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14 May 2008 : Column 1607W—continued
Apprentices
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what data he holds on the geographical distribution of apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement. [205319]
Mr. Lammy: Data on the geographical distribution of apprentices are derived from the home postcode of each individual apprentice. This enables geographical analysis at any level of aggregation for which a postcode definition is available. We routinely make data available at regional and local authority level. Postcode information for those on apprenticeships in the Army is recorded against a single central address for security reasons.
The 16 to 18 participation statistical first release, published in June each year by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, provides a regional breakdown of those on apprenticeships and further information by region is available on the Learning and Skills Council's website. The individualised learner record also holds postcode data about apprenticeship providers and the location the apprenticeship is delivered.
Apprentices: Employment
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people who have completed apprenticeships since 1997 are presently unemployed; and how many of these are long-term unemployed. [205321]
Mr. Lammy:
The Annual Population Survey (APS) can be used to provide estimates about the labour market status of people who have completed an apprenticeship. It does not collect information about
when the apprenticeship was completed and does not distinguish between publicly funded and other types of apprenticeship. Estimates from the APS show that of those people in England aged 16-35 in 2006 who had completed an apprenticeship 22,000 were unemployed according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition. This represents an ILO unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent. Around 8,000 of the 22,000 had been ILO unemployed for at least six months
Astronomy: Research
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much expenditure from the public purse was spent on research in (a) astronomy and (b) space science for 2007-08; and how much is planned to be spent for 2008-09; and what records he holds on comparative expenditure in other OECD states. [205313]
Ian Pearson: The Government provide funding to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to support research and related postgraduate training in particle physics, astronomy, space science, nuclear physics, synchrotron radiation, neutron sources and high power lasers. STFC’s expenditure on research in astronomy and space science is set out below. The Government do not hold records of comparative expenditure in other OECD states.
| Expenditure | ||
| £000 | ||
| (i) 2007-08( 1) | (ii) 2008-09( 2) | |
| (1) Figures for 2007/08 are based on current end of year figures. (2) Figures for 2008/09 are based on the provisional budget. | ||
Further Education: Finance
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average cost of a further education level 3 course is. [205529]
Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have a national funding rate for each level 3 qualification. The funding rate is based on the number of hours required to complete the course and includes a national fee assumption so that learners (not eligible for full fee remission) will contribute to the cost of the course. For the 2007/08 academic year the national fee assumption is 37.5 per cent. of the national funding rate.
The following table sets out the national funding rate for the most popular level 3 qualifications and the national fee assumption related to that type of qualification.
While the national fee assumption is taken into account in the calculation of funding rates, it is for colleges and providers to determine the actual level of fee charged. It is therefore not possible to provide an average cost of a further education course to the learner.
In relation to the cost to the Department the average cost of a full level 3 course per year has been estimated at around £1,500 per year for the financial year 2007-08.
Higher Education: Northamptonshire
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to establish a multi-campus university in North Northamptonshire. [205709]
Bill Rammell: We want to give everyone who has the talent the chance to go to university whether they are about to leave school or already in work. Students should have access to local provision offering flexible courses to suit their needs. We are therefore delighted by the interest that our new university challenge has generated. This policy also offers places the opportunity to unlock the potential in their area by working with those involved in regeneration and economic planning to provide locally-based HE provision. We have already agreed to meet delegations from towns in North Northamptonshire to discuss these issues. Any proposals for new university campuses or centres of HE will be assessed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Job Creation: EU Economic Policy
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs created as a direct consequence of the Lisbon Agenda; at what cost per job; and if he will make a statement. [205326]
Mr. Lammy: The Lisbon Strategy for Jobs and Growth was re-launched in 2005 and in that period employment has increased by almost 6.5 million in the EU. Exchange of best practice between member states, on policies owned nationally, is at the heart of the strategy but focused on outcomes not costs.
Work and Pensions
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 2807W, on departmental manpower, how many of his Department's staff under 18 years old were receiving at least one day's training per week in the most recent period for which figures are available. [204840]
Mrs. McGuire: Information on how many of the Department's under 18-years-old were receiving at least one day's training per week is not held centrally; this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pensions
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employees in his Department (a) contracted out of and (b) contributed to SERPS/S2P in each year since 2001-02, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) age cohort. [195456]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Such information as is readily obtainable is given as follows.
The Principal Civil Service Pensions Scheme (PCSPS) is a ‘contracted out’ scheme. However, women aged over 60 and men aged over 65 cannot contract out of S2P. All other employees would be automatically contracted out of S2P unless they decided not to join the scheme.
We are unable to extract data for a number of staff during 2006-07 as this information is held on a legacy system, which could be accessed only at disproportionate cost. The available data is contained in the tables and is for the tax year 2006-07 relating to 91,504 staff and 2007-08 relating to 125,476 staff, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) age cohort.
| Number contracted in at end of 2006-07 tax year | ||||||||
| Gender | Age band 1 (under 21) | Age band 2 (21-25) | Age band 3 (26-30) | Age band 4 (31-35) | Age band 5 (36-40) | Age band 6 (41-45) | Age band 7 (46+) | Total |
| Note: No data prior to age band 7 available from data source due to disproportionate costs. Source: FAMIS (INGRES). | ||||||||
| Number contracted in at end of 2007-08 tax year | ||||||||
| Gender | Age band 1 (under 21) | Age band 2 (21-25) | Age band 3 (26-30) | Age band 4 (31-35) | Age band 5 (36-40) | Age band 6 (41-45) | Age band 7 (46+) | Total |
| Source: Resource Management (RM) Payroll. | ||||||||
| Number contracted out at end of 2006-07 tax year | ||||||||
| Gender | Age band 1 (under 21) | Age band 2 (21-25) | Age band 3 (26-30) | Age band 4 (31-35) | Age band 5 (36-40) | Age band 6 (41-45) | Age band 7 (46+) | Total |
| Source: FAMIS (INGRES). | ||||||||
| Number contracted out at end of 2007-08 tax year | ||||||||
| Gender | Age band 1 (under 21) | Age band 2 (21-25) | Age band 3 (26-30) | Age band 4 (31-35) | Age band 5 (36-40) | Age band 6 (41-45) | Age band 7 (46+) | Total |
| Source: Resource Management (RM) Payroll. | ||||||||
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