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15 Mar 2006 : Column 2352W—continued

GEMS Education

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings has (a) she and (b) her officials have had with GEMS Education; and what the purpose was of those meetings. [40815]

Jacqui Smith: In spring 2004 officials met with GEMS after they expressed interest in the Music Manifesto launch. Representatives of the Department met with GEMS on a number of occasions between February 2004 and June 2005 to discuss GEMS' potential involvement in the Academies programme. The first meeting took place on 10 February 2004, and related to the possibility of GEMS sponsoring an Academy in Barking and Dagenham. Two meetings occurred on 14 and 22 April 2004 to discuss this further. Meetings then took place between May 2004 and June 2005 to discuss the possibility of GEMS sponsoring Academies in Milton Keynes. These meetings occurred on: 4 May 2004; 17 June 2004; 18 June 2004; 21 March 2005; 20 May 2005; and 9 June 2005.

Higher Education

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards the target of (a) fair access to higher education and (b) reducing rates of non-completion to higher education courses. [58012]

Bill Rammell: In the past few years, we have seen a steady widening of participation in, and improving access to, higher education. Performance indicators published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that the proportion of entrants from disadvantaged groups has increased across a range of measures, as set out in the following table.
Proportion of young UK domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses at UK universities from disadvantaged groups⁽⁴³⁾

	Proportion of entrants to university from:
	State schools	Lower social classes (IIIM, IV, V)	Lower socio-economic groups (4–7)	Low participation areas
1997/98	81.8	24.9	n/a	12.1
1998/99	85.0	25.1	n/a	12.3
1999/2000	84.9	25.3	n/a	12.4
2000/01	85.7	25.4	n/a	12.5
2001/02	86.0	25.8	n/a	13.1
2002/03	87.2	n/a	28.4	13.3
2003/04	86.8	n/a	28.6	13.9

n/a=not available: The socio-economic group classification was introduced in 2002/03 to replace the social class groupings. The two classifications are not directly comparable. Figures for NI are available separately if needed.
⁽⁴³⁾ Source—Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA



 
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We have also made steady progress on reducing rates of non-completion. The latest available figures published by HESA are shown in the following table:
Percentage of UK domiciled full-time first degree students expected neither to obtain an award nor transfer—higher education institutions in the UK

Students starting courses in:	Non-completion rate (percentage)
1996/97	16.0
1997/98	15.9
1998/99	15.8
1999/2000	15.9
2000/01	15.0
2001/02	14.1
2002/03	14.4

Source:
Performance Indicators in Higher Education", published by HESA. For 2002/03, the projected outcomes summarise the pattern of movements of students at institutions between 2002/03 and 2003/04 and give the outcomes that would have been expected from starters in 2002/03 if progression patterns were to remain unchanged over the next few years. The HESA data show the proportion of entrants who are projected to: obtain a qualification (either a first degree or another undergraduate award); transfer to another HEI; neither obtain a qualification nor transfer (ie fail to complete the course).




 
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Figures published in 2005 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that in 2003 the UK had one of the lowest higher education non-completion rates among OECD countries.

Learning and Skills Councils

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the percentage change was in (a) 16 to 18 years and (b) 19 years plus budgets for learning and skills councils' sub-regions between 2004–05 and 2005–06, listed in ascending order. [39124]

Bill Rammell: I have overall responsibility for the LSC; however the operations of the LSC are managed and overseen by Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive. Allocations to regional and sub-regional levels are a matter for the LSC. Mark Haysom, LSC's chief executive has written to the hon. Gentleman with further information and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

The following table shows the changes in total funding of the LSC between 2004–05 and 2005–06 by region. Note that the LSC are unable to disaggregate all of the funding between youth and adult, as much of the funding allocated to local offices is not specifically age-based. The figures in the table do not include budgets allocated specifically to the LSC's national office and national programmes.

