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IT Systems
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department allocated for school IT systems in (a) Lancashire and (b) West Lancashire in each year since 1997. [53317]
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Phil Hope: The Department does not hold information on specific allocation figures for IT systems within Lancashire Local Authority (LA) or the constituency West Lancashire. Funding for schools IT systems is included within the overall ICT funding allocation figure for the LA.
The Department does not hold figures for ICT funding allocated to LA in 1997; however ICT funding allocations for Lancashire LA since 1998 are detailed in 'Funding for ICT in Schools in England' which is available in the House Library.
Learning and Skills Council
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what additional responsibilities local Learning and Skills Council offices will assume in rural areas as part of the proposed re-structuring. [50039]
Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is embarking on a major transformation programme to make it a more dynamic and effective organisation. At a local level the LSC proposes to create 148 local partnership yeams made up of experienced education and training professionals who will work with key partners and stakeholders to tackle local learning and skills needs in rural and urban areas. They will know their area inside-out, and will ensure that properly funded learning and training is available to meet the needs of both individuals and employers locally, whilst also taking into account national priorities, as set out in the LSC's national guidance on Planning for Success".
The details of the re-structuring proposals and their effect on local offices, including those in rural areas, are a matter for the LSC. Mark Haysom, the Council's chief executive, has written to my hon. Friend with further information. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 9 March 2006:
I write in response to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding what additional responsibilities local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) offices will assume in rural areas as part of the proposed restructuring.
The LSC is well on the way to implementing a major transformation programme to make it a more dynamic and effective organisation. We have ensured that the special factors of rurality have been taken into account in planning and delivery of post-16 education and skills within the new LSC, particularly through the new local partnership teams which will be experts on, and advocates for, their local area.
I have laid out in the annex some of the detail of how the LSC will work at the local level once we have transformed. This covers how local partnership teams and economic development teams in each of 42 local areas will provide strategic and operation delivery for the LSC.
I am very happy to provide any further information if required, on how we are moving the LSC forward to better meet the needs of learners and employers.
Each of our 47 local councils will be supported by a dedicated LSC Area Director and will oversee the development and delivery of a local area plan. Local councils will provide leadership to local
- providers and partners, challenging the executive 'on the inside' and acting as advocates for the LSC and for learning 'on the outside'. Employer-led, local councils link the LSC into the business community, championing employer and learner needs and challenging us to deliver innovative solutions.
42 local area teams (made up of local partnership teams and economic development teams) are the strategic and operational building block for the LSC—the point at which our national and regional strategies and priorities translate into local delivery. Note: in five cases a single Area Director supports two local councils—(1) Tyne and Wear/Northumberland; (2) Tees Valley/County Durham; (3) Berkshire/Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire; (4) Somerset/Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole and (5) Shropshire/Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Each local area team will look across the range of partnerships, challenging and supporting teams, generating and spreading best practice. They lead on the economic development priorities of their areas, which often cut across geographic boundaries. And they provide the strategic interface for key partners such as Children's Trusts, Local Strategic Partnerships, and City-regions which operate above partnership level. Their area-wide scope and strategy provide the necessary coherence for 14–19 learning, skill priorities and adult learning at a local level.
The 148 local partnership teams are the operational focus of the LSC. They are the institutional and provider interface—responsible for the development and delivery of area-wide plans at grassroots level.
The local partnership teams will focus on transforming the range and quality of learning available in geographically-defined local areas. They will be small teams, flexible and mobile, working in, and across, their local communities. And they will be experts on, and advocates for, their local area: understanding and championing the varied needs of their local learners, employers and communities, and brokering collaborative solutions to meet these. They will have the power to make things happen, to lead and influence change within the LSC and with partners, colleges and providers.
Specifically they will develop and lead strategic relationships with delivery partners (colleges, schools and training providers). This will include:
procuring high quality learning to meet national and regional priorities and targets in a local context
negotiating and managing performance against development plans and contracts—withdrawing from poor provision where appropriate
To do their job effectively, the local partnership teams will also have to influence the thinking of local authorities, Children's Trusts, Local Strategic Partnerships and local MPs. They will be passionate about learning and skills, driving forward collaboration, informing Local Area Agreements and acting as skills advisors for local authorities to get real buy-in to partnership activity across the local patch.
