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16 Jan 2006 : Column 1011W—continued
Level 2 Qualification
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the entitlement to a first Level 2 qualification is available to citizens of other countries resident in England; and if she will make a statement. [41598]
Phil Hope: The Level 2 entitlement is targeted at all adults aged 19 or over without a first full level 2 qualification. It provides access to free tuition for their first full Level 2 qualification and eligibility is determined using a process of self-declaration. This process requires the learner to complete and sign a declaration of eligibility stating their highest level of qualification held.
All individuals must meet the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) residency and nationality criteria. This is laid down in section 7 of the LSC Funding Guidance for Further Education 2004–05 (published April 2004) and the supplementary 2005–06 guidance which corresponds to the groups listed in the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations, 1997.
Learner eligibility in relation to the Level 2 entitlement, and wider LSC funding eligibility, is widely drawn. The LSC regards an individual as ordinarily resident, and therefore eligible for LSC funding, as any person who habitually, normally and lawfully resides from choice and for settled purpose in that country. A copy of the LSC Funding Guidance for Further Education 2004–05 and supplementary 2005–06 information can be found at the following internet addresses:
http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/2005/quality/performanceachievement/funding-guidance-for-fe-2005–2006.pdf
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the companies in receipt of funds in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 as part of the entitlement to a first level 2 qualification; and how much was received by such companies in each pilot area. [41620]
Phil Hope: During 2004–05 and 2005–06 the entitlement to a first full level 2 qualification has been available to individuals through further education (FE) colleges and to employers and their employees through Employer Training Pilots (ETP).
In 2004–05 the approach to individuals was piloted through FE colleges in the North East and South East Learning and Skills Council (LSC) regions. From 2005–06, in a transition year toward national roll-out in 2006/07, all FE colleges in all LSC regions began to implement the entitlement. Individual learners exercising their entitlement are not asked to pay their contribution to the tuition fee; these fees are received by FE colleges from the LSC.
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ETPs were introduced in September 2002. At the end of March 2004, 8,427 employers were involved and by the end of March 2005, 19,440 had signed up. By the end of December 2005, a total of 26,974 employers and 226,426 learners had participated in ETP. Nearly 80 per cent. of ETP learners are, or were working towards an NVQ level 2 qualification.
Details of contracts between ETP managers and employers taking part are confidential, including information on learning given and funding received. Release of any information, including the names of participating employers, would be subject to getting formal agreement from each employer Given the numbers of employers in ETP we believe that the costs of disaggregating the data and then obtaining permission to use it from employers would be disproportionate.
Local Strategic Partnerships
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) guidance and (b) advice the Learning and Skills Councils have issued as to who should chair local strategic partnerships. [42678]
Bill Rammell: The consultation paper Local Strategic Partnerships: Shaping the Future" launched on 8 December by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister examines the future role of LSPs, their governance and accountability, and their capacity to deliver sustainable community strategies and local area agreements.
Membership of LSPs is drawn from a wide range of local partners, including the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The leadership of individual LSPs is a matter for local discretion and members' views can be sought on their chairmanship. The LSC has not issued guidance on who should chair LSPs.
Medicine
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many British medical students have studied in England in each year since 1997; how many were entrants from (a) the state sector and (b) the independent sector in each year; and if she will make a statement. [22923]
Bill Rammell:
The latest available figures for medical students are shown in the table. Information for 2004/05 will be available in January 2006. Information on the school background of young (under 21) higher education students is published annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in Performance Indicators in Higher Education", but this covers all students and does not show figures for each subject separately. The latest data collected by HESA for 2003/04, covering students of all ages, show that 30 per cent. of entrants to undergraduate medical and dentistry courses came from the independent sector, compared to 12 per cent. of entrants to all undergraduate courses of any subject. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available centrally at present.
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Note:
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five.
Source:
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
Ofsted Offices (Refurbishment Expenditure)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost of refurbishing Ofsted offices in (a) Bristol, (b) Nottingham and (c) Manchester is expected to be; if she will provide a breakdown of expenditure for each office on items costing £500 or more including import and labour costs; and if she will make a statement. [41152]
Jacqui Smith: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Maurice Smith, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will reply to the question tabled on 14 December (38605) by the hon. Member for Bognor, Regis and Littlehampton. [41596]
Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 10 January 2006, Official Report, column 517W.
Physical Education
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what guidance is being provided for primary school head teachers on how to implement the workforce reform proposals in relation to physical education while maintaining (a) safety standards for children and (b) progress towards the public service agreement target on high quality physical education; [40768]
(2) what guidance is produced by the Teaching and Development Agency on the minimum number of hours in initial training needed by primary school teachers to be adequately prepared to teach physical education (a) safely and (b) to the level required for the achievement of the public service agreement target on high quality physical education. [40769]
Jacqui Smith:
We have worked with the British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education (BAALPE) to develop a range of guidance documents for schools. Guidance is aimed at helping schools to implement workforce remodelling and to take a fresh look at the roles of support staff and external specialists in PE. We have always been clear that anyone working in this area needs to have relevant skills, experience and competence, with the safety of pupils always the first consideration. Full details of the guidance developed can be found at: www.baalpe.org.
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The Training and Development Agency for Schools does not prescribe a number of hours to be spent on any individual area of the curriculum for trainee teachers. Instead, the Agency requires trainees to meet a demanding set of outcomes by the end of their training programmes. All primary trainee teachers are required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of PE as well as demonstrating teaching ability in PE before they can become newly qualified teachers. This should enable newly qualified teachers to meet the PSA target. All trainee teachers are required to be able to manage lessons safely.
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