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15 Jun 2005 : Column 500W—continued
Tennis
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have to encourage schools to develop and promote tennis. [4580]
Jacqui Smith: As part of the national strategy for PE, School Sport and Club Links, the Lawn Tennis Association is receiving £805,000 to allow them to build sustainable high quality links between School Sport Partnerships and accredited clubs. Funding of National Governing Bodies of Sport through Whole Sport Plans will of course also have a major impact on junior participation.
Data taken from the 2003/04 PE, School Sport and Club Links Survey showed that 70 per cent. of the 6,500 schools taking part provide tennis to their pupils and 27 per cent. have a link to a local tennis club. This is the sixth most popular school to club link.
Tuition Fees
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will estimate the likely debt of graduates from higher education institutions in England from (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high income backgrounds from 2009–10, broken down by (i) fee and (ii) maintenance loans. [3099]
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Bill Rammell: Debt will depend on the financial circumstances and choices of individual students. Information from the Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES) 2002/03 indicated that average total student debt on graduation was £8,666: £10,198 for students from the lower, £9,288 for those from the middle and £7,952 for those from the higher socio-economic classes. The 2004/05 SIES, published at the end of 2005, will give up-to-date figures.
The introduction of loans for variable fees of up to £3,000 will increase the amount the average student borrows. However, those receiving the new maintenance grants and university bursaries could use them to reduce their call on loans for fees. Students generally may also seek to pay fee contributions from part-time work or family income.
Changes to maintenance loans levels could reduce rather than increase student indebtedness for many poorer students. Although maintenance loans will rise in 2006/07 to reflect the median of essential living costs expenditure recorded in the SIES 2002/03, a bigger change will be the substitution of a significant part of the new £2,700 maintenance grant for maintenance loans for lower income students, reducing the need to borrow.
It is therefore very difficult to estimate student indebtedness from 2009/10 now. We will be monitoring changes in borrowing patterns as the new student support arrangements come in.
Whatever a student's circumstances, no student from 2006/07 has to pay fees upfront and the arrangements for repayment of maintenance and fee loans are fair and equitable. The graduate's repayments are at zero real rate of interest, related directly to earnings and only required when earnings are greater than £15,000 per year.
Workforce Agreements (Schools)
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on progress towards implementation of the workforce agreement for schools. [4166]
Jacqui Smith: The first two phases of the National Agreement Raising Standards and Tackling Workload have already taken effect in schools. The third and final phase takes effect in September 2005 and will provide, among other things, guaranteed planning, preparation and assessment time for teachers. The signatories to the Agreement—school work force unions, employers and Government—are working with the National Remodelling Team, offering advice, guidance and support, to ensure continued successful implementation in schools.
HEALTH
Agency Nursing Staff
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agency nurses were employed by the NHS in (a) Haltemprice and Howden, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the past five years; and at what cost. [3598]
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Mr. Byrne: Information is not available centrally in the form requested, but for England, expenditure on non-national health service nursing, midwifery and health visiting, which includes agency and other staff, is shown in the following table.
| England | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 361,656,683 |
| 2000–01 | 435,431,882 |
| 2001–02 | 554,323,821 |
| 2002–03 | 589,738,042 |
| 2003–04 | 524,675,129 |
Notes:
1. 2003–04 is the latest date for which data are available.
2. Data relate to non-NHS staff: nursing, midwifery and health visiting, which cannot be broken down further.
Sources:
Annual financial returns of health authorities 1999–2000 to 2001–02.
Annual financial returns of strategic health authorities 2002–03 and 2003–04.
Annual financial returns of primary care trusts 2000–01 to 2003–04.
Annual financial returns of NHS trusts 1999–2000 to 2003–04.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the national health service spent on hiring agency nursing staff in each of the last 18 months for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [3073]
Mr. Byrne: Information is not available centrally in the form requested but, for England, expenditure on non-national health service nursing, midwifery and health visiting, which includes agency and other staff, for the last two financial years for which figures are available are shown in the table.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 589,738,042 |
| 2003–04 | 524,675,129 |
Source:
Annual financial returns of strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts 2002–3 and 2003–04.
The figures show that spend is down by £65 million, or 11 per cent., in 2003–04 due to:
Alcohol (Young People)
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged between 11 and 15 years have been admitted to hospital owing to alcohol-related problems in each year since 1997. [2134]
Mr. Byrne:
The numbers of children aged between 11 and 15 years who have been admitted to hospital owing to alcohol-related problems in each year since 1997 are shown in the table.
15 Jun 2005 : Column 503W
Allergies
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the Health Select Committee to improve the diagnosis and treatment provided by the NHS for people suffering with allergies. [4579]
Mr. Byrne: In its response to the Health Committee report on the provision of allergy services, the Government undertook to carry out a review of the available data and research on the epidemiology of allergic conditions, the demand for and provision of treatment and the effectiveness of relevant interventions. The chief medical officer is overseeing this review of the evidence, which we hope to complete by the end of June 2006. It will inform decisions about what steps could be taken to address any gaps and pressures that it reveals.
Ambulance Service
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on ensuring that ambulance response times are recorded consistently across all ambulance trusts. [4394]
Mr. Byrne: The Department issues annual guidance to ambulance trusts setting out how response times should be reported. This is updated annually. In addition, since 1 April 2005, ambulance trusts have been required to standardise how calls are categorised, in order to further improve consistency of response.
The Department recognises the need for further clarification regarding definitions of ambulance response times. The current strategic review of ambulance services is considering this, and we hope to publish the review's findings shortly.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to improve the efficiency of the ambulance service. [2963]
Mr. Byrne: The Department last year commissioned Peter Bradley CBE, Chief Executive of London Ambulance Service national health service trust and National Ambulance Adviser to the Department, to lead a strategic review of ambulance services in England. One of the subjects the review is considering is how to support improvements in the efficiency of ambulance services. We hope to publish the review by the summer recess.
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