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3 Mar 2005 : Column 1342W—continued

Extended Schools

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on (a) extended schools and (b) the Government's proposal to have at least one such school in each local area by 2006. [219373]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: This Government are committed to the creation of at least one 'full service' extended school in each local area by 2006. Over time, however, we want all schools to become extended schools. Our Five-year Strategy for Children and Learners outlines the core offer of extended services that we expect all schools to develop, in partnership with other children's services and the voluntary and community sectors. Our 10 year strategy for child care states that by 2010 all secondary schools will be open from 5am to 6pm all year round, offering a range of activities such as music, sport, and holiday activities. Many schools already offer some
 
3 Mar 2005 : Column 1343W
 
activities, recognising the benefits that extended services provide for children, their families, local communities and schools themselves. We are supporting the development of extended schools with both advice and funding including, from April this year, £107 million through all local education authorities in England.

Fair Access

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list (a) the universities and (b) secondary schools which have been visited by (i)the Director General of the Office for Fair Access and (ii) other members of her staff. [218987]

Dr. Howells: The Director of Fair Access and his staff have met or spoken with numerous institutions and sector bodies since OFFA was established in October 2004. In particular, a series of OFFA seminars were attended by most higher education institutions, and meetings have taken place with representative bodies, including Universities UK, the Standing Conference of Principals, the Association of Colleges, the Independent Schools Council, and the Secondary Heads Association.

Foreign Students

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from EU accession countries have obtained places at London universities in each year since 1997. [218968]

Dr. Howells: The available information on undergraduate entrants is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and figures are given in the table.
EU accession country⁽¹¹⁾ domiciled undergraduate entrants at London HE institutions⁽¹²⁾1997/98 to 2003/04

Academic year	Entrants to London HE institutions
1997/98	360
1998/99	345
1999/2000	430
2000/01	420
2001/02	475
2002/03	430
2003/04	535

⁽¹¹⁾Includes Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia.
⁽¹²⁾Figures exclude the OU.
Note:
Snapshot as at 1 December and figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Freedom of Information

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, columns 855–56W, on Freedom of Information, what progress has been made by the Office for Fair Access in preparing a publication scheme under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act have been (a) received and (b) responded to by the Office for Fair Access. [218990]

 
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Dr. Howells: The Office for Fair Access has a draft publication scheme which it expects to submit in March 2005 to the Information Commissioner. OFFA has to date received two requests under the Freedom of Information Act, and has responded to one of them.

Girls' Schools (Sixth-form Boys)

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations her Department received during January 2004 requesting information and advice on making applications to the admissions forum for the admission of boys to the sixth-form of a girls' school; if she will list them; and if she will make a statement. [218930]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department did not receive any representations on this matter during January 2004. Decisions to admit boys to the sixth-form of a girls' school are made locally and do not involve the Secretary of State.

If a single-sex maintained school wishes to admit pupils of the opposite sex to the school's sixth-form, it must publish statutory proposals if the number of these pupils would exceed 25 per cent. of the year group. A final decision on the statutory proposals would be for the local School Organisation Committee (SOC) or, if the SOC could not reach a unanimous decision, the schools adjudicator. If statutory proposals were not required it would then be for the admission authority—either the school's governing body or the local authority—to decide, taking into account all relevant legislation and having regard to the school admissions code of practice and any advice given by the admissions forum.

Maths and Science

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many higher education institutions offered (a) mathematics (b) physics, (c) biology and (d) chemistry-related degrees in each of the last 10 years. [218882]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 28 February 2005]: The Department does not specifically collect information on the subjects offered by each HE institution. The available information is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and summarises the number of HE institutions with one or more enrolments at degree level in the given subject. Figures are given in the table.
Number of UK HEIs⁽¹³⁾ with one or more first degree enrolment in the given subjects, 1994/95 to 2003/04

		Physical sciences(14)
			Of which:
Academic year	Mathematical sciences	Total	Physics	Chemistry
1994/95	90	113	68	83
1995/96	92	115	69	85
1996/97	95	116	68	81
1997/98	97	117	67	78
1998/99	99	115	66	78
1999/2000	95	115	61	77
2000/01	96	115	57	78
2001/02	93	115	55	75
2002/03(15)	107	119	64	83
2003/04(15)	108	120	68	82

