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24 July 2007 : Column 1044W—continued
This is the most up-to-date information that the Department holds, but there may be more current information held at LA level.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of all school building projects was financed through (a) private finance initiative funding and (b) capital funding in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local education authority. [151536]
Jim Knight: The Department holds information on central Government allocations to local education authorities each year for conventional capital funding, and for PFI credits, but not on all school building projects. Local authorities have considerable flexibility to decide how to use their investment, for instance on the number, size and type of project, and we collect only some information on how capital allocations are used.
I am arranging for information on PFI and conventional funding allocations to authorities over the past 10 years to be placed in the House Library.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many of the schools procured under private finance initiative since 1997 are now conventional capital projects using design and build contracts. [151537]
Jim Knight: The Department does not routinely collect this information. To the best of our knowledge none of the schools procured under PFI since 1997 are now conventional capital projects using Design and Build contracts.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many statements of special educational needs were issued in each year since 1994-95, broken down by local authority; and what proportion of children in each authority had statements in the latest year for which information is available. [150695]
Jim Knight: Information on statements of special educational needs from 2000 onwards by local authority as at January each year has been placed in the Library. Figures for earlier years are not readily available.
Young People: Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children and young people (1) were sent to a penal establishment for breaching their antisocial behaviour order in each of the last three years; [150738]
(2) received an antisocial behaviour order in each of the last three years. [150739]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
The Home Office has the lead responsibility for antisocial behaviour policy.
The number of persons aged 10-17 who received an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) in the last three years is as follows:
625 in 2003,
1,320 in 2004 and
1,558 in 2005.
The latest data available for breaches of ASBO and custody are for 2003. The figures show that 30 young people in total between 2000 and 2003 were sentenced to custody for breach of ASBO alone—in all other cases, they were convicted for other offences at the same time.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Adult Education: Learning Disability
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he plans to take to ensure that adults with a learning disability have access to learning opportunities to acquire and maintain life skills including literacy and numeracy. [150917]
Mr. Lammy: Adult learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LLDD) remain an important priority for the Government, as set out in the Learning and Skills Council's “Annual Statement of Priorities and in Progression through Partnership” the Government's strategy for improving outcomes for LLDD learners, which was published in June 2007.
In 2004/05, expenditure on LLDD provision rose by 15 per cent. from the previous year to £1.5 billion. Funding per learner is expected to continue to rise.
LLDD learners are one of the priority groups targeted by the Skills for Life strategy, which offers free literacy and numeracy provision to adults.
In response to the report, “Freedom to Learn”, the Skills for Life Strategy Unit in the Department produced a range of materials to support the teaching and learning infrastructure for adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. These include tailored curriculum frameworks, guidance for teachers, assessment materials, teaching and learning materials, and a framework for understanding dyslexia. We have also tested the entire Skills for Life learning infrastructure to ensure it properly supports LLDD learners, and commissioned a training programme for staff in the sector.
The Quality Improvement Agency is now working to further improve the quality of LLDD teaching and learning.
Apprentices: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeship places there are for 16 and 17 year olds in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex; and what plans he has for the provision of such places in the future. [151353]
Mr. Lammy: (i) The following table shows the number of apprenticeship starts for 16 to 18-year-olds in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex in 2005-06.
| Eastbourne | East Sussex | |
| Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Work Based Learning (WBL) Individualised Learner Record (ILR) | ||
(ii) We want to continue the expansion of apprenticeships so that by 2013 every suitably qualified young person will be able to take up a place on the programme.
We are working with the LSC to promote apprenticeships to employers of all sizes and so increase their take-up. Many employers are already on board with 130,000 offering apprenticeships in England with over 180 apprenticeships available across more than 80 industry sectors.
We have increased the completion rate to 59 per cent. and rising—up from only 24 per cent. five years ago. We plan to increase this further in the next three years to match that of other top competitors. The Government
are working with the LSC and key partners to deliver provider incentives; foster provider collaboration; improve staff training; and develop with Sector Skills Councils guidance for individual sectors.
Diplomas will also provide clear progression routes into apprenticeships and, indeed, contain apprenticeship components within their content where specified by the Diploma Development Partnerships.
We are also building stronger links with higher education to ensure that apprentices who have the ambition and capacity to do so can enter higher education.
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeship schemes are operating in the Poole area. [151579]
Mr. Lammy: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships can be derived from the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). There were 380 learners on apprenticeships and 180 on advanced apprenticeships in Poole parliamentary constituency (based on home postcode of the learner) in 2005-06.
