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8 Oct 2007 : Column 110W—continued
Learning and Skills Council: Information Officers
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many press officers are employed by the Learning and Skills Council. [154422]
Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) employs 11 press and communications officers in its National Office and nine Regional Offices, Some of these staff are engaged in other work in addition to their duties as press officers. The LSC has a statutory duty to encourage individuals to undergo post-16 education and training, and in 2006-07 more than 5.5 million people benefited from the learning that it funded.
Medical Research Council: Information Officers
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many press officers are employed by the Medical Research Council. [154738]
Ian Pearson: The Medical Research Council employs two full-time press officers.
Medicine: Education
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which Department or agency is responsible for the operation of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test required for admission to certain medical schools; which body let the contract to the private sector for operation of the test; and which organisation successfully tendered for the contract to operate the test. [154038]
Bill Rammell:
There is no Government Department or agency responsible for the operation of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) required for admission to certain medical schools. A group of universities with medical and dental schools came
together in 2005 to form the UKCAT Consortium, a company limited by guarantee. The Consortium let the contract for the operation of the test. The successful organisation was Pearson VUE.
Office for Fair Access: Information Officers
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many press officers are employed by the Office for Fair Access. [154655]
Bill Rammell: The Office for Fair Access has one part-time press and communications adviser. The post, which is equivalent to 0.5 FTE, encompasses the press officer role, as well as including responsibility for all of OFFA’s external communications.
Overseas Students: Entry Clearances
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) whether student visas are issued to students wishing to study at Kelvin Business School in Glasgow; [154513]
(2) what criteria must be met by educational institutions to be included on the list of applicable courses for student visas. [154514]
Bill Rammell: To help tackle abuse of the student immigration route of entry to the UK, the Home Office will only grant visas to international students who have offers of places to study at colleges on the DIUS Register of Education and Training Providers. Colleges applying to join the DIUS Register are required to supply evidence that they are providing education and training, and meeting the requirements of the Immigration Rules. The registration process is one of continual assessment.
Institutions failing to maintain the necessary standards are subject to review and removal from the Register if justified. The Borders and Immigration Agency advised us that Kelvin Business School was in breach of the Immigration Rules. The college was therefore removed from the DIUS Register on 19 July 2007.
Patent Office: Information Officers
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many press officers are employed by the Patent Office. [154728]
Ian Pearson: The UK-Intellectual Property Office employs one full time press officer.
Qualifications
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which cross-sector standards-setting bodies are to be invited to draw up their own qualification strategies and take the lead in approving qualifications in their sector. [154188]
Bill Rammell:
To date, the SSDA has approved four (4) standard-setting bodies to develop pan-sector qualifications strategies. These four are Management and Leadership (MSC), Administration (GIA),
Marketing and Sales (MSSSB) and Customer Services (IGS). The only other pan-sector for which a qualifications strategy is currently being considered is health and safety. If any other standard-setting body wanted to develop its own qualifications strategies it would need to demonstrate that the occupational area they want to cover is not already covered by an existing Sector Skills Council’s Sector Qualifications Strategy.
In developing their pan-sector qualifications strategies, each standard-setting body is working closely with a lead Sector Skills Council which will ensure employer needs across the board are represented and that there is no duplication with other qualifications strategies. No standard-setting bodies will be responsible for approving qualifications, this is the role of the Sector Skills Councils. All cross-sector standard-setting bodies are being ‘buddied’ with a lead Sector Skills Council which will approve qualifications, drawing on the expertise of the standard-setting body and liaising with other Sector Skills Councils as appropriate.
Scientific Advisory Committees: Finance
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what the (a) total annual remuneration and (b) average annual remuneration payable to members of each scientific advisory committee was in the latest year for which information is available; [154359]
(2) how many members were appointed to each scientific advisory committee in the 10 years to 31 March 2007; [154360]
(3) what the cost was of each scientific advisory committee to public funds in each of the last 10 years ended 31 March. [154361]
Ian Pearson: There are 81 Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) who support the work of their sponsor Departments. Management of SACs is a matter for their sponsor Departments who are responsible for establishing the SAC's terms of reference and membership and for ensuring that they deliver value for money. There are no arrangements for collecting the data requested centrally. To do so would be disproportionately costly.
Student: Finance
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will estimate the fee income for higher education providers as referred to in the written ministerial statement by the then Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education of 23 March 2005, Official Report, columns 71-2WS, on student finance. [154781]
Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the Question from the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) of 25 June 2007, Official Report, column 594W, on student fees and charges.
Students: Loans
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many complaints were made about late student loan payments to students in 2006-07. [153900]
Bill Rammell: In the academic year 2006-07 the Student Loans Company responded to 189 complaints about loan payment delay.
