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13 Dec 2006 : Column 1152W—continued
Foundation degrees were introduced in 2001-02 and usually take two years to complete. As such, the number of students recorded to have completed a foundation degree in 2001-02 is fairly small and the figures for the 2001-02 to 2002-03 transition may not be as representative as those for the later years.
Free Fruit
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils are receiving free fruit in (a) the North West, (b) Manchester city and (c) Manchester, Gorton constituency. [106397]
Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
278,500 children in the North West are participating in the school fruit and vegetable scheme.
We do not break down information by constituencies but by local authorities and within the Manchester area we supply the following:
| Number | |
Higher Education Funding Council
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress he has made on fostering dialogue at an (a) regional and (b) national level between the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Learning and Skills Council, with particular reference to their duties (i) to fund and (ii) to plan higher education provision in further education colleges; what programmes are in place to support this policy; how much has been allocated to them; and if he will make a statement. [105512]
Bill Rammell: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) both have overall budgets in excess of £6 billion and are responsible for funding prescribed and non-prescribed higher education respectively in further education colleges. Neither body has planning responsibilities for higher education since we believe that, instead of a planned approach, every higher education provider must establish and sustain a competitive position in strong markets. However, LSC and HEFCE staff meet regularly with the Department to explore how partnership working can be enhanced across a range of areas, including student progression from further to higher education, which is important as we increase and widen participation.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s budget was spent on the employment of management consultants in the last financial year. [105514]
Bill Rammell: The Higher Education Funding Council for England spent 0.004 per cent. of their budget on management consultants in the last financial year.
Higher Education: Beverley and Holderness
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of (a) 18-year-olds and (b) 19-year-olds from Beverley and Holderness attended university courses in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [108460]
Bill Rammell: The latest available figures on participation in higher education by constituency were published by the Higher Education funding Council for England in January 2005 in “Young Participation in England”, which is available from their website at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/
This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by constituency, for the years 1997 to 2000. The figures for Beverley and Holderness, and the comparable figure for England, are shown in the table. HEFCE have not produced participation rates beyond 2000.
The total numbers of entrants from Beverley and Holderness for each year since 2001/02 are given in the table:
| Entrants to undergraduate courses ( 1) from Beverley and Holderness | ||||
| 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | |
| (1) Covers all students studying Higher Education Courses at UK Higher Education Institutions only. Students studying Higher Education Courses elsewhere such as Further Education Colleges are excluded. (2) Includes a very small number of students with unknown ages or ages under 18. Note: Figures are based on the HESA standard registration population for entrants and have been rounded to the nearest 5, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||
The Department uses the higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18-30 in higher education towards 50 per cent.: the latest provisional figure for 2004/05 is 42 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at constituency level.
Higher Education: Stroud
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) 18-year-olds and (b) 19-year-olds from Stroud constituency attended university courses in each year since 1996-97. [105508]
Bill Rammell: The latest available figures on participation in higher education by constituency were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in January 2005 in “Young Participation in England”, which is available from their website at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/ This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by constituency, for the years 1997 to 2000. The figures for Stroud, and the comparable figure for England, are shown in the table. HEFCE have not produced participation rates beyond 2000.
| Young participation rate (YPR (A)) in higher education( 1) for year cohort aged 18 | ||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
| (1) Covers all students studying higher education courses at UK higher education institutions and other UK institutions, for example further education colleges. (2) Cohorts are reported to the nearest 10. (3) Young participation rates for constituencies are reported to the nearest percentage. Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England. | ||||
The total number of entrants from Stroud for each year since 2001/02 are given in the table.
| Entrants to undergraduate courses( 1) from Stroud | ||||
| 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | |
| (1) Covers all students studying higher education courses at UK higher education institutions only. Students studying higher education courses elsewhere such as further education colleges are excluded. (2) Includes a very small number of students with unknown ages or ages under 18. Note: Figures are based on the HESA standard registration population for entrants and have been rounded to the nearest 5, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||
The Department uses the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18 to 30 in higher education towards 50 per cent.: the latest provisional figure for 2004/05 is 42 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at constituency level.
Management Consultants
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his on policy is on the recruitment of management consultants. [105515]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department for Education and Skills, like any other organisation, uses consultants and other specialists where the need arises, particularly when we do not possess the required background skills and experience in-house. Officials are clear about: the importance of using consultants only where there is a proper business case for doing so; the importance of securing effective consultancy outcomes and good value for money; the need to secure skills transfer whenever appropriate; and the need to regularly review the duration and effectiveness of consultancy assignments.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions (a) he and (b) other departmental Ministers have met management consultants in the last 12 months. [105516]
Mr. Dhanda: This question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.
Public Opinion Research
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department has spent on commissioning public opinion research in each of the last five years. [105444]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department has spent a total of £522,652 on public opinion research surveys in the last five years. The research findings are available on the Department’s website.
| Financial year | Cost (exc. VAT) (£) |
Retirement Age
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. McFadden), to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) of 4 December 2006, Official Report, columns 189-90W, on the retirement age, what his Department’s policy is for the setting of retirement ages for staff below the senior civil service under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992. [108013]
Mr. Dhanda: The setting of retirement ages for staff in my Department is a function that has been delegated to the permanent secretary under the definition in paragraph 2 (1) (a) of the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 relating to management of members of Her Majesty’s Home Civil Service. As such, the permanent secretary approved new age retirement arrangements, with effect from 1 October 2006, whereby there is no maximum retirement age for staff below the senior civil service.
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