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23 May 2006 : Column 1725W—continued
Merseyside Learning and Skills Council
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects the restructuring of the Merseyside Learning and Skills Council to be completed; and what consequential effects he expects on costs. [72829]
Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council is making good progress in implementing its restructuring proposals, and has announced a number of senior level appointments in Merseyside, including the Area Director and Local Partnership Directors. The timescale for completing the restructuring programme is a matter for the LSC, but we would expect implementation across the whole organisation to be complete by March 2007. The LSC estimates that nationally these changes will save up to £40 million, including in property and related costs.
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultation is being carried out concerning the restructuring of the Merseyside Learning and Skills Council. [72830]
Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council has consulted staff and unions on its proposals. The formal consultation ended on 8 February, following a short extension to the agreed 90 day consultation period. The Learning and Skills Council is continuing to discuss the changes with staff and Unions at both national level and local level. We expect implementation to be complete by March 2007.
Milton Keynes University
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role (a) the Higher Education Funding Council and (b) his Department will have in (i) establishing links between West Midlands universities and (ii) developing a university for Milton Keynes. [72987]
Bill Rammell: The DfES and the Higher Education Funding Council for England do not have a formal role in establishing links between Universities or for developing new Universities. However, HEFCE do work closely with and contribute funding towards the West Midlands Higher Education Association whose aims are to promote West Midlands HEIs and to facilitate collaboration between HEIs and provide a forum for sharing, communicating and disseminating good practice.
Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for Ministers of State in his Department on foreign visits in each of the last three years; [69033]
(2) on how many occasions Ministers of State in his Department stayed overnight in (a) five star, (b) four star and (c) three star hotels on foreign visits in each of the last three years. [69034]
Mr. Dhanda: Costs for overnight accommodation for all Ministers on foreign visits in each of the last three years are in the following table:
| Cost (£) | |
Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. This information includes accommodation costs. Copies are available in the Library.
Records of the star ratings of hotels stayed in by Ministers are not held centrally and could be collected only by incurring disproportionate cost.
All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Prison Education
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ensure that every adult prison has (a) a learning support assistant and (b) a special educational needs co-ordinator. [65801]
Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 2 May 2006, Official Report, column 1425W.
Private Office Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been paid in (a) salary, (b) travelling expenses, (c) subsistence allowance and (d) removal expenses to special advisers in his private office in each of the last five years. [69038]
Mr. Dhanda: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each payband. For information relating to the last financial year I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on 21 July 2005, Official Report, columns 158-61WS.
Information on special advisers for this financial year is currently being collected and will be published in the normal way when it is ready.
The following table shows special advisers' travel expenses for the last five years:
| Amount (£) | |
The Department does not hold records of special advisers’ subsistence in the format requested. This information could be provided only by incurring a disproportionate cost.
According to records, there have been no removal costs paid to special advisers in this Department in the last five years.
All official travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the ministerial code and the civil service management code.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of his private office staff is (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled. [69041]
Mr. Dhanda: The following table shows the percentage of (a) male and (b) female staff in the Department for Education and Skills' ministerial private offices.
| Percentage | |
Information on staffs disabilities is not held.
Promotion Boards
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many promotion boards have been held in his Department in each of the last five years. [70474]
Mr. Dhanda: The number of promotion boards held in the Department in each of the years requested are set out in the following table:
| Promotion boards | |
These promotion boards were open to internal candidates only.
Pupil/Teacher Ratio
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average pupil:teacher ratio in primary schools in (a) Cornwall, (b) the South-West Region and (c) England was in each year since 2001. [72792]
Jim Knight: The following table provides the pupil: teacher ratio in maintained primary schools in Cornwall local authority, the South West government office region and England, in each January from 2001 to 2006. Information for 2006 is not yet available at local authority level.
| Pupil:teacher ratios in maintained primary schools in Cornwall local authority, South West government office region and England, as at January of each year | ||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006( 1) | |
| n/a = Not available. (1) Provisional. Source: Annual School Census |
Racial Abuse Complaints
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many complaints of racial abuse have been (a) investigated and (b) upheld in his Department in each of the last five years. [70476]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department’s investigation procedure, to consider allegations of racial abuse, has been initiated less than five times in each of the last five years. On this basis, we regret that the information is suppressed on grounds of confidentiality.
