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20 Jan 2005 : Column 1104W—continued
Tax Returns
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers who completed a tax return returned it by the 31 January deadline in each year from 1997; and how many missed the deadline. [209526]
Dawn Primarolo: The total numbers of self assessment tax returns received at 31 January and still outstanding at 31 January are detailed as follows:
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been levied in fines for tax returns received after the 31 January deadline in each year since 1997; and how many of these fines remain unpaid. [209527]
Dawn Primarolo:
The amount raised in respect of penalties for failure to submit self assessment tax returns, by the due date, in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table. The years relate to Inland Revenue accounting years that run to the end of October each year.
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| Year to end of October | Penalties raised (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Not applicable |
| 1998 | 116.41 |
| 1999 | 133.29 |
| 2000 | 148.39 |
| 2001 | 147.96 |
| 2002 | 143.24 |
| 2003 | 151.13 |
The amount of unpaid penalties at the end of October 2003 was £134.95 million. This figure includes penalties raised in earlier years but still unpaid at October 2003.
Inland Revenue do not have readily available the number of penalties still unpaid.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Tuition Fees
11. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from Cornwall are paying tuition fees. [209683]
Dr. Howells: In academic year 2004/05, provisional data show that 2,318 students domiciled in Cornwall are paying the full fee contribution. A further 1,253 are making a partial contribution, while 3,851 are making no contribution to their fees at all.
Armed Forces Families
12. Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress the working group on the funding of schools with a large percentage of pupils drawn from families serving in Her Majesty's armed forces has made; and when Ministers expect to announce conclusions. [209684]
Derek Twigg: We have received correspondence about this issue from the working group considering the needs of schools with large numbers of service children. They have put forward a number of proposals, some of which we have already been able to make progress on and we will be responding to them in full in the near future.
League Tables
13. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on value added league tables of school performance. [209686]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
Value added measures are based on the progress made by students at all levels of attainment, and take account of student intakes. We have now introduced a KS2-GCSE VA measure, alongside the existing measures already published, showing progress made for the whole of a student's secondary phase of education. We are developing a more sophisticated methodology which takes account of factors such as gender, ethnicity, socio-economic factors and mobility for use in future years' tables.
20 Jan 2005 : Column 1106W
Funding
14. Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received regarding funding shortfalls for schools in East Sussex for 2005–06. [209687]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The only representation from East Sussex Council was to discuss additional funding via the Transitional Support Grant. They will receive £1.6 million through this grant in 2005–06. The provisional funding settlement announced is a good one as East Sussex's Schools Formula Spending Share will rise by 5.5 per cent. per pupil giving headroom and flexibility for the LEA to target resources at schools with particular pressures.
17. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy to reduce variations in per pupil funding for shire county local education authorities. [209690]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: We will shortly be consulting on the education funding proposals set out in the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners. But the proposals are not about an arbitrary change in variations in per pupil funding between various authorities. LEAs will continue to be funded under the formula on the basis of relative need. Our top priority in making any funding changes from 2006–07 is continued stability and predictability for schools in their funding.
Construction Skills Training
15. Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is available for construction skills training. [209688]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government currently provides £325 million to fund construction skills training via the Learning and Skills Council. This is in addition to the £97 million contributed by the industry through the Construction Industry Training Board levy.
Student Debt
16. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the current level of student debt. [209689]
Dr. Howells: Figures provided by the Student Loans Company show the total amount outstanding in respect of publicly-owned student loan debt in the United Kingdom, at the end of financial year 2003–04, was £13,364 million. This is a provisional figure, which includes loans not yet due for repayment.
Class Sizes
18. Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact of smaller class sizes on primary school pupils. [209691]
Derek Twigg:
Research carried out for the Department by the University of London's Institute of Education showed that there was a significant beneficial effect of class size on children's educational progress in Reception for both literacy and maths. However, the
20 Jan 2005 : Column 1107W
research found that there was no evidence that children made more progress in maths, English or science in smaller classes at Key Stage 2.
Vocational Education
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the financial co-operation between local education authorities and the Learning and Skills Council in implementing the Government's 14–19 strategy for vocational education; and if she will make a statement. [209692]
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.
College/School Funding Gap
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the salary gap between teachers in the further education sector and those in the schools sector. [208185]
Dr. Howells: Success for All, the strategy for reforming further education and training, makes clear that the Government's approach to pay is to enable local flexibility to meet local needs and to encourage a clear link between pay and individual performance. General FE colleges and sixth form colleges are autonomous institutions and as such negotiate their own pay and conditions of service with staff and their unions without Government involvement.
We have made significant investments in funding for colleges. Total funding is set to rise by over £1 billion in 2005–06 when compared with 2002–03.
The latest available data suggests that salaries of teachers in further education are lower on average than those of teachers in schools.
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