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29 Oct 2007 : Column 790W—continued
Prince‘s Trust: Apprentices
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has had with representatives of the Prince’s Trust on the roll out of the Trust’s Get Into work-based scheme to provide apprenticeships in the construction, retail and hospitality sectors for the lowest academically achieving school leavers; and what discussions he has held with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations in respect of the Get Into scheme. [156983]
Bill Rammell: The Prince’s Trust is meeting the Learning and Skills Council national office on 30 October to discuss the Get Into scheme and how it relates to public funded work-based training schemes. I would be happy to receive a representation from the Prince’s Trust if they wish to write to me.
Renewable Energy: Seas and Oceans
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to improve the UK’s international competitiveness in technologies for mechanical and thermal renewable energy from the sea. [157984]
Ian Pearson: The Government recognise the potential for marine energy and has put in place a number of measures that support the research and development of marine renewable energy technologies.
These include commitments of over £35 million since 1999 towards innovative, industry-led development of marine renewable energy technologies (of which over £13 million was committed under the Technology Strategy Board’s Technology Programme, launched in 2004) and a further £50 million under the BERR ‘Marine Renewables Deployment Fund’ that will support the first larger-scale multi-device demonstration projects.
Additionally, Research Councils have committed over £5.4 million since the year 2000 on research and related training specifically relevant to the area of wave and tidal power.
Other initiatives supported include the £15 million European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney and the £28 million South West Regional Development Agency’s ‘Wave Hub’ project that will provide the infrastructure for the first pre-commercial wave farms.
We are also currently considering banding the renewables obligation, Government’s main mechanism for incentivising the supply of renewable energy, to provide further market-based support for these emerging technologies.
Collectively, these make up the most comprehensive package of measures to support the development of marine energy technologies anywhere in the world.
Students: Finance
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what discussions he had with (a) universities, (b) student organisations and (c) employers before issuing his instruction to the Higher Education Funding Council for England not to fund universities for undergraduates who already have a first degree in another subject; [158311]
(2) what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the income of (a) Birkbeck College and (b) the Open University of his recent instruction to the Higher Education Funding Council for England not to fund universities for undergraduates who already have a first degree in another subject. [158312]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 15 October 2007]: We took this decision as part of the comprehensive spending review in order to target resources on our top priorities and the country’s long-term needs. While the policy has been set, we have asked HEFCE to consult widely on how it should be implemented. Our policy not only responds to the challenge in the Leitch report to increase the proportion of the work force with graduate level skills from under 30 per cent. now to over 40 per cent. by 2020 but is also fairer to both taxpayers and students who have not yet entered higher education. The overall effect of these changes on the income of individual institutions will depend on how successful they are in attracting students who meet our priorities. Every institution will have an incentive to maximise its share of the £100 million which will be redistributed through this change.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 July, Official Report, column 1622W, on sustainable development, how many and what proportion of further education college capital projects in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 received the additional cost allowance of 10 per cent. for sustainability aspects; and what proportion of the building costs this amounted to in each case. [156430]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 15 October 2007]: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) announced the additional 10 per cent. cost allowance for elements within buildings that address sustainability issues in October 2006—and as stated in the answer of 12 July, Official Report, column 1622W—would come into effect fully from September 2007. As such, data are only available in part for 2006-07 and only up to the present for 2007-08.
However, in order to qualify for LSC capital funds, all capital project proposals now need to address sustainable development. Therefore the majority of projects qualify for the 10 per cent. costs uplift. Since October 2006 the LSC has given detailed approval to projects costing £371 million and currently estimates that at least £30 million of these costs apply to sustainability related items.
Exact figures on the number and proportion of further education college capital projects which have received the additional cost allowance and what proportion of the building costs this amounted to in each case are held by the LSC. I have therefore asked Mark Haysom, the LSC Chief Executive to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and place a copy of his reply in the House Library.
Teachers: Training
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many initial teacher training places were available for physical education teachers in each of the last three years; and how many will be available in each of the next three years. [158211]
Jim Knight [holding answer 23 October 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
The following tables show the number of mainstream Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places which were available for physical education for academic years 2005/06,2006/07 and 2007/08; and the number of trainees recruited to physical education courses separately through mainstream and Employment Based Routes (EBR) ITT in 2005/06 and 2006/07.
