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22 Jun 2004 : Column 1386W—continued

Early-years Education (Training)

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students have (a) registered and (b) completed the two-year Early Years foundation degree in each year since the course was introduced. [171369]

Alan Johnson: As many as 1,250 students enrolled on the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree (EYSEFD) last academic year, 2002/03, and 3,500 new students were expected to start this year 2003/04. Actual numbers completing the course are not yet available.

Education Bodies (Staffing)

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the full-time equivalent headcount of the (a) Union Learning Fund, (b) Implementation Review
 
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1387W
 
Unit, including secondees, (c) National Remodelling Team, (d) Office for Standards in Education, (e) UK Education and Research Networking Association and (f) Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association was in each year since 1997; and how much funding was allocated to each body in each year. [178209]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Union Learning Fund (ULF) is a source of funding to help trade unions use their influence with employers, employees and others to encourage greater take up of learning at work and boost their own capacity as learning organisations. It was set up in 1998 and administered by the Department for Education and Skills until March 2003. From April 2003 the Learning and Skills Council has been responsible for the administration of the Fund. As ULF is a source of funding rather than a unit or body, there are no figures relating to full-time equivalent headcount. The Department's annual expenditure on ULF was £2 million in 1998–99, £3.1 million in 1999–2000, £3.9 million in 2000–01, £6.3 million in 2001–02 and £7.4 million in 2002–03. Estimated expenditure for 2003–04 is £12.1 million and the budget allocation for 2004–05 is £14.2 million.

The Implementation Review Unit was established in April 2003 with a remit to cut red tape and reduce bureaucracy in schools. The Unit has 12 panel members, each serving school staff, who work for the IRU an average 22 days per year. In 2003–04 the Unit was also served by a secretariat comprising three civil servants employed by the Department, working 0.5, 0.8 and 0.8 of the full-time equivalent, and two seconded advisers working for 20 and 50 days per year. Staffing figures for 2004–05 will be the same with the addition of another civil servant at 0.5 of the full-time equivalent. Estimated expenditure by the Unit in 2003–04 is £348,000 and its budget for 2004–05 is £500,000.

The National Remodelling Team is an integral part of the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) and we are unable to provide separate figures for the Remodelling Team. Staffing and funding figures for the NCSL as a whole, covering the full range of activities undertaken by the College to support the training and development of school leaders are set out as follows.

Total as at 31 March:	Staff numbers
2001	18
2002	77
2003	131
2004	224

Grant-in-aid budget	£ million
2000–01	0
2001–02	27.8
2002–03	60.0
2003–04	79.8
2004–05	90.2

The information requested on the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is set out as follows.
 
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	Net resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL) (£ million)	Staff employed (FTE)
1997–98	150.3	561(28)
1998–99	110.5	574(28)
1999–2000	86.4	559.4
2000–01	104.1	495.3
2001–02	155.2	581.3
2002–03	197.5	2,374.8
2003–04	208.5	2,600.3
2004–05	213.0	2,572.0
2005–06	218.8	2,572.0

⁽²⁸⁾ FTE figures are not available for these periods; as such this figure represents headcount.

The information requested on the UK Education and Research Networking Association is set out as follows:
£

Period end:	FTE headcount	Grants from JISC
March 1997	46	9,553,000
March 1998	49	14,527,985
March 1999	53	15,281,086
March 2000	55	10,756,821
July 2001	71	49,849,664
July 2002	83	30,176,608
July 2003	84	26,722,465

Notes:
1. Public funding for UK Education and Research Networking Association (UKERNA) is channelled through the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which is funded by all the UK higher and further education funding councils.
2. The allocated budget for UKERNA for 2003–04 (running until July 2004) is £27,470,000.

The Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA) aims to promote excellence in the application of information systems and services in support of teaching, learning, research and administration in higher and further education. It is a private body and receives no direct Government funding. We do not have information on its full-time equivalent headcount figures.

