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2 Dec 2004 : Column 210W—continued
Vocational Education
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the financial co-operation between local education authorities and the Learning and Skills Council on implementing the Government's 14–19 strategy for vocational education; and if he will make a statement. [201245]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The joint 16–19 Capital Fund announced in the Department's five year strategy will be available for cross-sector projects, including vocational provision. The forthcoming 14–19 White Paper will consider how financial co-operation between LEAs and the LSC can be further developed to help support implementation of the 14–19 strategy.
Education (Lewisham, Deptford)
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department has taken to improve standards in secondary schools in the Lewisham, Deptford constituency since 1997. [201105]
Mr. Miliband: Standards in secondary schools in the Deptford, Lewisham constituency have improved significantly. Since 1997 the Key Stage 3 results at Level 5 and above show an increase of 17.3 (percentage) points in English, 22.7 (percentage) points in mathematics and 21.2 inscience. At Key Stage 4 there has been an increase of 20.6 (percentage) points in the attainment of 5+A*-C GCSEs and 10.9 at 5+ A*-G GCSEs, significantly above the national rates of improvement. A summary of the improving outcomes is set out in the table . Data for 2004 will be provided at constituency level during January 2005.
Information about education and skills by constituency is made available by the Department through the 'In Your Area' web site, available at http//www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea.
| English | Maths | Science | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 57.1 | 52.7 | 52.4 |
| 1998 | 66.2 | 53.9 | 51.9 |
| 1999 | 63.7 | 56.7 | 51.1 |
| 2000 | 64.1 | 59.4 | 50.9 |
| 2001 | 68.5 | 64.2 | 64.5 |
| 2002 | 7.3.3 | 72.0 | 68.9 |
| 2003 | 74.4 | 75.4 | 73.6 |
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Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department has taken to improve standards in primary schools in the Lewisham, Deptford constituency since 1997. [201106]
Mr. Miliband: This year's results show that standards in primary schools are improving again. In English the percentage of 11 years olds achieving the expected level has increased by 3 (percentage) points to 78 per cent. and mathematics has increased by 1 (percentage) point to 74 per cent.
Standards in primary schools in the Lewisham, Deptford constituency have improved dramatically. Since 1997 the Key Stage 2 results show an increase of 23.2 (percentage) points in English and 23.7 (percentage) points in mathematics, significantly above the national rates of improvement of 15 (percentage) points in English and 12 in mathematics. A summary of the improving outcomes is set out in the following table. Data for 2004 is not yet available at constituency level but will be provided when the Achievement and Attainment tables are published in mid-January.
Information on education and skills by constituency is made available by the Department through the "In Your Area" website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea
| Reading | Writing | Maths | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 73.8 | 73.5 | 79.7 |
| 1998 | 70.5 | 71.4 | 77.9 |
| 1999 | 71.3 | 71.9 | 81.0 |
| 2000 | 72.4 | 73.3 | 84.7 |
| 2001 | 74.2 | 74.3 | 81.7 |
| 2002 | 77.5 | 77.5 | 83.7 |
| 2003 | 77 | 77.1 | 84.8 |
| English | Maths | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 48.5 | 48.3 |
| 1998 | 52.7 | 45.9 |
| 1999 | 56.9 | 61.5 |
| 2000 | 60.6 | 59.6 |
| 2001 | 70.4 | 62.6 |
| 2002 | 65.2 | 64.1 |
| 2003 | 71.7 | 72.0 |
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what capital investment his Department has made in the Lewisham, Deptford constituency in the last three years. [201107]
Mr. Miliband:
The capital allocations made to Lewisham Local Education Authority and its schools in the last three years are:
2 Dec 2004 : Column 212W
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant | 8,326 | 7,314 | 6,455 |
| Supported Borrowing | 7,500 | 9,287 | 8,615 |
| PFI credits | 60,600 | 0 | 0 |
| Total capital investment | 76,426 | 16,601 | 15,070 |
Information on the split between constituencies is not held centrally. Decisions on how resources should be invested in schools are made in accordance with locally prepared asset management plans.
The capital investment on ICT made to the LEA and its schools is not included in the figures provided above. This information is kept separately and can be found in the house of Commons Library in a paper Funding for ICT schools in England.