			Percentage change between 2004–05 and 2005–06
	2004–05 Total programme spend (£)	2005–06 Total programme budget (£)	16–18 (Young people)	19+ (Adult)	Contributes to both 16–18 and 19+	Programme total increase between 2004–05 and 2005–06
East Midlands	638,223	666,967	0.9	1.6	1.9	4.5
Yorkshire and the Humber	761,351	800,995	0.9	1.4	2.8	5.2
Greater London	1,308,575	1,383,412	1.2	1.1	3.3	5.7
North West	1,105,819	1,180,364	1.0	2.8	2.9	6.7
West Midlands	903,395	965,788	0.9	2.1	3.9	6.9
North East	452,745	485,127	0.1	3.7	3.3	7.2
South West	716,639	773,026	1.0	3.1	3.8	7.9
South East	1,100,731	1,192,261	1.9	1.0	5.4	8.3
East of England	720,441	781,128	1.8	2.0	4.6	8.4
Total	7,707,919	8,229,068	1.2	2.0	3.6	6.8

Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 30 January 2006:

Further to your recent question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills where you asked what the percentage change was in (a) 16 to 18 years and (b) 19 years plus budgets for learning and skills councils' sub-regions between 2004–05 and 2005–06, listed in ascending order. on, I am pleased to provide the following information.

The attached tables show the percentage change between the financial years 2004–05 and 2005–06* in;

(a) the LSC's 16–18 budgets;

(b) 19+ budgets;

(c) and those budgets that are attributable to both 16–18 and 19+ provision;

I hope that you find this information helpful.

* The Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) financial year covers the period 1 April to 31 March. Consequently the percentage changes relate to the 2005–06 budget as at 19th December 2005.

Percentage change in LSC Budgets from 2004–05 to 2005–06Young people Budgets

	Percentage change from 2004–05 to 2005–06
Regional Budget—Yorkshire and Humberside -106.3
Regional Budget —North East	-100.0
Regional Budget—Greater London	-35.6
Regional Budget—West Midlands	-19.5
Regional Budget—South East	-14.8
Tees Valley	-5.2
Shropshire	-4.2
Norfolk	-3.5
South Yorkshire	-2.8
West of England	-0.3
London Central	0.3
Nottinghamshire	0.3
Tyne and Wear	0.4
Greater Merseyside	0.8
Black Country	1.2
Somerset	1.2
Northamptonshire	1.9
Wiltshire and Swindon	2.3
Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole	2.4
Leicestershire	2.5
Birmingham and Solihull	2.7
Lancashire	2.7
Cumbria	2.9
Humberside	3.3
Gloucestershire	3.3
Essex	3.4
County Durham	3.6
North Yorkshire	3.7
Surrey	3.9
Herefordshire and Worcestershire	4.1
London West	4.3
Cambridgeshire	4.4
Coventry and Warwickshire	4.5
Lincolnshire and Rutland	4.6
Derbyshire	4.7
Staffordshire	4.8
Northumberland	4.9
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	4.9
Devon and Cornwall	5.1
London South	5.1
London East	5.4
Sussex	5.4
Greater Manchester	5.5
Bedfordshire	5.5
Berkshire	5.7
Kent and Medway	5.9
Hertfordshire	6.1
London North	6.1
West Yorkshire	6.2
Milton Keynes, Ox and Bucks	7.0
Cheshire and Warrington	7.0
Suffolk	8.7
Regional Budget—East Midlands	21.6
Regional Budget—South West	79.5
Regional Budget—East of England	184.8
Regional Budget—North West	n/a
Total local/regional allocations	3.7

 
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Percentage change in LSC Budgets from 2004–05 to 2005–06Adult Budgets

	Percentage change from 2004–05 to 2005–06
County Durham	-11.2
London West	-10.5
Sussex	-8.8
Surrey	-8.5
London South	-6.0
Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole	-5.4
Lincolnshire and Rutland	-2.2
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	-1.9
Northamptonshire	-1.2
Bedfordshire	1.1
Milton Keynes, Ox and Bucks	2.0
Staffordshire	2.7
South Yorkshire	2.9
North Yorkshire	3.9
Somerset	4.2
Nottinghamshire	4.4
Norfolk	5.8
Cheshire and Warrington	6.6
Coventry and Warwickshire	7.3
Gloucestershire	7.7
Hertfordshire	9.2
Humberside	9.6
Shropshire	9.7
Herefordshire and Worcestershire	10.8
Kent and Medway	11.9
Tees Valley	12.5
Greater Merseyside	13.3
Suffolk	14.2
London North	17.9
London Central	18.8
Cumbria	18.9
Derbyshire	19.1
London East	20.8
Leicestershire	21.3
Birmingham and Solihull	23.9
Essex	24.6
Berkshire	26.0
West Yorkshire	29.7
Regional Budget—North East	32.7
Greater Manchester	32.9
Devon and Cornwall	33.7
Northumberland	36.0
Wiltshire and Swindon	37.4
Black Country	39.5
Cambridgeshire	45.0
Lancashire	50.8
Tyne and Wear	65.5
West of England	100.2
Regional Budget—Greater London	476.7
Regional Budget—South East	1702.4
Regional Budget—West Midlands	25,086.4
Regional Budget—East Midlands	n/a
Regional Budget—East of England	n/a
Regional Budget—North West	n/a
Regional Budget—South West	n/a
Regional Budget—Yorkshire and Humberside n/a
Total local/regional allocations	23.5