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many complaints have been received from graduates against the Student Loans Company in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [156588]
Bill Rammell: The number of complaints received specifically from graduates is not available. The total number of new complaints registered by the Student Loans Company from all sources, including customers prior to and after graduation, and third parties, is as follows:
| Number | |
The aforementioned figures represent less than 0.05 per cent. of the SLC’s customer base.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animals: Abuse
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the adequacy of the maximum penalty for the neglect of and cruelty to animals. [154376]
Jonathan Shaw: There are no plans to review the current penalty for the offence of animal cruelty contained in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which came into force in Wales on 27 March 2007 and in England on 6 April 2007.
The Act increased the maximum penalty for an offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal from £5,000 to a fine of £20,000, or a maximum term of imprisonment of six months, or both. The Act also introduced the new offence of failing to ensure the welfare of animals, which carries a penalty of up to six months' imprisonment, or a fine of up to £5,000, or both. I am satisfied that these sentences are proportionate and in line with those provided for in comparable legislation.
Biodiversity
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to monitor the effectiveness of the Environmental Stewardship schemes in rebuilding biodiversity apart from assessing the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. [154544]
Joan Ruddock:
DEFRA and Natural England are spending about £1.5 million a year to monitor and
evaluate how effectively the full range of agri-environment scheme objectives is being delivered; including biodiversity, landscape, the historic environment and access.
British Waterways: Information Officers
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press officers are employed by British Waterways. [154133]
Jonathan Shaw: British Waterways employs two full-time press officers. There are a further 10 other staff whose job description includes liaison with the media.
Carbon Emissions
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the estimated total level of carbon emissions in the UK was in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006; [156211]
(2) what the level of carbon emissions in the EU was in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006. [156713]
Mr. Woolas: The following table shows the estimated total level of carbon dioxide emissions for the UK and the EU, 2004-06.
| UK | EU (27 member states) | |
Figures are million tonnes of net carbon dioxide emissions (emissions minus removals).
Emissions are presented as carbon dioxide equivalents in line with international standards for reporting and carbon trading. To compute the carbon equivalent of the emission of carbon dioxide, divide by 44/12.
The figures shown do not include any adjustment for the effect of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EUETS), which was introduced in 2005.
The figures shown for the UK for 2006 are provisional. EU emissions figures for 2006 will be published in January 2008.
Carbon Emissions: Televisions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the (a) cost of and (b) volume of carbon dioxide emissions produced by the energy consumption of televisions in use in the UK which possess a screen blanking feature. [153967]
Joan Ruddock: No information is available about the number of televisions in use in the UK which have a screen blanking facility (which allows the selected channel to be received in audio only). Therefore, it is not possible to make an estimate of the cost or volume of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from use of these appliances.
Climate Change
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to promote the prevention of deforestation (a) in England and (b) globally as a means of combating climate change; and if he will make a statement. [155652]
Mr. Woolas: Tree felling in England is controlled by the Felling Regulations, which are administered by the Forestry Commission. Deforestation is also subject to the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999. Permission is not normally granted for deforestation unless it is for the recreation of priority open habitats, which have been lost due to planting with trees; often non-native conifers.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, global emissions from deforestation are already taken into account by developed countries in meeting their emissions reduction commitments. The UK and other European Union (EU) member states are negotiating on how to include emissions from deforestation from developing countries in future climate change agreements, on a voluntary basis.
This process is also supported by UK and EU action to tackle illegal logging and improve sustainable timber procurement, working with international partners including producer and consumer countries. Reducing emissions from deforestation is a key aim of the Environmental Transformation Fund announced in the 2007 Budget. The UK has already announced that £50 million from this Fund will go towards reducing deforestation in the Congo Basin, by promoting sustainable forestry.
Coastal Areas: Access
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many miles of UK coastline are not accessible to (a) walkers and (b) climbers. [156687]
Jonathan Shaw: Natural England’s report to the Government on coastal access in February 2007 estimated that nationally 70 per cent. of the English coast has some access for walkers by right or other recognised provision; for example on public rights of way, open country under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, national trails or National Trust land. However, these existing rights and provisions for access within the 70 per cent. often fail to join up in a way that gives continuous access around the coast.
Natural England’s estimate is that at least 30 per cent. of the English coast has no legal or other recognised access at all. This varies between individual regions.
Natural England carried out some work on issues related to climbing, however no detailed information on the amount of English coast not accessible to climbers has been collected.
The provision of access in Scotland and Wales is a matter respectively for the Scottish and Welsh Assembly Governments.
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