Training Costs
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has undertaken to ascertain the willingness of employers to pay for training. [201268]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has not commissioned any research specifically to investigate the willingness of employers to pay for training. However, the Learning and Training At Work Survey in 2000 researched how much employers do pay for training and the 2002 report "The Nature of Training and Motivation to Train in Small Firms" by John Kitching and Robert Blackburn contains a section on the barriers to training (including financial barriers). Both reports are in the House of Commons Library.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
British Nuclear Fuels
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made the financial benefit conferred on British Nuclear Fuels by the Energy Act 2004. [200656]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 30 November 2004]: The Energy Act 2004 does not confer any direct financial benefit to BNFL. Its provisions relating to the civil nuclear industry (in part) establish the NDA and provide for nuclear transfer schemes to facilitate the consequent reorganisation of British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL). This reorganisation will be conducted in line with the conclusions of the Joint Strategy Review as announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the House of Commons on 11 December 2003
Business Support Initiatives
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will list the value of (a) UK High Technology Fund and (b) Regional Venture Capital Funds expenditure in each region since the Funds' establishment; [200528]
(2) if she will list the value of (a) UK High Technology Fund and (b) Regional Venture Capital Fund expenditure in each region since 2000. [200537]
2 Dec 2004 : Column 213W
Nigel Griffiths: As at the 31 October 2004 the Regional Venture Capital Funds (RVCFs) had invested £38,194,527. This number can be broken down regionally as follows:
The UK High Technology Fund is a fund of funds, as at the 30 June 2004 £123.6 million had been invested in nine private equity partnerships. The information necessary to determine a regional breakdown of this expenditure is not made available to us by the UK High Technology Fund.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial provision has been made for the Regional Venture Capital Funds in each year since 2001; and what the uptake was in each year. [200530]
Nigel Griffiths: The UK Government have committed a total of £74,375,000 to the Regional Venture Capital Funds.
As at 31 October 2004 this provision has been drawn down as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2,100,000 |
| 2002–03 | 9,037,500 |
| 2003–04 | 19,600,000 |
| 2004–05 | 13,825,000 |
| Total | 44,562,500 |
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial provision has been made for the Research and Development Grants/Smart in each year since its inception; and what the uptake was in each year. [200531]
Nigel Griffiths: I refer to the answer given on 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 84W. For 2003–04, provision for Smart and Grant for Research and Development was £27 million and expenditure of £47 million.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial provision has been made for enterprise grants in each year since its inception; and what the uptake was in each year. [200532]
Nigel Griffiths:
The enterprise grant scheme is now closed. Initially the scheme was allocated a budget of £45 million between January 2000 and March 2003. The scheme deadline was extended to March 2004. The uptake has been as follows:
2 Dec 2004 : Column 214W
| Financial year | Expenditure (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 3.6 |
| 2001–02 | 10.2 |
| 2002–03 | 11.8 |
| 2003–04 | 13.6 |
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the value of Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme expenditure in each (a) region and (b) constituency in each year since 2000. [200535]
Nigel Griffiths: The following table lists the value of Small Firms Loan Guarantee expenditure by Region from 2000–04.
Expenditure figures are not available by constituency.
The expenditure in the previous table is offset by the premiums and recoveries in the following table.
These figures are not available by region.
1 April to 31 March each year | Value £ million | Total Net Expenditure (£ million) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 9.2 | 24.83 |
| 2001–02 | 9.3 | 35.47 |
| 2002–03 | 9.6 | 40.82 |
| 2003–04 | 12.5 | 40.19 |
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses have been assisted research and development grants/Smart; and to what value in each (a) region and (b) constituency since 2000. [200536]
Nigel Griffiths:
The following table shows the number and value of Smart and research and development grants by region. Data are not available by constituency.
2 Dec 2004 : Column 215W
(2) Excludes Smart Technology Reviews and Studies, Micro and Exceptional Projects which were centrally administered.
(3) Excludes Smart Technology Reviews and Studies which were centrally administered.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many organisations have been assisted by the Phoenix Fund; and to what value in each (a) region and (b) constituency since 2000. [200538]
Nigel Griffiths: The Phoenix Fund provides funding to enable business support organisations to undertake a range of measures to promote enterprise in disadvantaged areas and under-represented groups. The number of organisations and the amount of funding that they have been awarded, by region, is as follows:
With this funding, the organisations have to date helped in the creation of over 8,400 new businesses, assisted some 9,600 existing enterprises and provided over 1,800 loans to the value of £11,300,000.
As organisations work across constituency boundaries, it is not possible to provide information on a constituency basis.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses have been assisted by Enterprise Grants; and to what value in each (a) region and (b) constituency since 2000. [200539]
Nigel Griffiths: The number of Enterprise Grants awarded and the value of payments made in each region from 2000 are as follows:
2 Dec 2004 : Column 216W
The number of businesses assisted may be slightly lower than the number of grants awarded as a small number of businesses may have received more than one grant. Corresponding data for each constituency are not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
As organisations work across constituency boundaries, it is not possible to provide information on a constituency basis.
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