Education Funding

Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total Government funding for (a) higher and (b) further education has been in each financial year since 1997–98. [179269]

Alan Johnson: The funding by this Department to the FE and HE sectors is shown in the following table. In addition, the HE sector receives public funding from the Department of Health, the NHS, other Government Departments, and from the Research Councils.
Public funding

£ million
	HE	FE(29)
1997–98	4,686	3,131
1998–99	4,851	3,102
1999–2000	5,169	3,300
2000–01	5,414	3,471
2001–02	5,810	3,924
2002–03	6,109	4,326
2003–04	6,559	(30)4,732

⁽²⁹⁾ These figures represent total assumed funding allocated to the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) until 2000–01, and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from 2001–02 in either further education sector colleges (further and higher education students) or in external institutions, specialist designated institutions and higher education institutions (further education students only).
Over the last year the FE sector and other providers have exceeded expectations in participation, retention and attainment. In response the Government recently announced that they will increase the LSC's budget by £130 million over the 2003–04 to 2005–06 period. These additional funds are not included in the table.
⁽³⁰⁾ Planned.



 
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Education Maintenance Allowance

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of students who will benefit from the launch of the education maintenance allowance in Stoke-on-Trent North; and if he will make a statement. [177630]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Stoke on Trent is an EMA pilot area and at present there are 2,705 students in receipt of EMA across the city. We estimate that the number of
 
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recipients will be broadly similar after the launch of the national scheme in September. Across the West Midlands as a whole, we estimate that around 24,000 sixteen-year-olds will take up EMA.

We are unable to provide forecasts for numbers down to constituency level.

Education Services (Essex)

Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total expenditure was on state primary schools in (a) the county of Essex in each year from 1980 until 1997 and (b) the county of Essex and the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock in each year from 1998 until 2003. [173329]

Mr. Miliband: The available information is contained within the following table. Data for individual LEAs are not available prior to 1990–91.
£000

	Primary			Pre-primary and primary
	Essex	Thurrock	Southend-on-Sea	Essex	Thurrock	Southend-on-Sea
1990–91	n/a	n/a	n/a	203,350	n/a	n/a
1991–92	n/a	n/a	n/a	215,266	n/a	n/a
1992–93	n/a	n/a	n/a	242,789	n/a	n/a
1993–94	n/a	n/a	n/a	248,620	n/a	n/a
1994–95	n/a	n/a	n/a	243,061	n/a	n/a
1995–96	n/a	n/a	n/a	246,947	n/a	n/a
1996–97	n/a	n/a	n/a	247,711	n/a	n/a
1997–98	n/a	n/a	n/a	240,132	n/a	n/a
1998–99	n/a	n/a	n/a	207,670	29,610	24,533
1999–2000	250,395	32,685	32,036	258,550	33,471	32,939
2000–01	278,357	37,113	34,605	287,895	39,001	35,957
2001–02	294,395	39,649	39,566	309,649	42,143	41,701
2002–03	320,908	40,917	43,966	n/a	n/a	n/a

Notes:
1. The financial data are taken from local education authorities' Section 52 Outturn Statements submitted to the DfES from 1999–2000 onwards and the ODPM's RO1 statement previously. Up to and including 1997–98 figures are for Essex LEA prior to local government reorganisation. From 1998–99 onwards parts of Essex LEA became Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock LEAs. 2002–03 data is subject to change by the LEA. Figures are adjusted to 2002–03 prices using the March 2004 GDP deflators.
2. Spending in 1997–98 reflects the transfer of monies from local Government to central Government for the nursery vouchers scheme. These were returned to local Government in 1998–99. 1999–2000 figures reflect the return of GM schools to local authority maintenance.
3. Expenditure was not distinguished between pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of the Section 52 outturn statement in 1999–2000.
4. The Outturn 2002–03 tables captured the data in a fundamentally different way to the previous years. Categories were aligned with the Consistent Financial Reporting framework and the spending by LEAs was no longer split by school sector. Consequently the expenditure in 2002–03 is not strictly comparable with earlier years as it includes an apportionment of LEA expenditure based on pupil numbers.
5. Net current expenditure includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by the LEA.
6. Net current expenditure after recharges was not recorded on RO1 until 1993–94. Consequently up to and including 1992–93 net recurrent expenditure is used and consequently figures in those years may not be strictly comparable with figures for future years.

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