| Mainstream ITT targets for places in physical education and recruitment figures against these targets | ||
| Academic year | Target for Physical Education mainstream ITT places | Recruitment to mainstream ITT for Physical Education |
| (1) Includes SCITT but excludes employment-based routes. (2) Recruitment figures for 2006/07 are provisional and are subject to change. (3) Recruitment figures for 2007/08 are not currently available Note: Recruitment figures are rounded to the nearest 10 Source: Available places—DCSF Recruitment—TDA’s ITT Trainee Number Census | ||
| Recruitment to employment based routes ITT | |
| Academic year | Recruitment to Initial Teacher Training for Physical Education through Employment Based Routes |
| (1) Recruitment in 2006/07 is for the autumn term only and is provisional. Recruitment figures for 2007/08 are not currently available. Notes: 1. Recruitment numbers shown are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. These figures relate to the actual number of trainees who were recruited to physical education courses through Employment Based Routes, rather than a target for the number of places. Source: TDA’s Employment Based Routes Database | |
Information relating to the number of places available for physical education ITT courses for the next three years is not currently available.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average (a) training and (b) student support cost was to train (i) a science teacher, (ii) a maths teacher and (iii) another teacher in their year of teacher training in the most recent period for which figures are available; and from which budgets the funding was drawn. [156987]
Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) does not collect or hold information on how much it costs a university or other initial teacher training (ITT) provider to train a teacher. While the TDA allocates and pays funding to ITT providers, it is a matter for them to determine how they deploy that funding and other income received by them for the provision of teacher training.
The following table shows the unit of funding allocated and paid by the TDA in the academic year 2007/08 for a one year mathematics, one year science and, by the way of comparison, a one year geography postgraduate ITT course. This is the national rate and rates for London based ITT will be higher (5 per cent. higher for outer London and 8 per cent. higher for inner London).
| £ | ||
| Subject | Unit of funding | Bursary |
The TDA also pays a number of additional recruitment premiums to encourage providers to recruit extra maths and science, especially physics and chemistry, trainees. All of this funding comes from the grant that this Department gives to the TDA for this purpose. In addition to the funding paid by the TDA, providers can also charge up to £3,070 (dependent on their access agreement) in tuition fees from individual trainees.
The average cost of providing maintenance and fee support to English domiciled postgraduate ITT students in the academic year 2006/07 was provisionally £3,670 for full timers and £1,630 for part-timers(1). This is found from the support budgets of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, The subject studied for ITT does not affect the support given.
(1 )Support is provided in the form of grants and loans. The cost of loans is calculated using the resource accounting budget (RAB) charge of 21 per cent. for maintenance loans and 33 per cent. for fee loans. This excludes supplementary grants and allowances, e.g. for students with disabilities, students with dependants, those incurring certain travel costs and those who have recently left care. Part-time students receive the pro-rated equivalent of full-time support. The part-time figure will include those who started in 2005/06 as well as those who entered under more generous arrangements in 2006/07.
Training: Loans
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people took out career developments loans in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07; how many of these were taking (i) level 2 and (ii) level 3 qualifications; how
many were taking qualifications higher than level 3; what the average size was of the loan; for what period of study it was granted; and what the total sum (A) budgeted and (B) disbursed was in each year. [160618]
Bill Rammell: Career Development Loans (CDLs) are a successful programme administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to help individuals finance vocational learning of their choice. Loan capital is provided by three high street banks.
We do not hold all the information requested. Details of level of qualifications and period of study are not recorded centrally. However, a CDL can be used to fund up to a maximum of two years study plus up to one year of practical experience. We also estimate that 25 per cent. of loans in any one year are taken out to support HE courses, primarily postgraduate courses.
Available details of loans in each of the three years are set out in the table as follows.
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| (1 )Total loan value = loan capital lent by participating banks. (2 )Budget = public funds disbursed through DIUS (formerly DfES) and LSC. (3 )Actual expenditure = public funds expended. | |||
Vocational Training
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of people in full-time work in the UK have participated in an educational or skills programme in the last five years. [161117]
Bill Rammell: The information requested is not available for the time period specified. However from the latest quarter of the Labour Force Survey (quarter two 2007) we know that 27.3 per cent. of UK full-time workers had received some form of education or work related training during the preceding three months.
We also know, from the latest national employer skills survey (2005), that employers in England had provided training over the previous year to just over 13.1 million workers (this is all workers, full and part-time) which was equivalent to three fifths of the total workforce at the time (61 per cent). They also reported that 2.5 million staff were being trained towards a national recognised qualification.
Young People: Employment
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many school leavers in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England were (i) employed and (ii) unemployed for (A) less and (B) more than six months after the completion of their GCSEs in each year since 1997. [160169]
Bill Rammell: The Department's information on school leavers is collected through the annual activity survey undertaken by Connexions Services and Careers Service Companies and cannot be analysed in the exact format requested.
However, we can give an indication of the number and proportion of year 11 leavers taken at 1 November
in the year that they leave school and this is in the tables attached. Information cannot be broken down by parliamentary constituency, and figures for Jarrow are not available. Information is available at local authority level after 2001. Data from 1997-2000 is only available by Careers Company area and the figures for these years show Tyneside as a whole.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | ||||||
| Area | Activity on 1 November in the year of leaving school | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage |
| Note: Data include both North and South Tyneside | |||||||||
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