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14 Jul 2004 : Column 1215W—continued

Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of students in higher education come from families where the household income is (a) under £10,000, (b) between £10,001 and £20,000, (c) between £20,001 and £30,000, (d) between £30,001 and £50,000 and (e) above £50,000. [183621]

Alan Johnson: Data are not available centrally in the format requested.

However, limited data are available which show that of those students eligible for student support, 85 per cent. are dependent students, of which, 35 per cent. have a parental residual income of less than £20,480; 17 per cent. have a parental residual income between £20,480 and £30,501; and 48 per cent. have a parental residual income of £30,502 or more.

Similarly, independent students eligible for student support account for 15 per cent. of the overall student population, of which, 88 per cent. have a spouse/partner residual income of less than £17,615; 4 per cent. have a spouse/partner residual income between £17,615 and £26,055; and 8 per cent. have a spouse/partner residual income of £26,045 or more.

These figures are for the Academic Year 2002/03 and are the latest available outturn. They are one of the data sources that have been used to produce forecasts of the percentage of students likely to receive the grants being introduced in 2004/05 and 2006/07. These forecasts also take into account the changes to the income definition used in the means test from 2004/05.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the percentage of young people entering higher education in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. [183644]

Alan Johnson: Estimates of the percentage of young people entering higher education in 2005 and 2006 are not available.

The planned number of student places is set during spending reviews in the light of the Government's target of increasing participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 17 to 30 by the end of the decade. Planned student numbers for 2005–06 to 2007–08 will be set as part of the current spending review.

Independent/State Sector Co-operation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the funds allocated to increase co-operation between independent and state schools will be spent. [183637]

Mr. Miliband: Most of the £1.6 million funding for the current year has already been allocated, with 46 new partnerships sharing £1.4 million over the next two years. In addition, 30 of the 47 partnerships awarded funding in 2003 will continue to receive some support. The remaining budget will be used to provide a low level of continuing support for a number of more established partnerships; pilot new developments; and evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme.
 
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In 2005–06 the budget for the scheme will rise to £2 million, and will be similarly distributed.

Medical Student Admissions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding he is providing to universities for the 2004–05 academic year to enable them to admit medical students with an A-level points score of under three C grades; which universities are in receipt of such funding under the improved retention scheme; and how many students will be admitted as a result. [183413]

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is allocating £159 million for the 2004–05 academic year to institutions to improve retention of full-time students based on the students' profile and an assessment of the risks of students failing to complete their studies. The institutions set out as follows are receiving part of their funding from this exercise as a result of the recent profile of their medical students.

Across these institutions, £21,950 in additional funding was allocated on the basis of an estimate of around 80 full-time medical students on courses leading to registration with the General Medical Council and subsequent practice as a doctor who are under 21 years of age with a point score of less than the equivalent of three Cs at A-level.

Overseas Students

Mr. Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average length of time of study was for overseas students in UK universities in the last period for which figures are available. [178214]


 
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Alan Johnson: Latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that, in 2002/03, the estimated average length of study of full-time overseas students at UK HE Institutions was three years for undergraduates, and just under two years for postgraduates.

Partnership for Schools

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of the Partnership for Church of England Schools was to his Department in the last financial year. [182509]

Mr. Miliband: £780,550 was paid in the last financial year as investment in the company. DfES also made a grant of £20,834 towards the cost of a local Diocesan Scheme Manager in one of the regions covered by the first group of projects.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are to be employed by Partnership for Schools; and what progress has been made in their recruitment. [182507]

Mr. Miliband: It is envisaged that Partnerships for Schools will employ 50 to 60 staff. Most of these will be employees, although some will be secondees from public and private sectors.

The process for recruiting the chair, members of the board and chief executives is currently in progress. Interviews and decisions on various other senior posts below this level are also being finalised. These recruitments are all being undertaken in accordance with the Nolan rules.

Further recruitment will be undertaken by Partnerships for Schools under the guidance of the DfES Recruitment Team, taking into account the requirements of the Gershon and Lyons reviews. Processes to deal with this have been set up.

Pay Systems

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place in the Library the most recent review of (a) his Department's pay systems, (b) the pay systems of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible and (c) the departmental equal pay action plan. [181345]

Mr. Charles Clarke: In 2003, my Department agreed a three-year pay settlement to 2005 that completes the pay modernisation identified by the Department's review of gender pay equality. My officials have produced a report about this review and are in the process of discussing the findings and action taken with the Cabinet Office. Once discussions are concluded, we will place a copy of the report in the Library of the House. The annual accounts of all Non-Departmental Public Bodies, including general information on pay, are place in the Library of the House.

Post-school Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils went on to (a) university education, (b) a further education
 
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college and (c) vocational courses from each local education authority area in the last year for which figures are available. [183620]

Mr. Miliband: Tables showing (a) latest information on the proportion of 18-year-olds entering Higher Education and (b) the percentages of 16-year-olds participating in education and training will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

The HE figures show the proportion of students who gain places in HE at age 18, and so will not include those who enter at 19 or over. This participation measure differs from the HE Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR), which measures progress towards the Government's aim of having 50 per cent. participation of 17 to 30-year-olds in HE by 2010. The latest HEIPR figure for 2002–03 is 44 per cent., but it is not calculated at LEA level.

The percentage of young people participating in full-time education in further education colleges is the sum of participation in sixth form colleges and other FE colleges.

A breakdown by type of course is not available by LEA. Work-based learning programmes include vocational courses. Participation in full and part-time education will also include learners on vocational courses.

Many young people participating in full-time education at age 16 and 17 go on to higher education at 18 so will appear in both the HE and participation in education and training figures.

There were additional entrants at older ages in education and training but data on this group of people are not available.

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