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National Archives

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will bring forward legislation to make it an offence to place forged documents in the National Archives. [10808]

Bridget Prentice: On 5 July the National Archives placed the following statement on its website:

Reports in the press have questioned the authenticity of five documents within files FO 800/9868 and HS 8/944. The National Archives has taken these allegations extremely seriously. We commissioned an official forensic examination which has now concluded that these five documents are, indeed, forgeries. In the light of this, we are reviewing our own procedures and taking legal advice, with a view to taking further action."

It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.

Police Stations (Duty Solicitors)

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to change the number of duty solicitors at police stations. [8908]

Bridget Prentice: There are currently no plans to change the access of individuals held at police stations to free legal advice.

Postal Voting

Mr. Bone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the Department's policy is on all postal vote elections; and if she will make a statement. [9679]

Ms Harman: I refer the hon. Member to the reply Igave on 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 535W.

Public Record Office

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the (a) integrity and (b) authenticity of documents held in the Public Record Office; and if she will make a statement. [10810]

Bridget Prentice: The National Archives has a duty to make its holdings publicly available under the Public Records Act 1958 but has put in place a range of security measures to safeguard their integrity and authenticity. In the light of a current case, these measures are being reviewed.

Taxis

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much the Department has spent on taxis in each of the last five years. [6500]

Bridget Prentice: It is not possible for the Department to provide full detailed information requested on how much was spent on taxis in each of the last five years without incurring disproportionate cost.

The Department has published rules for official travel in its staff handbook and all travel complied with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.
 
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Voter Registration

Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research she has (a) conducted and (b) evaluated into the effect of individual registration on the electoral roll. [9766]

Ms Harman: The Electoral Commission has published a number of reports covering this issue. These include The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002: An assessment of its first year in Operation" (December 2003) and Statistical analysis of the Northern Ireland electoral register" (December 2003). Since the publication of these reports, the Commission has also periodically published updated statistical analysis. The most recent analysis was published in May 2005 and charts the impact of the Electoral Registration (Northern Ireland) Act 2005. The issue is also covered in the Commission's 2003 report The Electoral Registration Process". All of these publications are available on the Electoral Commission's website.

This issue was also discussed in the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee report Electoral Registration in Northern Ireland (December 2004), and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee report Electoral Registration" (March 2005).

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academic Research (Commercial Exploitation)

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many spin-offs from English universities there were in each year between 1994 and 2004; and what proportion of the total income of English universities she estimates was derived from the commercial exploitation of academic research in each of these years. [8036]

Bill Rammell: Information on spin-offs and income generated from the commercial exploitation of academic research is available from the Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction survey (HE-BCI) carried out by the Higher Education funding Council for England (HEFCE). Such information was not available before 2001. The first set of data to be published was for the academic year 2001/02. Data currently available are as set out in the following table:
Income (£000)

	2001/02 AY	2002/03 AY
Contract research	267,598	237,904
Consultancy	93,695	125,823
Licensing income	22,136	15,329
Sale of spin-off equity	10,425	13,490
Number of spin-offs	159	158

Source:
HE-BCI Survey—published figures

There is no formal requirement on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to provide information for this survey. The data in the previous table are therefore not necessarily a complete reflection of the number of spin-offs and income generated. Information on total income
 
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is available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Financial Statistical Return as set out in the following table:
HEFCE funded HEIs

	Total income (£000)
2001/02 AY	11,833,707
2002/03 AY	12,722,703

Source:
HESA Financial Statistical Return

Academies

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what governance arrangements will be used for new 16 to 19 academies; [10491]

(2) whether the new 16 to 19 Academy based on Brunel University's Uxbridge Campus will be (a) a school and (b) a further education college; and when she expects it to open for enrolments; [10490]

(3) whether the London West Learning and Skills Council Strategic Area Review took account of the plans to open a 16 to 19 academy based on Brunel University's Uxbridge campus; and whether the review recommended the opening of such an Academy. [10489]

Jacqui Smith: 16–19 academies will be established under the procedures for setting up new further education colleges as specified in the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. These academies will be subject to the same governance arrangements as for existing further education colleges, but tailored to reflect the ethos of an academy and the presence of a sponsor. Tailoring governance arrangements in this way is already established practice for a number of colleges in the FE sector, for example sixth form colleges. The governance arrangements for the academies will also need to take account of existing statutory requirements and will need to satisfy my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State before approval is given to the proposal.

If approved by the Secretary of State, the new Brunei HSBC Education Trust Academy will be legally established as a further education college but will reflect the ethos of an academy. It would open in September 2008. The academy would provide education for 800 16–19 year-olds drawing from the Learning and Skills Council London West area and beyond. It would be particularly aimed at those who might otherwise not have stayed on for post 16 education, including students from disadvantaged areas or who have achieved less than they might. (10490)

The London West Learning and Skills Council Strategic Review did not coincide with the proposal to establish the Brunel HSBC Education Trust 16–19 Academy. However, initial consultation by the sponsors involved Hillingdon LEA, West London LSC and the national LSC before the feasibility phase for the project began in December 2004.

The West London LSC are active members of the Brunei academy project board and chair the academy forum which is seeking the views of local secondary schools and FE Colleges on the proposal, on an on-going basis as the proposal is developed. The academy
 
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sponsors are very keen to work closely with local schools and to provide a wider service to the community. Post 16 participation in Hillingdon is one of the lowest in West London and the academy will help to address this weakness. Further research into the need for places in the London West area, and the potential impact such an academy may have on local providers, has been commissioned by the local LSC and this should be available in the autumn for presentation to both the LSC and Ministers before a decision on the academy is made.

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) who has been consulted by (a) her Department and (b) the Learning and Skills Council on plans for a 16 to 19 Academy based on Brunel University's Uxbridge Campus; [10214]

(2) how much funding (a) her Department and (b) the Learning and Skills Council have allocated to the feasibility study into plans for a 16 to 19 academy based on Brunel University's Uxbridge Campus; [10213]

(3) what consultative arrangements are required to be in place when a new 16 to 19 academy is planned. [10212]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 July 2005]: The project to establish a 16–19 Academy based on Brunel University's Uxbridge Campus is currently in its feasibility stage. Initial consultation with post-16 education providers in the area is already under way through a West London Learning and Skills Council (LSC) chaired Academy Forum. Formal and wider consultation on the proposal to establish the Academy will begin during July 2005 for three months involving organisations who would normally be consulted during the establishment of a Further Education College and an Academy. This will include local schools and FE colleges, the West London LSC, the national LSC, Hillingdon LEA and other LEAs in the areas surrounding Uxbridge. In addition details of the proposal will be published in a local newspaper. The Academy sponsors are very keen that it should develop a good relationship with local schools and colleges.

Academy projects in feasibility receive funding from the Department for Education and Skills depending on the expected length and complexity of the feasibility phase. The Learning and Skills Council is not involved in providing Academy feasibility funding. A final feasibility budget for the Brunel HSBC Education Trust Academy is likely to be decided shortly but is currently estimated to be £332,000. This will cover project management, consultation, legal and other costs until completion of the feasibility phase. This started in December 2004 and should finish in spring 2006.

Academies for 16 to 19-year-olds will legally be Further Education Colleges but with an Academy ethos. The consultation will follow the statutory requirements for establishing a Further Education college under section 51 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Consultation requirements also include compliance with the Education (Publication of Draft Proposals and Orders) (Further Education Corporations) (England) Regulations 2001—S.1.2001/782. The responses to consultation will be included in the detailed information to both the national LSC and Ministers before a decision is made on the establishment of the Academy.
 
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