| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 July 2007 : Column 556W—continued
The 2004-05 figures will become available on 19 July 2007.
Foundation Degrees: Finance
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will estimate the full cost of foundation degrees since their inception, including all advertising and development; and how much of that sum is recurrent funding. [149098]
Bill Rammell: We have estimated the total cost for foundation degrees over the five years since the first courses started in 2001. Table 1, line 1 shows for each of the last five academic years (2001/02 to 2005/06) the recurrent funding which the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocated to foundation degrees, amounting to £332 million. Line 2 shows development funding from HEFCE over the same period, amounting to £20 million. Table 2 shows the funding allocated by the then Department for Education and Skills for the advertising of foundation degrees over the financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06, amounting to £7 million.
| £ million | ||||||
| Foundation degrees | 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | Total |
| £ million | ||||||
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | Total | |
Higher Education: Admissions
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of students applied for a university place on completion of their A-levels in (a) Cornwall, (b) the South West and (c) England in each year since 1997. [148611]
Bill Rammell: The latest available figures on participation in higher education by local authority and region based on students entering courses 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:
This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by local authority and region, for the years 1997 to 2000. The figures for Cornwall local authority, the South West region 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 | |||||
| Cohort for Cornwall( 2 ) (number) | Young Participation Rate (A) for Cornwall( 3 ) (percentage) | Cohort for South West( 2 ) (number) | Young Participation Rate (A) for South West (percentage) | Young Participation Rate (A) for England (percentage) | |
| (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 local authorities are reported to the nearest per cent. Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England. | |||||
The main measure for tracking progress on increasing participation is currently the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR). This is the sum of the HE initial participation rates for individual ages between 17 and 30 inclusive. It covers English-domiciled first time entrants to HE courses, which are expected to last for at least six months, at UK Higher Education Institutions and English, Scottish and Welsh Further Education Colleges, and who remain on their course for at least six months. The latest provisional figure for 2005-06 is 43 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at local authority or regional level.
The HEIPR is available from the academic year 1999-00. It is the sum of the age specific initial participation rates for ages 17-30. The age specific initial participation rate for eighteen year olds is shown in the following table.
| Number of initial entrants | HEIPR for 18 year olds (percentage) | |
| Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. | ||
The figures in the tables cover the whole population not just those completing their A-Levels.
Higher Education: European Union
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many EU domiciled undergraduate students are expected to begin courses at higher education institutions in 2006. [148186]
Bill Rammell: Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that 18,280 EU domiciled applicants were accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses at UK higher education institutions at the start of the 2006-07 academic year.
Higher Education: Finances
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to sustain the dual support system for universities. [151424]
Bill Rammell: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister informed the House on 28 June 2007, Official Report, column 36WS, the Government have no plans to change the current dual support arrangements for the public funding of research.
Higher Education: Mathematics
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on mathematics support in universities; and if he will make a statement. [150529]
Bill Rammell: The Department has not recently commissioned or evaluated any research on mathematics support in universities, meeting the perceived shortcomings of students with ‘A’ level mathematics.
Higher Education: Ministerial Responsibility
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which Minister in his Department has responsibility for (a) further and (b) higher education. [147744]
Mr. Denham: The ministerial responsibilities within my Department are set out as follows:
Minister of State, Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, Bill Rammell, MP will be responsible for:
Further Education strategy and implementation
Skills strategy and implementation, including Leitch delivery
The Learning and Skills Council
Standards and performance in further education and skills, including the Quality Improvement Agency
Higher Education strategy and implementation, including widening participation and part-time learners
Employer Engagement in Higher Education
The Higher Education Funding Council for England
Student finance policy
Liaison between further and higher education
International relations and the Joint International Unit, including the Prime Minister’s initiative on overseas HE students
Liaison with the Department for Children, Schools and Families
Liaison with the Department for Work and Pensions
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills, David Lammy, MP will be responsible for:
The Commission for Employment and Skills
Sector Skills Councils and employer relations
The Train to Gain programme
National Skills Academies
Apprenticeships
Offender learning and skills
Skills competitions, World Skills, and links to the Olympics
Investors in People UK
Ufi learndirect
Industry Training Boards
Union learning, including union learning representatives and unionlearn
Leitch implementation plan
Diversity aspects of skills
Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Ian Pearson, MP will be responsible for:
Business and Science
The Research Base
The Research Councils
Innovation
The Technology Strategy Board
British National Space Centre
National Weights and Measures Laboratory
The Design Council
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, liaising with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Liaison with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Energy Technologies Institute
Commission for Environmental Markets and Economic Performance
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Intellectual Property and Quality, Lord Triesman will be Lords Minister for the whole Department and responsible for:
The Student Loans Company (and Customer First programme)
The student loan debt sale
Endowments and voluntary giving for higher education
Quality assurance of Higher Education
UK-Intellectual Property Office
Students as ‘customers’
Scenario building across DIUS
Departmental efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability.
Science: Wales
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on science policy in Wales; and if he will make a statement; [150403]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on research funding in Welsh universities; and if he will make a statement. [150404]
Ian Pearson: The Department has maintained regular contact with the devolved Administrations, including the Welsh Assembly, on research capital funding to maintain the research infrastructure of UK universities.
Skilled Workers: Construction
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what action his Department is taking in conjunction with public agencies and other interested parties to stimulate traditional skills development in the heritage construction industry. [150092]
Mr. Lammy: ConstructionSkills is the lead Sector Skills Council for the heritage construction industry. ConstructionSkills is working with a range of public agencies to stimulate traditional skills development. The National Heritage Training Group, which is supported by ConstructionSkills, has a UK wide remit to provide assistance with all aspects of recruiting, training, and qualifying the built heritage sector workforce. A number of measures are being taken by ConstructionSkills, the National Heritage Training group and others to improve the qualifications and delivery of heritage skills. These include the training of FE trainers, the development of a Heritage Skills NVQ at level 3, development of occupational standards in Architectural Conservation, mentoring programmes, Regional Heritage Action Groups, and the establishment of Heritage Skills Academies. In addition there is a programme of marketing and promotional work, including the ConstructionSkills ‘Make Your Mark’ pack that that promotes construction skills careers to secondary school students.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |