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27 Nov 2007 : Column 382W—continued
Extended Schools
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) secondary schools and (b) primary schools offered the full range of extended services in each local authority in England in the latest period for which figures are available. [167871]
Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller) on 21 November, Official Report, column 955W.
Health Education: Alcoholic Drinks
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to ensure that young people receive adequate information on the effects and risks of alcohol; and if he will make a statement. [164482]
Kevin Brennan: The Government are committed to reducing substance misuse-related harm among young people, including that associated with alcohol misuse. Alcohol education is delivered alongside that on drugs and volatile substances and is a vital element of our approach. The Department’s guidance, “Drugs: Guidance for Schools (DfES 2004)” is clear that pupils’ education about alcohol and its effects should start in primary school, before drinking patterns become established and should be revisited as pupils’ understanding and experience increases.
In June of this year, the Government published their next steps in the Alcohol Strategy for England under the title “Safe. Sensible. Social.”. This highlights young people as one of three priority groups for Government action on alcohol. To support this, the Department has committed to:
Produce authoritative, accessible guidance about what is and what is not safe and sensible in the light of the latest available evidence from the UK and abroad, to help young people and their parents make informed decisions about alcohol; and
Raise awareness of young people’s alcohol use and—through a social marketing campaign—to work to create a culture where it is socially acceptable for young people to choose not to drink and, if they do, to do so later and more safely.
Higher Education: Children in Care
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what arrangements are in place to assist care leavers to progress into higher education. [166368]
Kevin Brennan: Improving outcomes for children in care, including the proportion of care leavers who progress into HE, is of highest priority for the Government. The White Paper “Care Matters: Time for Change”, published in June 2007, set out a range of measures to improve the education of children in care. Ensuring that all children in care make better progression at school will enable more care leavers to enter higher education.
The Children and Young Persons Bill, which provides the legislative framework for the changes set out in “Care Matters: Time for Change”, was introduced into the House of Lords on 14 November. It will place a duty on all local authorities to pay a bursary of a minimum of £2,000 to all care leavers who enter higher education, on top of the existing support they already receive. This measure will further improve the financial support that care leavers receive for higher education.
Further work to increase the numbers of care leavers progressing into higher education takes place through the “Aimhigher” programme. It helps people from under-represented backgrounds, including care leavers, to be able and willing to consider higher education as a viable option. The programme brings together local partnerships of schools, colleges and universities to design and deliver a range of aspiration and attainment-raising activities.
Higher Education: Romford
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what percentage of 18 to 22 year olds from Romford were studying at university (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available; [168421]
(2) what the rate of participation by 18-year-olds in higher education in Romford was in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07; [168432]
(3) what percentage of 18 to 22 year olds from Romford were studying at university (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available. [168434]
Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
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 earliest figure is 39.3 per cent. for 1999/2000 and the latest available figure is 42.8 per cent. for 2005/06.
Equivalent figures for the 18 to 22-year-old age group are 33.4 per cent. for 1999/2000 and 36.2 per cent. for 2005/06.
Equivalent figures for 18-year-olds are 19.3 per cent. for 1999/2000 and 21.3 per cent. for 2005/06. Figures for 2006/07 will become available in 2008. The HEIPR is not disaggregated below national level.
HEFCE’s “Young participation in Higher Education” publication includes the proportion of young people who enter higher education at age 18 or 19 by parliamentary constituency, although this only covers the years up to 2000. Participation rates based on this work are given on the supporting POLAR website (www.hefce.ac.uk/polar). These indicate that, for the cohort reaching 18 in 1997, the proportion of young people from Romford who entered higher education at age 18 or 19 was 22 per cent. For the cohort reaching 18 in 2000, the proportion of young people from Romford who entered higher education at age 18 or 19 was also 22 per cent.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from state schools in Romford was over the past five years. [168427]
Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available at a local level.
The latest available information on higher education entrants from state schools is shown in the table. This shows the proportion of UK-domiciled young (aged under 21) entrants to full-time first degree courses at higher education institutions in England, who are from state schools. The figures cover the period 2001/02 to 2005/06 inclusive. Figures for 2006/07 will become available in 2008. This information is taken from the annual “Performance Indicators in Higher Education”, which are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
| Percentage of UK-domiciled young (under 21) entrants to full-time first degree courses at higher education institutions in England, who are from state schools | |
| Academic year | Percentage |
| Source: “Performance Indicators in Higher Education”, published by HESA. | |
Influenza
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) if he will make a statement on contingencies prepared for the possible re-deployment of school staff in support of other public services as a consequence of any future influenza pandemic, as identified in Exercise Winter Willow; [164907]
(2) if he will provide an update on the policy for the closure of schools in the event of any future influenza pandemic, identified as a consequence of Exercise Winter Willow; and if he will make a statement. [164908]
Kevin Brennan: The Government’s policy on possible school closures remains that set out in the Department’s guidance to schools and local authorities published in July 2006. It is possible that we will advise schools and group early years and childcare settings to close when a pandemic reaches their area. The decision on whether to issue such advice cannot be taken before there is a pandemic, as the decision will be based on the evaluation by expert advisers of the level of threat to children and young people from the pandemic strain of virus.
Officials from my Department are in discussion with partners in local government about the possibility of school staff assisting other services if schools were to close during a pandemic. However, we would hope that schools, working with their local authorities, would support remote learning by students during a pandemic, which would involve some, if not all, of a school’s teaching staff.
Minibuses: Licensing
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the impact of new driving licence regulations for minibuses on extra-curricular activities in schools; and if he will make a statement. [164478]
Jim Knight [holding answer 20 November 2007]: With the Department for Transport and its agencies we assessed in 2006 the impact of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 and we issued the policy statement for schools in April 2006 which I refer to in my reply to the hon. Member on 22 November.
Pupil Exclusions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many fixed period exclusions there were in each year since 1997. [166705]
Kevin Brennan: The available information is given in the table:
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many fixed period exclusions there were in England in 2006-07, broken down by age and sex of excluded pupil. [166706]
Kevin Brennan: Data are not yet available for 2006-07; these will be published in June 2008. The latest year for which data are available is 2005-06 and relates to secondary schools only. This information is given in the table:
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