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24 May 2007 : Column 1395W—continued
Further Education
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 16 to 18-year-olds were in (a) full-time education and (b) work-based learning in each year between 1997 and 2006 in each local education authority. [130989]
Bill Rammell: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
GCSEs
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in maintained schools achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics, but excluding both (a) equivalents and (b) applied double GCSE awards, in 2006. [114673]
Jim Knight [holding answer 22 January 2007]: Revised 2006 figures show that 42.6 per cent. of pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained schools achieved five or more A*-C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE only. 43.4 per cent. of pupils in maintained schools achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent, including English and mathematics excluding applied double GCSE awards.
Nurseries: Kettering
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if the Minister responsible for the 2006 code of conduct for nurseries will visit Kettering constituency to discuss its impact on local nursery provision. [139092]
Beverley Hughes: My colleagues and I regularly meet representatives of a range of national and local stakeholders with an interest in the free early education entitlement and other childcare issues.
The current code of practice was introduced in April 2006, following a full consultation with interested parties and sets out key principles by which local authorities plan the delivery of the free entitlement in their area in accordance with local circumstances and market dynamics.
Pre-school Education: Finance
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what guidance his Department has given to local education authorities on the topslicing of the nursery education grant to nursery providers; and if he will make a statement; [138677]
(2) what evidence his Department has considered on the percentage value of the nursery education grant which local education authorities are passing to providers; and if he will make a statement. [138678]
Beverley Hughes: We do not provide guidance to local authorities on ‘topslicing’ nursery education funding. Funding for the free entitlement to early education for three and four-year-olds is provided to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), alongside funding for all pre-16 learning. Local authorities—in consultation with their school forums—are responsible for deciding how best to apply their total school and early years funding across all age groups and between different types of provider, based on an assessment of local circumstances.
The Schools, Early Years and 14-16 Funding consultation which ends on 1 June sets out a number of proposals for changes to the way the early years funding system operates. As part of our consideration of these options and to assess their impact, the Department is developing a more comprehensive evidence base of current practice around the country. We asked all authorities to complete a questionnaire, by 18 May 2007, setting out how they allocate and distribute free entitlement funding to maintained schools and to private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers. We are also working with authorities to produce estimates of the level of funding allocated to early years in each local authority and its distribution between the PVI and maintained sectors in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
We intend to collate and publish both the questionnaire responses and the levels of funding in each local authority so that authorities can benchmark their approaches to funding the free entitlement.
Schools: Health
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the PA Consulting review of the Healthy Schools programme; [138848]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of schools which are participating in the National Healthy Schools programme; what proportion of them have achieved National Healthy School status; and if he will make a statement. [138850]
Mr. Dhanda: The PA Consulting review of the National Healthy Schools programme was a short exercise conducted for internal purposes, and to help steer our planned three-year research into the impact of the programme on promoting healthier lifestyle in schools. We do plan to place a copy of the review in the House of Commons Library in the coming month.
From September 2005, we had incorporated a more rigorous approach to the National Healthy Schools programme. Schools will have to meet criteria in all four core themes to satisfy the requirements of National Healthy Schools Status.
As at 21 May 2007, 20,256 (88.8 per cent.) schools are participating in the programme with 7,307 (32.3 per cent.) schools having achieved National Healthy schools status.
Science: Higher Education
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils from the maintained sector applied to study (a) physics, (b) chemistry, (c) biochemistry, (d) psychology and (e) sports sciences at (i) a Russell Group university and (ii) other universities in each of the last five years. [138117]
Bill Rammell: The available information is shown in the table. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to Higher Education Institutions.
Train to Gain Programme: Copeland
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many businesses in Copeland have accessed the Train to Gain service since its launch. [133482]
Phil Hope: Train to Gain is an ongoing service and as such performance is updated on a regular basis. Detailed operational information is not held centrally by the Department but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC); Mark Haysom as the LSC chief executive has written directly to my hon. Friend. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 15 May 2007
I am writing in response to your recent parliamentary question about how many businesses in Copeland have accessed the Train to Gain service since its launch.
There have been 25 businesses that have accessed the Skills Brokerage Service in and around Copeland. These contacts are sorted by postcode and the 25 is made up of
CA12 = 7
CA13 = 5
CA14 = 10
CA28 = 3
I hope this response is helpful to you.
Unemployment: Young People
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds were not in education, employment and training in each year since the establishment of the Connexions service. [138163]
Bill Rammell:
The following table gives the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England in each
year since the Connexions service was established in 2001 where figures are available.
| Proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) | |
| End of calendar year | Percentage |
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