| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Sep 2007 : Column 2178W—continued
Higher Education: Overseas Trade
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether the United Kingdom is a net importer or exporter of higher education. [155172]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 12 September 2007]: The British Council published a report(1) earlier this month indicating that the value of UK education and training exports was estimated to be in the region of £28 billion a year. We do not know what the value of education imports might be and have no way of calculating it. However, given that the numbers of international students who come to the UK to study greatly exceeds the numbers of UK students studying abroad, the UK is considered to be a net exporter of higher education.
(1) “The value of UK education and training exports: an update” Dr. Pamela Lenton, University of Sheffield, September 2007.
Higher Education: Radioactive Materials
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what advice the Government have given to universities and education research facilities on the storage of radiological materials. [155404]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
If an organisation in England and Wales wishes to use radioactive substances on its premises, it will be regulated by the Environment Agency under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and the Health and Safety Executive under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999.
Responsibility for storage facilities rests primarily with the user organisation itself. Regulatory guidance on radioactive substances, including storage, is provided by the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive.
The Environment Agency also chairs a small users liaison group, which includes a number of professional bodies such as the Association of University Radiation Protection Officers. This provides a direct link to the Environment Agency in allowing for the dissemination of information and advice, and providing an opportunity for non-nuclear users of radioactive substances to seek regulatory guidance.
Learning and Skills
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 856W, on Learning and Skills, when he expects the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to publish data on the destinations of learners after completion of their LSC-funded programmes for the period 2002 to 2006. [154872]
Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to my letter dated June 2007, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Students: Fees and Charges
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether his recent announcement on graduate loan repayments applies to both maintenance and tuition fee loans; and what the projected cost is of the initiative. [149093]
Bill Rammell: The recent announcement on giving graduates the choice of a repayment break of up to five years applies to both maintenance and tuition fee loans.
From the 2008/09 academic year, a student who is a new entrant to higher education and eligible for a maintenance loan or fee loan will be entitled to take a repayment break of up to five years. It is projected that giving graduates a choice of a repayment break in resource terms will cost of around £165 million in 2010-11 in steady state.
Students: Science
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what estimate he has made of how many and what percentage of (a) female and (b) male (i) physics, (ii) chemistry, (iii) biochemistry, (iv) psychology and (v) sports science students went into (A) UK graduate level employment, (B) UK non-graduate level employment, (C) employment overseas, (D) a combination of employment and study and (E) further study in each of the last 10 years; [150157]
(2) what estimate he has made of how many and what percentage of (a) female and (b) male students went into (i) UK graduate level employment, (ii) UK non-graduate level employment, (iii) employment overseas, (iv) a combination of employment and study and (v) further study in each of the last 10 years. [150158]
Bill Rammell: The available information on full-time graduates is given in tables which have been placed in the Library. The figures have been taken from the higher education leavers survey which is carried out annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Up to and including 2001-02 this was the First Destination Supplement (FDS). From 2002/03, this was replaced by a new survey called the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DHLE). In addition to this, a new classification for recording subject of study was introduced in 2002-03. Hence, figures from 2003/03 onwards are not comparable to earlier years.
Communities and Local Government
Council Tax
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were prosecuted for the non-payment of council tax, broken down by (a) region and (b) ethnicity of the defendant in each of the last five years for which records are available; and how much in council tax arrears was written off by local authorities over the same period. [155561]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government does not collect information on the number of taxpayers against whom billing authorities take enforcement action for non-payment of council tax.
Communities and Local Government does not have an estimate available on the amount of council tax arrears written off by local authorities.
Council Tax: Greater London
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio between central Government funding and council tax revenue was for (a) all London boroughs and (b) each London borough in each of the last 10 years. [155553]
Mr. Dhanda: The ratio between central Government funding and council tax revenue for London boroughs over the last 10 years is shown in the following table.
Central Government funding is defined here as the sum of formula grant (revenue support grant, police grant and redistributed non-domestic rates) and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF), i.e. revenue grants paid for council’s core services. In past years, where applicable, the SSA
Reduction Grant and Central Support Protection Grant have also been included.
Council tax revenue is defined here as the local authority council tax requirement (i.e. the council tax used to finance revenue expenditure), not council tax collected.
Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities and changes in funding and function.
Figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities’ core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, rent allowances and rebates), capital grants, funding for the local authorities’ housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
| Ratio between central Government funding and council tax revenue for London boroughs, 1997-98 to 2006-07 | ||||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-0 6 | 2006-07( 1) | |
| (1) Based on provisional outturn figures. Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns—RS data. | ||||||||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |