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18 Oct 2004 : Column 542W—continued
Student Loans
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether current arrangements will continue for teachers of shortage subjects to have their student loans paid off if they remain in teaching. [191104]
Mr. Miliband: We are currently considering whether the Repayment of the Teachers' Loans Scheme should continue beyond the pilot which ends on 30 June 2005, and will announce a decision as soon as possible.
Teaching Qualifications
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will make it his policy that Mr. Tristan Jones-Parry should be authorised to be a recognised mathematics teacher; [190944R]
(2) what assessment he has made of possible obstacles to competent, experienced teachers in shortage subjects being offered employment as qualified staff. [190945R]
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Mr. Miliband: The Government have introduced a wide range of training routes to allow anyone who can meet the required standards, whatever their age or background, to qualify as a teacher. For experienced teachers who do not yet hold Qualified Teacher Status, like Mr. Jones-Parry, both the Graduate Teacher Programme and flexible Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses can offer accelerated routes to qualification. For candidates with the right experience, the accelerated routes can be as swift as a few weeks or even a matter of days. The Teacher Training Agency employs professional consultants to offer individual advice and guidance to anyone considering a career in teaching.
Youth Clubs (Campaign Posters)
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from the London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames on its ban on Sexwise posters from its youth clubs; and if he will make a statement. [187105]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: I have not received any representations from the London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames about the display of 'Sexwise' campaign posters from its youth clubs. The national advertising campaign that supports the Government's teenage pregnancy strategy has three key messages: encouraging young people to resist peer pressure to have sex early; encouraging young people who are sexually active to use contraception, in particular condoms, to avoid the risks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies; and informing young people that they can access confidential advice and support on sex and relationship issues. The 'Sexwise' telephone helpline number and RUThinking website address are included on all campaign materials, so that young people can seek further information and advice, where necessary.
Campaign materials were developed following extensive consultation with young people and parents and the Government believe they are suitable for use in a range of informal youth settings. The campaign materials are being used widely to support the delivery of local strategies and it is therefore regrettable that the London borough of Richmond has deemed them unsuitable for display in its youth clubs.
TREASURY
Red Diesel
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when the Government will decide whether they will seek an extension to the derogation from the European Energy Products Directive that enables private pleasure craft users to purchase red diesel; [190634]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the number of private pleasure crafts using red diesel. [190686]
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John Healey: The derogation is due to expire at the end of 2006. Discussions will be conducted with other member states closer to that date, in the light of the views of stakeholders, including boat owners.
The Government do not hold any figures for numbers of private pleasure craft, but the British Marine Federation has estimated that there are approximately 451,000 private pleasure boats in the UK, although this figure includes all types of boats, not just those using red diesel.
Unemployment (Glasgow)
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many (a) young males and (b) young females are unemployed in the City of Glasgow; [190984]
(2) how many (a) males and (b) females living in the City of Glasgow are classified as long-term unemployed; and what percentage of the working population of the city these figures represent. [191006]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Marshall, dated 18 October 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about Unemployment in the city of Glasgow. (190984,191006).
The attached table provides the information requested in the city of Glasgow for the twelve months ending in August 2004.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are subject to sampling variability.
| Total unemployment | Unemployed people aged 16–24 | Long-term unemployment 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level (000) | Rate (Percentage) 2 | Level (000) | Level (000) | Rate (Percentage) 3 | |
| Total | 20 | 7.6 | 8 | 6 | 2.2 |
| Male | 14 | 10.2 | 5 | 4 | 3.2 |
| Female | 6 | 4.9 | 2 | 2 | 1.3 |
(48) People unemployed for over 12 months.
(49) Unemployed people as percentage of economically active population (i.e. employed plus unemployed).
(50) Long term unemployment as percentage of economically active.
Note:
Estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a higher than usual degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Source:
ONS: Labour Force Survey
Civil Service Relocation
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ask the Lyons Committee to reconvene to consider the impact on proposals to relocate civil service staff of job losses in the civil service due to the restructuring of the Department of Work and Pensions. [190847]
Mr. Boateng:
There are no plans to reconvene the Lyons Review. All Departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, are committed to
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delivering both the relocation and civil service work force reduction targets that were announced in the 2004 Spending Review and are making progress towards these targets.
Coal Mine Methane
Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce fiscal incentives to encourage the use of energy from coal mine methane; and if he will make a statement. [190751]
John Healey: Supplies of electricity generated from coal mine methane became exempt from the climate change levy from November 2003.
Earnings (Buckingham)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average earnings of full-time employees in the Buckingham constituency were in (a) April 2001, (b) April 2002, (c) April 2003 and (d) April 2004. [191065]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 18 October 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average earnings for full time employees in the Buckingham constituency were in (a) April 2001 (b) April 2002 (c) April 2003 and (d) April 2004. (191065)
Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for ASHE tables. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
I attach a table showing the average gross weekly wage for full time employees in the Buckingham constituency for 2001 to 2003. Data for 2004 will not be available until the 28 October 2004.
The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a 1 per cent. sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes, but because of its sampling frame, it has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
| Mean (£) | CV per cent. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 452.1(51) | 7.1 |
| 2002 | 494.5(51) | 6.4 |
| 2003 | 575.6(52) | 11.0 |
(51) Reasonably precise : CV>5 per cent. and }10 per cent.
(52) Acceptable : CV>10 per cent. and }20 per cent.
Data for 2004 will not be available until 28 October 2004.
The table provides data, on the average gross weekly earnings for, full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the pay period was unaffected by absence, who worked in Buckingham, for the years 2001 to 2003.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, (ASHE), carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a 1 per cent. sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
The ASHE replaces the New Earnings Survey (NES) from October 2004. The main difference between the ASHE and NES being that estimates are weighted to population totals from the Labour Force Survey. Average gross weekly earnings for Adult Full-Time Employees whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence.
Data Source:
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS
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