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Secondary Education
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for improvements to secondary education in Mid Bedfordshire. [11088]
Jacqui Smith: The Department's Strategy for Children and Learners sets out the range of departmental policies and initiatives which will raise the quality of education, teaching and learning in Bedfordshire and across the country over the next five years.
In Bedfordshire, as a whole, we have increased funding per pupil by £1,040 since 1997–98 and announced last November nearly £54 million of capital support for Bedfordshire and its schools over the next three years. We are supporting the Bedford Excellence Cluster of 20 schools, a 14–19 Pathfinder in South West Bedfordshire and the development of extended schools. We are also providing Leadership Incentive Grant funding to three schools and, through the Department's Innovations Unit, are working with a number of schools in Bedfordshire on furthering collaboration, in order to raise standards.
In the Mid Bedfordshire constituency specifically, we have supported the PFI funded expansion and redevelopment of Samuel Whitbread and Harlington Schools and have also approved specialist status for three of its four upper schools which receive extra funding to develop curriculum specialisms.
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State Boarding Schools
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many state boarding schools there are in England; and where they are located. [10668]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is shown in the table.
(42) Includes one FE college
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Student Finance
Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what financial support (a) was offered to English part-time students for each year from 2001 to 2004 and (b) will be offered in 2005–06; and if she will make a statement; [11680]
(2) what research her Department has commissioned on university fees for English part-time students after 2006; and if she will make a statement. [11687]
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Bill Rammell: This Government were the first to introduce statutory support for students studying on a part-time basis. From 2001 support for English part-time students was in the form of an income-assessed loan of £500 per annum; a fee waiver system was also available to students in certain circumstances.
In 2004/05 a new package of statutory support was introduced comprising a non-repayable fee grant of up to £575 and a non-repayable course grant of up to £250. The grants are means-tested in order to target funding most effectively at those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
For the academic year 2005/06 the maximum fee grant is being increased to £885. And we are improving the fee grant by linking the amount available to the intensity at which the student is studying.
We will continue to monitor the sector to ensure that we use available funding in the most effective way to support those part-time students who most need it.
Teacher Recruitment
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2005, Official Report, columns 1634–35W, on teacher recruitment, what proportion of the people recruited to teach (a) science, (b) mathematics and (c) modern foreign languages were from (i) the UK, (ii) the EU and (iii) other overseas nations in each year between 1994 and 2004. [11110]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Truancy
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the truancy level has been in the Bedfordshire local education authority for each year since 1997. [11003]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is given below. The figures relate to unauthorised absence, which include all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term-time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.
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