Working alongside the partnership teams will be 35 economic development teams and regional specialists whose objective is to place learning and skills at the heart of economic development and regeneration in a given region. They will work flexibly across local and regional boundaries in pursuit of a better fit between learning and skills supply and demand, and draw in specialist sector advice and support where necessary. An important element of their work will be putting in place the training .needed, by those not currently working, both to help them secure sustainable employment and to furnish the skills local employers need.
Economic development teams will have a strong influencing role too, particularly with, Regional Development Agencies, developers, local authorities, Jobcentre Plus, regeneration
- partnerships and employers. They will demonstrate the vital importance of skills to increasing economic competitiveness and social inclusion.
Modern Apprenticeships
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of the total numbers undertaking (a) engineering, (b) construction, (c) motor industry, (d) plumbing and (e) electro-technical sector (i) Advanced and (ii) Foundation Modern Apprenticeships in England in 2005 were women. [56269]
Jacqui Smith:
There are over 180 different apprenticeships (formerly called Foundation Modern Apprenticeship) or Advanced Apprenticeship (formerly
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called Advanced Modern Apprenticeship) frameworks on offer to potential learners. The list is growing and a directory of apprenticeships is maintained on the apprenticeships website administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC): http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/partners/frameworks/apprenticeships/default.htm
There exists no definitive classification of frameworks that corresponds to the sectors requested, and to some extent any classification would be arbitrary given the potential for sectors to overlap, between engineering and construction especially. For this reason the figures supplied as follows are presented at the level of individual frameworks, and grouped tentatively into the non-overlapping 'sectors' requested. Figures show the total numbers in learning during 2004/05 for each framework and the proportion that were women.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many women applied for scientific and technical positions in (a) Advanced and (b) Foundation Modern Apprenticeships in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [56270]
Jacqui Smith: There are over 180 different Apprenticeship (formerly called Foundation Modern Apprenticeship) or Advanced Apprenticeship (formerly called Advanced Modem Apprenticeship) frameworks on offer to potential learners. Figures for applications to apprenticeships are not held centrally.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many men undertook Modern Apprenticeship courses in (a) early years care and (b) education in the latest period for which figures are available. [56271]
Jacqui Smith: There are over 180 different Apprenticeship (formerly called Foundation Modern Apprenticeship) or Advanced Apprenticeship (formerly called Advanced Modern Apprenticeship) frameworks on offer to potential learners.
There exists no definitive classification of frameworks that corresponds to the sectors requested. For this reason the figures supplied below are presented at the level of individual frameworks, and grouped tentatively into the non-overlapping 'sectors' requested. Figures show the total numbers in learning during 2004/05 for each framework and the proportion that were men.
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Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many modern apprenticeships were taken in each (a) West Lancashire constituency and (b) Lancashire in the last year for which figures are available. [58444]
Phil Hope: The following table shows figures for the total number of apprentices funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in learning during 2004/05 who live in (a) the parliamentary constituency area (PCA) of West Lancashire and (b) in the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area of Lancashire.
| Advanced apprenticeship | Apprenticeship | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Lancashire PCA | 291 | 630 | 921 |
| Lancashire LSC area | 5,556 | 8,737 | 14,293 |
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school leavers in Tamworth constituency took up a modern apprenticeship after the completion of their GCSEs in each year since 1997. [57869]
Phil Hope: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) derive from the Individual Learner Record (ILR). This was collated for the first time in 2001/02 (as an Interim ILR) and comparable figures are currently only available for the three following years.
The following table shows figures for the total number of apprentices of academic age 16 in Tamworth for each year from 2002/03 to 2004/05.
| Advanced apprenticeship | Apprenticeship | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | 9 | 110 | 119 |
| 2003/04 | 7 | 117 | 124 |
| 2004/05 | 17 | 91 | 108 |
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