The DfES believes that everyone should have an equal opportunity to meet their aspirations, realise their full potential and improve their life chances and we aspire to be an exemplary equal opportunities employer, and create a workplace which values diversity and is free from any form of unfair discrimination.
The Department does not tolerate unacceptable behaviour towards others. Formal complaints of racial abuse are investigated quickly and thoroughly and where complaints are upheld, appropriate disciplinary action is taken.
School Day
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average length of the school day in England was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [71963]
Mr. Dhanda: The requested information for England is not collected centrally.
Student Accommodation
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support his Department provides for the provision of student accommodation. [72444]
Bill Rammell: The Department for Education and Skills does not provide any direct support to higher education institutions for the provision of student accommodation. Institutions are able to use other funding available to them to secure the provision of appropriate accommodation for their students.
Student Finances
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what evaluation he has
undertaken of the impact of regional variations in students' cost of living on the number of students (a) going to university and (b) completing their course. [72442]
Bill Rammell: Since 1999/2000 the initial entrants to HE have increased from 246,000 to 271,000 in 2004/05 and we now have world class completion rates of 86 per cent. I am not aware of any evidence to demonstrate that regional variations in living costs are correlated with participation or completion rates, and in the most recent Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES 2004/05) commissioned by the DfES 4 out of 5 of students thought the benefits of HE were greater than the costs. We are already making £2 billion a year available in student support, abolishing up front tuition fees and institutions will become more responsible for providing additional support for deserving students through bursaries which will be worth over £300 million.
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has (a) undertaken and (b) assessed on the (i) levels of rent in student accommodation and (ii) impact of rent levels on levels of participation. [72443]
Bill Rammell: The recently published the Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES) 2004/05 questioned students on their expenditure on rent and mortgage, this has increased by 29 per cent. on average across all full-time students in real terms since the last comprehensive study in 1998/09.
Since 1999/2000 initial entrants to HE have increased from 246,000 to 271,000 in 2004/05 and we now have world class completion rates of 86 per cent. I am not aware of any evidence to demonstrate that accommodation costs are correlated with participation rates although SIES 2004/05 showed that 4 out of 5 of students thought the benefits of HE were greater than the costs. We are already making £2 billion a year available in student support, abolishing up front tuition fees and institutions will become more responsible for providing additional support for deserving students through bursaries which will be worth over £300 million.
Teaching
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many state-maintained schools offer Mandarin as a language option from Key Stage 3; and how many state-funded colleges offer A and AS level Mandarin. [71877]
Jim Knight: Information is not collected on the subjects offered at any Key Stage by schools and colleges. However, it is possible to provide figures on the number of schools where at least one pupil has been entered for an examination in a particular subject at Key Stage 4 and Post-16 education (but not for Key Stage 3) and these are given as follows.
In 2005, the number of maintained schools where at least one 15-year-old(1) pupil was entered for a GCSE full course in Chinese(2) was 500. In the same year, 183 maintained schools and 70 FE Sector Colleges had at least one student entered for A or AS level Chinese.
(1) Age at start of academic year i.e. 31 August.
(2) GCSE and A/AS level Chinese qualifications are accessible to both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which foreign languages are taught in schools in each local authority in England; and how many children between the ages of 14 and 16 years are studying each language. [72839]
Jim Knight [holding answer 22 May 2006]: Information is not collected on the subjects taught in schools, however it is possible to provide figures to show where at least one pupil has been entered for a particular subject. It is not possible, however, to say whether the school has actually taught the subject or whether the pupil has been entered privately.
A table showing the number of 15-year-old pupils(1) entered for GCSE full course languages examinations in 2004/05(2), by local authority has been placed in the Library.
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