 
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Percentage change in LSC Budgets from 2004–05 to 2005–06Contributes to both young people and adult learning

	Percentage change from 2004–05 to 2005–06
Regional Budget—North West	-40,303.7
Regional Budget—South West	-38,020.5
Regional Budget—North East	-5,017.3
Regional Budget—West Midlands	-1,027.6
Regional Budget—Greater London	-509.7
Regional Budget—Yorkshire and Humberside -364.2
Regional Budget—South East	10.4
Lincolnshire and Rutland	-7.7
Derbyshire	-0.4
Bedfordshire	1.7
Greater Merseyside	2.3
North Yorkshire	2.8
Wiltshire and Swindon	2.8
London West	3.1
Cumbria	3.4
London Central	3.8
Northamptonshire	3.8
Leicestershire	4.1
Milton Keynes, Ox and Bucks	4.4
South Yorkshire	4.8
London South	5.0
Birmingham and Solihull	5.3
Tees Valley	5.3
London North	5.4
Tyne and Wear	5.4
Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole	5.5
Greater Manchester	5.9
London East	5.9
Cambridgeshire	6.4
Humberside	6.5
West Yorkshire	6.5
Somerset	6.6
Black Country	6.7
County Durham	7.1
Lancashire	7.2
Shropshire	7.6
Suffolk	7.9
West of England	8.3
Cheshire and Warrington	8.5
Coventry and Warwickshire	8.5
Nottinghamshire	8.6
Kent and Medway	8.6
Essex	9.1
Gloucestershire	9.2
Devon and Cornwall	9.4
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	9.5
Norfolk	9.9
Staffordshire	9.9
Surrey	10.1
Herefordshire and Worcestershire	10.2
Sussex	10.8
Berkshire	12.0
Hertfordshire	15.9
Northumberland	18.9
Regional Budget—East Midlands	1,773.4
Regional Budget—East of England	n/a
Total local/regional allocations	6.1

 
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Percentage change in LSC Budgets from 2004–05 to 2005–06Total Budget

	Percentage change from 2004–05 to 2005–06
Regional Budget—North West	-32,269.3
Regional Budget—North East	-333.1
Regional Budget—South West	-132.9
Regional Budget—Yorkshire and Humberside -102.3
Lincolnshire and Rutland	-2.2
South Yorkshire	2.2
Northamptonshire	2.6
Greater Merseyside	2.7
London West	2.7
Bedfordshire	2.9
Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole	3.2
North Yorkshire	3.3
Tees Valley	3.6
Derbyshire	3.8
London Central	4.3
County Durham	4.3
London South	4.3
Cumbria	4.3
Shropshire	4.8
Norfolk	4.8
Somerset	5.2
Milton Keynes, Ox and Bucks	5.4
Leicestershire	5.4
Nottinghamshire	5.6
Humberside	5.9
Birmingham and Solihull	6.1
London North	6.2
Gloucestershire	6.7
London East	7.0
Coventry and Warwickshire	7.0
Surrey	7.0
Wiltshire and Swindon	7.4
Staffordshire	7.6
Kent and Medway	7.7
Cheshire and Warrington	7.8
Black Country	7.8
Sussex	7.9
West Yorkshire	8.0
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	8.1
Herefordshire and Worcestershire	8.3
Greater Manchester	8.7
Suffolk	8.9
Essex	9.0
Cambridgeshire	9.4
Devon and Cornwall	9.9
Lancashire	10.2
Hertfordshire	10.5
Tyne and Wear	10.5
West of England	10.7
Berkshire	11.0
Northumberland	11.9
Regional Budget—West Midlands	38.2
Regional Budget—South East	221.5
Regional Budget—East of England	353.2
Regional Budget—East Midlands	852.5
Regional Budget—Greater London	1,263.8
Total local/regional allocations	6.8

 
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2358W
 

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