Note:
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Work Based Learning (WBL) Individualised Learner Record (ILR)
Apprentices: Gravesham
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeship schemes are operating in the Gravesham area. [149996]
Mr. Lammy: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships can be derived from the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). There were 340 learners on apprenticeships and 190 on advanced apprenticeships in Gravesham parliamentary constituency (based on home post code of the learner) in 2005/06.
Note:
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Work Based Learning (WBL) Individualised Learner Record (ILR)
Apprentices: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeships there were in York in 2005-06. [151625]
Mr. Lammy: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships can be derived from the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). There were 640 learners on apprenticeships and 280 on advanced apprenticeships in City of York parliamentary constituency (based on home post code of the learner) in 2005/06.
Note:
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Work Based Learning (WBL) Individualised Learner Record (ILR).
Degrees: Ethnic Groups
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of students from (a) Asian Bangladeshi, (b) Asian Chinese, (c) Asian Indian, (d) Asian Pakistani, (e) other Asian, (f) Black African, (g) Black Caribbean, (h) Other Black, (i) White and (j) other ethnic backgrounds received (i) a first class, (ii) an upper second, (iii) a lower second, (iv) a third class, (v) another pass and (vi) a fail in undergraduate honours degrees in each year since 1997. [148118]
Bill Rammell: The available information on students obtaining first degree qualifications is given in two tables which have been placed in the Libraries.
A new ethnicity classification was introduced on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record in 2001/02 which allowed those students of mixed ethnicity to be classified in more detail. Additionally for the earlier figures, students qualifying from dormant modes of study are excluded, whereas such students are included in the population count for 2001/02 onwards. As such, figures for 2000/01 and earlier are not strictly comparable with those for 2001/02 onwards.
Information for 2006/07 will be available in January 2008.
Higher Education: Finance
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of universities with a (a) financial deficit, (b) diminishing budget surplus and (c) risk of insolvency. [150526]
Bill Rammell: There are no universities at imminent risk of insolvency, although six institutions were judged by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to be “at higher risk” in March 2007 and are being supported by the council. Higher education institutions will also be able to draw on new funding streams we have introduced such as income from variable tuition fees and voluntary giving to strengthen their financial position, and the number of institutions with historical cost deficits is forecast to fall from 14 per cent. now to 5 per cent. in 2010.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions his Department and its predecessor have held with university representatives or vice-chancellors on raising university tuition fees. [151333]
Bill Rammell:
Whenever this issue has been raised either by university representatives, vice-chancellors or student unions we have consistently said that before any changes could even be considered there will be an independent commission in 2009 which will examine the evidence from the first three years of the new fees regime, and which will report directly to Parliament. That remains the case. Draft terms of reference for the commission were published in January 2004. It would be premature to speculate now about what the commission
might recommend or indeed whether Parliament would agree with any recommendations.
Higher Education: NHS
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how premises on which leases had been taken for the NHS University were disposed of. [150524]
Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
The handover report produced by the chief executive of the national health service university (NHSU) on closure of the organisation states that the NHSU did not own land or buildings.
All leases were terminated by October 2005 in accordance with the lease for each property.
Nanotechnology
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what Government-funded research and development support has been given to the development of UK nanotechnology companies. [150718]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Science and Innovation at DTI on 21 June concerning overall Government spend on nanotechnology. Estimated Government support for nanotechnology work over the last 10 years amounts to around £408 million.
The Technology Strategy Board (an Executive NDPB of DIUS) invests to support nanotechnology companies through two initiatives:
(i) A portfolio of 26 Nanotechnology Collaborative R and D projects is being supported, which brings together business and academia to undertake joint research that has a future commercial use. Funding of £14 million since 2004 (against £32 million total project costs) has been provided to consortia involving business and academia, with business providing just over half of the funding; and
(ii) The network of 24 UK-based Nanotechnology Centres, with a total budget of £54 million over five years, provides open access facilities to enable companies (particularly SMEs) to use expensive pieces of equipment to test new ideas and prototypes.
Additionally, EPSRC currently funds 167 research grants classified as having a significant nanotechnology component that have a formal collaboration with UK industry. These grants have a total value of £86 million.
Student Wastage
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the non-completion rate was of students who took (a) A-levels, (b) other academic level 3 qualifications and (c) vocational level 3 qualifications in each of the last five years. [149789]
Bill Rammell: Projected non-completion rates are released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) each year within the Performance Indicators in Higher Education publication. The latest available non-completion projections are shown in table 1.
| Table 1: Proportion of UK-domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) who are projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution | |
| Academic year | Percentage |
| Source: “Performance Indicators in Higher Education”, published by HESA | |
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