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Targets

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport from 25 per cent. in 2002 to 75 per cent. in 2006. [219210]

Derek Twigg: Progress in delivering the Public Service Agreement target—which the Department for Education and Skills shares with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport—is monitored annually via the national PE, School Sport and Club Links survey. This is the largest and most comprehensive survey of school sport in England.

Good progress is being made. The 2003/04 survey, in which over 6,500 schools took part, showed that 62 per cent. of children were spending two hours in a typical week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum. The survey results were published on 29 April 2004 and a copy of the report The Impact of School Sport Partnerships: The Results of the 2003/04 PE, School Sports and Club Links Survey" has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Schools will take part in the 2004/05 survey between May and July this year and the results will be published later in the year.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce school absence by 8 per cent. compared to 2003 will be met by 2008; [219215]

(2) whether the Public Service Agreement target for 2004 to reduce school truancies by 10 per cent. compared to 2002 was met. [219209]

Derek Twigg: Schools appear well on course to meet the Public Service Agreement target to reduce school absence by 8 per cent. compared to 2003 by 2008. Absence data for state schools covering the autumn
 
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term 2004 was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 24 February 2005. The data indicate that the level of absence from state schools has fallen to 6.17 per cent.—a decrease of 11 per cent. from 2002/03 and equivalent to over 50,000 more pupils in school each day.

The Public Service Agreement target to reduce the 2002 level of unauthorised absence by 10 per cent. by 2004 was not met as the level remained unchanged at 0.72 per cent. Unauthorised absence has remained near to 0.7 per cent. since national records for school attendance began in 1993/94.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to improve the basic skills levels of 2.25 million adults by 2010 will be met. [219219]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government reported in December 2004 that it had been successful in meeting its Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to improve the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 750,000 adults by 2004. The most recent estimates show 827,000 adults have attained at least one qualification in literacy, numeracy or language since the launch of Skills for Life" in 2001. Due to continued commitment and development of the Skills for Life Strategy we remain confident that we are on track to meet the challenging 2010 target of improving the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 2.25 million adults.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Public Service Agreement target for at least 28 per cent. of young people to start a modern apprenticeship by age 22 by 2004 was met. [219251]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a 2004/05 academic year PSA target against which we are due to measure progress in July 2005. In the last full academic year 2003–04 the proportion of young people starting an apprenticeship had risen to 24.8 per cent.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether, in accordance with the Public Service Agreement's targets for minimum performance and value for money have been set for further education colleges; and whether these targets have been met. [219253]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Public Service Agreement committed Government to set minimum performance and value for money targets for further education colleges. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) set the minimum performance targets in May 2003. Each college has been set a minimum standard for learner achievement. Success rates are continuing to improve in colleges and we expect every college to meet or exceed the minimum standard by 2006. On latest data, the percentage of Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges below this standard (for both short and long qualifications) has fallen from 30 per cent. in 2000–01 to 15 per cent. in 2002–03.

Value for money targets for colleges have not yet been set. The Department and LSC will develop and trial new value for money indicators during 2005/06 and implement new measures from 2006/07.
 
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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Public Service Agreement target to improve the basic skills levels of 750,000 adults as a result of the launch of the Skills for Life initiative was met in 2004. [219259]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: I reported in the House of Commons on 9 September 2004 that the Government had met its Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to improve the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 750,000 adults by 2004. I refer the hon. Gentleman to 9 September 2004, Official Report, column 851.

This announcement was confirmed on the 6 December 2004, with the release of a press notice in England.

Since the launch of the Skills for Life Strategy in 2001, 2.4 million adults across England have taken up 4.8 million courses in literacy, language and numeracy skills. Over 750,000 of these learners have gone on to achieve nationally recognised qualifications.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to improve the basic skills levels of 1.5 million adults will be met by 2007. [219260]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government reported in December 2004 that they had been successful in meeting their Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to improve the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 750,000 adults by 2004. The most recent estimates show 827,000 adults have attained at least one qualification in literacy, numeracy or language since the launch of Skills for Life" in 2001. Due to continued commitment and development of the Skills for Life strategy we remain confident that we are on track to meet the challenging 2007 target of improving the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 1.5 million adults.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce by at least 40 per cent. the number of adults in the workforce who lack NVQ 2 or equivalent qualifications by 2010 will be met; [219261]

(2) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target for one million adults in the workforce to achieve Level 2 by 2006 will be met. [219262]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: We welcome the continuing increase in the number of adults who have at least NVQ level 2, as published in the Labour Force Survey Statistical First Release on 24 February.

We are taking action to increase the numbers of adults getting level 2 qualifications and the forthcoming Skills White Paper will set out clear proposals for raising the numbers of adults getting qualifications at level 2 and above.
 
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If we maintain the progress made over recent years, we are on course to achieve the target of one million adults getting a level 2 by 2006; and through a combination of public and private investment, to make progress towards the 2010 target.

Teachers

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how long teachers stayed in the profession in England according to the most recently produced statistics; and what percentage of teachers retired from the profession in the last year for which figures are available. [218065]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: Of those teachers entering service in 1993, 63 per cent. were in service in the maintained sector 10 years later (at March 2003). Of those entering in 1998, 77 per cent. were in service five years later. Some teachers may have not have been in service continually.

In 2002–03, 9,260 full or part-time teachers retired from regular service in the maintained sector, 2.0 per cent. of the number in service in March 2002.

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