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Higher Education
Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of the relevant cohort in (a) Doncaster North, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England entered higher education in each year since 1995. [35601]
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Bill Rammell:
The latest available figures on participation by constituency and region were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in January in Young Participation in England", which is available from their website at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/ This shows participation rates for constituencies and region for the years 1997 to 2000, and these are shown in the table.
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| Year cohort aged 18 in: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
| Doncaster North(28) | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 25.6 | 24.6 | 25.2 | 25 |
| England | 29.2 | 28.8 | 29.2 | 29.9 |
(28)Figures for constituencies are reported to the nearest whole number.
Source:
Higher Education Funding Council for England.
The Department uses the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18–30 in higher education towards 50 per cent: the latest provisional figure for 2003–04 is 43 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at constituency level.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research the Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on how to improve the stay-on rate in rural areas as part of the Aimhigher Strategy for Higher Education. [37894]
Bill Rammell: Aimhigher is subject to a full and detailed evaluation strategy, using a range of analytical techniques to assess the effectiveness of the programme. This includes surveying Aimhigher partnerships, to look at policy and practice at a local level. These partnerships are selected to be representative of Aimhigher partnerships nationally, and so include rural areas.
So far, the evaluation has not uncovered any issues relating to the effectiveness and operation of Aimhigher in rural areas as distinct from other localities. However, the design of the Aimhigher programme, with a focus on local delivery and priority setting, would allow partnerships to tailor their range of activities to suit local needs.
As part of the ongoing evaluation strategy, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), who jointly manage the evaluation, will be publishing two research reports in the new year which may shed some further light on this question:
Incentive Packages
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the value is of (a) pay supplements, (b) bonuses and (c) other incentive packages that are payable in her Department on the basis of geographic location; how many people are in receipt of each payment; and what the total cost to her Department of each payment was in 2004–05. [35898]
Maria Eagle:
My Department does not have (a) pay supplements, (b) bonuses and (c) other incentive packages that are payable on the basis of geographic location.
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Below the Senior Civil Service, it has higher pay bands for staff working in London and lower pay bands for staff working elsewhere, with pay band differentials ranging from 6 per cent. for senior staff to 23 per cent. for junior staff.
Independent Schools (Trust Status)
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether payment will be made for school buildings and assets of independent schools that wish to become trust schools; and from what source any such payments would be funded under the arrangements proposed in the Schools White Paper. [37660]
Jacqui Smith: No payment will be made for existing school buildings and assets of independent schools that wish to become trust schools. When an independent school enters the state sector the ownership of the school does not change. A trust is established under Charity Law, or the existing trust is amended, to hold the site and buildings for the purpose of the maintained school for as long as it remains open.
Media Monitoring
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department has spent on media monitoring activities in each of the last eight financial years. [35636]
Maria Eagle: The following table gives spend, by year, for media monitoring activities.
| Amount (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| 2000/01 | 0.2 |
| 2001/02 | 0.1 |
| 2002/03 | 0.2 |
| 2003/04 | 0.2 |
| 2004/05 | 0.2 |
| 2005/06 (year to date) | 0.2 |
It would only be possible to provide earlier details of expenditure on media monitoring activities, at disproportionate cost.
New Offences
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what new offences have been created by legislation introduced by her Department since May 2003; and if she will make a statement. [36192]
Jacqui Smith: Three new offences have been created in legislation introduced by this Department since May 2003 and powers for the Secretary of State to create a further three in subordinate legislation have also been passed by Parliament in this period.
Two new offences are found in the Education Act 2005, sections 109 and 111.
Both these offences relate to unauthorised disclosure of information. The Education Act 2005 introduced provisions to allow tax and social security information to be shared for the purpose of deciding on or checking eligibility for education maintenance allowances and
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free school meals. Provision is then made for unauthorised disclosure of such information to be an offence.
Four new offences are found in the Children Act 2004, sections 45 and 63.
Section 45 of the Children Act 2004 gives the Secretary of State the power to set up through regulations a scheme for the registration of private foster carers and provides that the regulations may make provision which creates a number of offences. Section 45(3) says that regulations may provide that it is an offence for any person to knowingly make a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular in an application for registration as a private foster carer in accordance with the regulations.
Section 45(11) provides that the regulations may make it an offence for a person registered under those regulations without reasonable excuse to contravene or otherwise fail to comply with any requirement imposed on him in the regulations.
Section 45(12) provides that regulations may make it an offence for a person to foster a child privately while disqualified from being registered, unless certain exceptions apply.
No regulations have yet been made under section 45.
Section 63 of the Children Act 2004 enables the Inland Revenue to share tax credit, child benefit or guardian's allowance information (except where it relates to a person's income) with local authorities (or, in Northern Ireland, Health and Social Services Boards) for the purposes of inquiries and investigations relating to the welfare of a child; and makes it an offence for a staff member of an authority to disclose the information unless the disclosure is made: (a) in accordance with an enactment or order of court, (b) with the consent of person to whom the information relates, or (c) in a way that prevents identification of the person to whom the information relates.
Nurseries (Child Abuse)
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what procedures are in place to help nursery workers report confidentially suspected child abuse perpetrated by others working in the same place of work. [37051]
Maria Eagle:
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children are fundamental duties for maintained nursery schools and private and independent nurseries. Providers are required to comply with local child protection procedures and to have a written statement of the arrangements in place for the protection of children. The statement must state staff responsibilities for child protection and include procedures to be followed in the event of allegations being made against a member of staff or volunteer. The statement should be based on the procedures laid out in the Government booklet What to do if You're Worried a Child Is Being Abused—Summary". This booklet lays out clearly the circumstances when information about child abuse should be passed on to the relevant authorities in confidence.
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