⁽¹³⁾Figures exclude the Open University.
⁽¹⁴⁾Physical sciences includes chemistry, materials science, physics, astronomy, forensic and archaeological studies, geology, ocean sciences and physical geography.
⁽¹⁵⁾Figures for the years up to and including 2001/02 are the number of institutions with one or more first degree enrolment in the subject, based upon a headcount of the students major subject of study. For 2002/03 onwards, the figures are the number of institutions based on a count of students who have been allocated between subjects according to the split between the component parts of their degree. Because of this coverage, the figures for 2002/03 and 2003/04 are not comparable to earlier years.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)




 
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Number of UK HEIs⁽¹⁶⁾ with one or more first degree enrolment in the given subjects, 1994/95 to 2003/04

	Biological sciences(17)
Academic year	Total	Of which: biology	All subjects
1994/95	114	88	174
1995/96	116	90	173
1996/97	119	90	170
1997/98	119	91	169
1998/99	117	91	164
1999/2000	117	94	164
2000/01	113	96	162
2001/02	114	95	165
2002/03(18)	122	104	165
2003/04(18)	123	111	164

⁽¹⁶⁾Figures exclude the Open University.
⁽¹⁷⁾Biological sciences includes biology, botany, zoology, genetics, microbiology, sports science, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry and psychology.
⁽¹⁸⁾Figures for the years up to and including 2001/02 are the number of institutions with one or more first degree enrolment in the subject, based upon a headcount of the students major subject of study. For 2002/03 onwards, the figures are the number of institutions based on a count of students who have been allocated between subjects according to the split between the component parts of their degree. Because of this coverage, the figures for 2002/03 and 2003/04 are not comparable to earlier years.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total number of students studying (a) mathematics (b) physics, (c) biology and (d) chemistry-related degrees was in each of the last 10 years. [218883]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 28 February 2005]: The available information is given in the table. A new method of coding subject was introduced on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record in 2002/03, hence figures for 2002/03 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years.
 
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First degree enrolments to UK HEIs⁽¹⁹⁾, 1994/95 to 2003/04

		Physical sciences(20)
			Of which:
Academic year	Mathematical sciences	Total	Physics	Chemistry
1994/95	15,200	51,730	9,470	15,115
1995/96	14,875	51,930	9,365	14,730
1996/97	15,240	51,915	9,915	14,520
1997/98	15,990	50,725	9,645	14,325
1998/99	15,675	50,220	9,710	14,315
1999/2000	15,635	49,115	9,435	13,615
2000/01	16,090	47,615	9,210	12,755
2001/02	16,190	45,435	8,855	12,160
2002/03(21)	19,690	48,975	9,185	12,200
2003/04(21)	19,810	48,990	9,585	11,815

⁽¹⁹⁾Figures exclude the Open University to maintain a consistent time series.
⁽²⁰⁾Physical sciences includes chemistry, materials science, physics, astronomy, forensic and archaeological studies, geology, ocean sciences and physical geography.
⁽²¹⁾Figures are not comparable to earlier years due to a change in the coding methodology for subject of study in 2002/03.
Note:
Figures are on snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)




First degree enrolments to UK HEIs⁽²²⁾, 1994/95 to 2003/04

	Biological sciences(23)
Academic year	Total	Of which: biology	All subjects
1994/95	49,820	16,880	915,965
1995/96	54,075	17,190	949,865
1996/97	60,265	17,755	968,875
1997/98	65,930	17,100	989,110
1998/99	66,550	17,285	1,001,765
1999/2000	67,625	16,965	1,000,210
2000/01	69,235	16,790	1,023,140
2001/02	70,100	15,985	1,054,390
2002/03(24)	95,340	17,995	1,095,615
2003/04(24)	99,525	18,200	1,131,870

⁽²²⁾Figures exclude the Open University to maintain a consistent time series.
⁽²³⁾Biological sciences includes biology, botany, zoology, genetics, microbiology, sports science, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry and psychology.
⁽²⁴⁾Figures are not comparable to earlier years due to a change in the coding methodology for subject of study in 2002/03.
Note:
Figures are on snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest 5.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

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