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11 July 2006 : Column 1710W—continued
Vocational Education and Training
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which Vocational Education and Training projects in the UK are funded by the EU. [84252]
Phil Hope: The European Commission provided funding between 2000-05 to UK organisations for 840 work placement and 129 development projects under the EU’s vocational training programme, Leonardo da Vinci.
The European Social Fund supports a range of labour market activities including vocational education and training. In 2000-06 it contributed to the funding of 20 Structural Fund programmes in the UK.
Women Engineers
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of women studying engineering at university level in each of the last 10 years; what employment opportunities in engineering were available on completion of their course; and if he will make a statement. [82351]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) report the number of women studying engineering at university level over the past 10 years in England as follows:
| Number of women | |
This represents a small increase, from 10.6 per cent. in 1994/95 to 11.8 per cent. in 2004/05, in the proportion of women studying engineering subjects.
With respect to employment opportunities in engineering the Destinations of Leavers data collected by HESA over the period 1994/95—2003/04, show that:
12.1 per cent. of female graduates in engineering entered “work only”;
15.8 per cent. went into a “combination of work and further study”; and
14.5 per cent. went into “further study only”.
The key initiative of the Government's strategy on women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) is the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET (UKRC), funded through the Office of Science and Innovation (OSI) with £6.7 million from the science budget plus £325,000 for a dedicated undergraduate package from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
The Centre carries out a co-ordinated strategy, including:
championing best practice;
a recognition scheme for good SET employers;
raising the profile of women in SET;
support for women undergraduates (DfES have committed £315,000 to this project);
supporting SET returners;
setting up the GetSET database (this holds contact details for women who have agreed to promote SET topics and the role of women in SET);
co-ordinating the work of the women in SET organisations;
and pump-priming for innovative initiatives e.g. mentoring and networking.
There are also examples of positive action by employers. Where Women Want to Work.com website scrutinises the gender policies of companies against a set of attributes one of which is innovative recruitment. Some examples are:
Accenture ensures women are represented at all the graduate recruitment events and at interviews and they try and allocate female buddies at those reaching second round interviews for guidance to ensure the process is as supportive as possible;
BP run gender and diversity workshops for interviewers and assessors involved in university and other recruitment;
Shell advertise in Cosmopolitan magazine to broaden their market reach and invited university careers advisers and female students to a women's network conference and in 2005 held Working Women's Roadshows at four UK universities.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government are taking to encourage women to enrol on national engineering programmes at university. [84170]
Bill Rammell:
The Government are committed to increasing the number of young people taking science and maths at advanced level and progressing to study
science and engineering at university and beyond. ‘The Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014: Next Steps’ published in March 2006, sets out a range of measures to support this. We have invested just over £7 million in the UK resource centre for women in science, engineering and technology (SET) which aims to increase the participation of women in SET subjects and funds a number of initiatives to increase the participation of women on undergraduate engineering programmes.
Written Questions
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of written questions from hon. Members to his Department in the last 12 months were answered within (a) one week, (b) two weeks and (c) one month of tabling. [84395]
Bill Rammell: The Department’s parliamentary question tracking system is unable to break the data down as requested. The answer could be supplied only at a disproportionate cost.
Departments aim to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day, and endeavour to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled.
Prime Minister
Advertising Campaigns
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister what advertising campaigns his office has run since July 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each. [81922]
The Prime Minister: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. McFadden) today.
Solicitor-General
Fraud Trials
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Solicitor-General what the Government’s plans are for the use of juries in fraud trials. [83876]
The Solicitor-General: We intend to press ahead with our proposals to change the system for serious and complex fraud trials so that they can be heard without a jury to ensure justice is done.
Trade and Industry
Correspondence
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to be able to respond to the letter to his predecessor of 7 November 2005 from the hon. Member for Esher and Walton on the campaign by the RSPCA to reduce the noise levels of fireworks. [82676]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Due to an error the hon. Member's letter has been mislaid. A copy of the letter has been requested and we will respond shortly, with an apology for the delay.
