| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1152W—continued
Food Provision
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public subsidies were available to (a) employers and (b) training providers delivering national vocational qualification food preparation and cooking at levels one to four in each of the past three years. [223955]
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1153W
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Learning and Skills Council funds these qualifications as part of apprenticeship programmes or through colleges and other providers working with employers.
The Learning and Skills Council funding rates are in the attached annex.
Funding through apprenticeships
| 16–18 rate | 19+ rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 3,106 | 1,941 |
| 2003/04 | 3,449 | 2,242 |
| 2004/05 | 3,535 | 2,398 |
| 16–18 rate | 19+ rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 5,797 | 3,106 |
| 2003/04 | 6,437 | 3,449 |
| 2004/05 | 6,598 | 3,889 |
| Mode A | Mode B | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 1,482 | 991 |
| 2003/04 | 1,411 | 943 |
| 2004/05 | 1,282 | 857 |
| Mode A | Mode B | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 2,964 | 1,982 |
| 2003/04 | 2,822 | 1,886 |
| 2004/05 | 2,564 | 1,714 |
Mode A: Delivery by provider and employer jointly, mainly at the workplace and partly at provider
Mode B: Delivery by provider and employer jointly, entirely at the workplace
Paul Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) public and (b) trade consultation was carried out during the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority funded consultation on the
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1154W
People 1st National Vocational Qualification for food preparation and cooking; which organisations made representations (i) supporting and (ii) opposing the inclusion of a mandatory nutrition unit at levels 1 to 4; and for what reasons. [223957]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: People 1st held over 30 consultation meetings throughout the UK for employers, industry and training providers, FE colleges, external verifiers and the Food Standards Agency (FSA). In addition, 571 people downloaded the Standards from the People 1st website.
The DfES and the FSA both supported the inclusion of a mandatory nutrition unit. The majority of industry personnel consulted were opposed to the inclusion of a mandatory nutrition unit because a knowledge-based unit would not be easily assessable in the workplace and because it would not reflect current work practice.
Learning and Skills Council
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Learning and Skills Council spent on consultants in 2004; and if she will make a statement. [223669]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom to Mr. David Drew, dated 31 March 2005:
I write further to your recent question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills regarding how much the LSC spent on consultants in 2004.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) financial year 2004–05 covers the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005. At this juncture my officers are in the process of implementing rigorous year end procedures to ensure that all activity occurring during the 2004–05 financial year is correctly accounted for, this will then be impartially audited by the National Audit Office prior to publication of the LSC's Annual Report and Accounts. As you will appreciate these accounts are predicated on assurance work undertaken in partnership with a number of providers, such as FE Colleges and WBL providers. As a result, the LSC's accounts will not be available until some time later in the year.
Consequently, the most recent financial year for which the information you have requested is available is 2003–04.
Table 1 below shows the total expenditure coded as consultancy in the LSC's accounts for the 2003–04 financial year.
(39)A regional structure to further strengthen the LSC's focus upon delivering frontline provision was introduced during the 2004–05 financial year. Unfortunately, 2003–04 expenditure cannot be analysed on a Regional basis.
Nutrition Training
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what plans she has to include nutrition as a mandatory unit within the new Food Preparation and Cooking NVQ; [223952]
(2) what her policy is on the inclusion of a mandatory nutrition unit in the national vocational qualification for food preparation and cooking. [223956]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Qualifications relating to food preparation and cooking are developed in response to employers needs, and at this point most employers do not want nutrition as a mandatory element. However, our recent work on improving school meals has shown the advantages of school catering staff having knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating. DfES, the Food Standards Agency and People 1st are developing the content of a school catering qualification that will provide basic knowledge of this subject, and we envisage the recently announced School Food Trust will consider this and other issues related to training school kitchen staff in due course.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what further consultation occurred after the expiry of the formal consultation deadline of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority funded consultation on the People 1st National Vocational Qualification, regarding whether nutrition should be a (a) mandatory and (b) optional unit at levels 1 to4. [226958]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: There was further consultation on the standards and the levels of some units. Nutrition was covered in this consultation and, again, the results indicated that there was not a strong enough industry view that nutrition should be included as a mandatory unit in the new food preparation and cooking N/SVQs.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings have taken place between Ministers in her Department and (a) People 1st and (b) the Food Standards Agency in relation to the development of nutrition elements of the national vocational qualification for food preparation and cooking. [226959]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: No such meetings have taken place.
Pupil Funding (Crosby)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding was spent on each school pupil in Crosby on average in each of the last seven years. [223882]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The information requested is collected at local education authority level. Crosby is part of Sefton LEA and the following table contains the information asked for:
| Funding per pupil (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2,740 |
| 1998–99 | 2,810 |
| 1999–2000 | 2,930 |
| 2000–01 | 3,200 |
| 2001–02 | 3,360 |
| 2002–03 | 3,480 |
| 2003–04 | 3,640 |
| 2004–05 | 3,770 |
Notes:
1.Price Base: real terms at 2003–04 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30 September 2004.
2.Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of education SSA/EFS settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.
3.Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 3–19 and exclude EMAs and grants not allocated at LEA level.
4.The pupil numbers used to convert m figures to per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC three-year-old maintained pupils and estimated three to four-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
5.Rounding: figures are rounded to the nearest £10.
6.Status: 2003–04 and 2004–05 figures are provisional as some grants have yet to be finalised/audited.
4 Apr 2005 : Column 1156W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |