽¹²⁾ Contributions towards the cost of tuition are assessed by local education authorities in England and Wales for students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
⁽¹³⁾ Includes students on courses where the fee support was not subject to income-assessment (e.g. PGCE courses, and some other ITT courses; and designated courses at private institutions).
National level data are published annually in the Department's Statistical First Releases (SFRs) (SFR 12/2004 for 2002/03).
Source:
F503G survey of local education authorities




 
25 May 2004 : Column 1536W
 

Data are collected from the local education authorities (LEAs) to produce national estimates and the data collection exercise does not allow for the production of firm figures below this level. Therefore data by constituency or local education authority are not available.

---