Nuclear Power Stations
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for energy policy of the cracks in the reactor core at (a) Hinkley Point and (b) other advanced gas-cooled reactor power stations. [84118]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 10 July 2006]: None. Decisions about the continued operation of each of the UK's AGRs are a matter for the operator, British Energy, subject to rigorous regulatory oversight by the independent safety regulator, HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.
Post Office Charging
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Post Office has to change the basis of their charging for letter delivery to take account of letter size rather than weight; and if he will make a statement. [84051]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services has agreed that Royal Mail's new Pricing in Proportion (PiP) will be introduced from August 2006.
Royal Mail is mounting a substantial publicity campaign to explain the changes. Postwatch, the consumer body and Postcomm will be monitoring the implementation closely to safeguard the interest of customers.
Post Office Services
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why small post offices are no longer able to provide television licences; and if he will make a statement. [84052]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The BBC awarded “Paypoint” the contract for over-the-counter sales of television licences. The decision was a commercial one made by the BBC as the television licensing authority looking to the interests of licence fee payers and seeking to ensure the best deal for the public in this capacity.
Treasury
Advance Market Commitment
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which G8 countries support the Advance Market Commitment concept; [83988]
(2) which organisations have made representations to his Department (a) in support of and (b) against the Advance Market Commitment concept; [83993]
(3) what representations he has (a) made to and (b) received from his G8 counterparts on implementing the pilot Advance Market Commitment confirmed by the Italian Finance Minister at the G8 Finance Ministers' meeting in June; [83994]
(4) what progress has been made towards the launch of an Advance Market Commitment pilot project by the end of 2006; [83995]
(5) what funds the UK has allocated for the G8 commitment for the launch of an Advance Market Commitment pilot project by the end of 2006; and if he will make a statement. [83996]
Ed Balls: The UK has been working with other G8 countries on Advance Market Commitments (AMCs), which are feasible, innovative, and cost-effective market-based tools in the fight against global disease and poverty. Working with the World Bank and GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the G8 have conducted extensive outreach and consultation with stakeholders and experts in the global health community. At their June Meeting in St. Petersburg, G8 Finance Ministers stated that they look forward to a successful launch of the AMC pilot project by the end of this year. The cost of a pilot AMC will be determined following the choice of disease and further technical discussions with partner countries.
Arms Imports
Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2006, Official Report, column 5767W, on AK-47s, what UK custom entry clearance has been issued to Procurement Management Services Ltd. for the import into the UK from Bosnia of assault rifles and other types of small arms since June 2003. [83922]
Dawn Primarolo: Due to taxpayer confidentiality HMRC cannot provide the information requested.
Bank Accounts
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of adults in (a) Beverley and Holderness and (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire currently have a bank account; and if he will make a statement. [84649]
Ed Balls:
The most recent data available that allow assessment to be made of the number of households with no access to a bank account are the Family Resources Survey from 2002-03. This indicates that 8 per cent. of households in the United Kingdom had no bank account
of any kind. This equated to 1.9 million households containing around 2.8 million adults. These data are broken down to Government Office regional level. This shows 9 per cent. of households in Yorkshire and the Humber were unbanked.
In December 2004, the Government and the banks agreed to work together towards the goal of halving the number of adults in households with no access to a bank account of any kind and of making significant progress within two years. The Financial Inclusion Taskforce has been asked to monitor progress. The Taskforce recently made its first annual report, which concluded that steady progress has been made towards the goal but also encouraged banks to continue to address the difficulties faced in opening a bank account.
Child Trust Fund
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount spent on advertising Child Funds was in each financial year since their introduction. [83501]
Ed Balls: Advertising for the Child Trust Fund began in January 2005.
The total media spend on advertising the Child Trust Fund (including media buying fees and excluding VAT) was as follows:
| Financial Year | Spend (£ million) |
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children were eligible to receive a voucher for a child trust fund in each financial year since their introduction. [83572]
Ed Balls: The Child Trust Fund became operational from the start of 2005-06 and all children born on or after 1 September 2002 with a child benefit award are eligible. The number of children eligible, by complete financial year, to receive a Child Trust Fund voucher is in the table.
| Financial year | Eligible children (Thousand) |
| (1 )Provisional. | |
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