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Education Funding

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) lowest, (b) average and (c) highest per pupil funding was for each local education authority in England in each of the last 25 years, listed in descending order according to the highest average per pupil spend for the most recent year available. [186104]

 
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Mr. Miliband: Funding for education is provided by the Government to each local education authority. Figures on the total revenue funding per pupil by local education authority are available from 1997–98 onwards. The following table shows the lowest and highest funding per pupil and the national average for each year. Figures are all in real terms.

	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
National average	2,900	2,950	3,080	3,330
Lowest (£)	2,530	2,640	2,750	2,940
Lowest LEA	Dudley	South Gloucestershire	Swindon	South Gloucestershire
Highest (£)	4,550	4,580	4,800	5,160
Highest LEA	Lambeth	Lambeth	Tower Hamlets	Tower Hamlets

	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05
National average	3,490	3,580	3,710	3,840
Lowest (£)	3,040	3,140	3,260	3,370
Lowest LEA	South Gloucestershire	South Gloucestershire	Leicestershire	Leicestershire
Highest (£)	5,450	5,620	5,820	6,000
Highest LEA	Tower Hamlets	Tower Hamlets	Tower Hamlets	Tower Hamlets

2004–05 and 2003–04 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited. Updates will be available in the autumn.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much capital investment there has been in education, at today's prices, in each local education authority in each of the last 25 years. [186105]

Mr. Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Educational Attainment

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown of achievement at each Key Stage in 2003 by ethnicity subdivided into those (a) in receipt of and (b) not in receipt of free school meals. [185805]

 
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Mr. Miliband [holding answer 22 July 2004]: The information requested has been placed in the House Library.

Ethnic Minority Students

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) full-time undergraduate students, (b) post-graduate students and (c) full-time students taking higher degrees through taught courses were from ethnic minority backgrounds (i) in 1997 and (ii) in the most recent period for which figures are available. [183411]

Alan Johnson: The latest available figures are shown in the table.
Proportion of HE students from ethnic minorities⁽³⁶⁾UK HE institutions Percentage

	1996/97	2002/03 2
Full-time undergraduates	15	20
All postgraduates	15	22
Full-time taught postgraduates	26	34

⁽³⁶⁾ Based on those students who provided details of their ethnicity.
⁽³⁷⁾ A new classification of ethnicity was introduced in 2001/02. The figures for 2002/03 include students recorded as "mixed white/ethnic" who were not separately identified in 1996/97.

Full- and Part-time Students

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students pursuing a higher degree through taught courses were (a) full-time and (b) part-time in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [183412]

Alan Johnson: The figures are shown in the table.
Students on postgraduate taught courses⁽³⁸⁾ UK HE institutions

	1996/97	2002/03
Full-time	71,400	137,900
Part-time	152,300	193,900
Total	223,700	331,800

⁽³⁸⁾ Covers students on taught Masters, taught Doctorates and other postgraduate taught courses

Gap Year

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students are expected to take a gap year in 2004–05. [183641]

Alan Johnson: Information for 2004/05 is not yet available. The latest available information from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) shows that 26,400 students who obtained a place on a full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2003, deferred entry to 2004. This figure will not however include students who take a gap year before they apply to UCAS.

Green Minister

Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 2003–04. [185123]

 
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Mr. Miliband: The Secretary of State for Education and Skills, is DfES's Green Minister and in this role is a member of the Ministerial Committees of Green Ministers. However, it has been established practice under successive Governments not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees.

This Department leads on education for sustainable development, and to promote this and raise public awareness and understanding of sustainable development, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched the Sustainable Development action plan for Education and Skills on 23 September 2003. This plan commits this Department to work with our partner organisations and other Government Departments to ensure that sustainable development is an integral part of education and in skills development of this country and its economy.

Higher Education

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of people from the constituency of Rochdale have participated in higher education in each year since 1997; and what percentage are of South Asian descent. [183535]

Alan Johnson: Participation rates are not calculated by the Department for each parliamentary constituency. The available information covering students domiciled in Rochdale constituency who are enrolled on a higher education course is given in the table. Enrolments by those of South Asian descent are not held centrally. The available information covers those of Asian descent.
Number⁽³⁹⁾ of HE enrolments at UK HE institutions by students domiciled in Rochdale constituency and the percentage of Asian⁽⁴⁰⁾ descent

		Of which:
Academic year	HE students from Rochdale	Number with known ethnicity	Percentage Asian descent
1997/98	1,880	1,640	26
1998/99	1,935	1,695	27
1999/2000	2,155	1,925	28
2000/01	2,205	1,995	29
2001/02(41)	2,435	2,210	30
2002/03	2,570	2,395	32

⁽³⁹⁾ Figures are rounded to the nearest 0 or 5.
⁽⁴⁰⁾ "Asian" includes the ethnic categories "Asian or Asian British—Indian, Asian or Asian British—Bangladeshi", "Asian or Asian British—Pakistani", Chinese/Other Ethnic Background—Chinese', "Other Asian Background" and for 2001/02 onwards, "Mixed—White and Asian".
⁽⁴¹⁾ In 2001/02 a more detailed ethnicity categorisation was introduced by HESA which included new codes for those of mixed ethnicity. Prior to 2001/02 we do not know if those in the category "Mixed—White and Asian" would have classed themselves in the "white" category or in one of the Asian categories. Thus, figures for 2001/02 onwards may not be directly comparable with those for earlier years.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average participation rate in higher education is of each parliamentary constituency; and what the average level of participation in higher education is of those of South Asian descent. [183536]

 
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Alan Johnson: Higher Education participation rates are not calculated by the Department at constituency level.

Information on HE participation by ethnic group is published in Table A1 of the publication "Why the Difference? A Closer Look at Higher Education Minority Ethnic Students and Graduates", copies of which can be downloaded from: http://www.employment-studies.co. uk/pubs/report.php?id=rr552

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