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22 May 2008 : Column 392W—continued
Departmental Orders and Regulations
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many statutory instruments have been (a) made and (b) revoked by Ministers in his Department since its establishment. [204765]
Mr. Lammy: 27 statutory instruments, general and local, have been made and 34 revoked by Ministers of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills since its establishment on 28 June 2007.
Departmental Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 809W, on departmental public participation, what the (a) cost, (b) subject and (c) number of respondents was for each (i) survey, (ii) questionnaire and (iii) other service. [206031]
Mr. Lammy: The following table states the following (a) cost, (b) subject and (c) number of respondents; for each of the services provided by the companies.
| Service provided | Name of company | Method | Number of respondents | Total cost (£) |
Higher Education: Business
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and (b) the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship on a national network of university enterprise clusters. [206943]
Bill Rammell: In line with its strategies for enterprise, innovation, and high level skills, Government announced an additional £300,000 per annum of funding for the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) for it to establish university enterprise networks. Ministers in this Department and that of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform have asked officials to ensure that NCGE bring forward robust plans to develop and manage networks of higher education institutions which will encourage widespread adoption of best practice in enterprise education.
Higher Education: Finance
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether he has plans to exempt those undertaking a Masters level course in Teaching and Learning from the policy of not funding students on courses that lead to qualifications equivalent to or lower than they already hold. [207201]
Bill Rammell: Students who already hold one Masters level qualification and want to study another higher education qualification at an equivalent or lower level will not be exempt from the general ELQ policy. They will only attract institutional funding if the course relates to the initial training of teachers or is co-funded by employers. But because the policy is a redistribution of funding and not a withdrawal, it will allow more students than would be possible under the current system to progress from an undergraduate level qualification to a Masters level course in Teaching and Learning.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he plans to answer the letter of 7 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton, with regard to Dr. J. Byrne. [203888]
Mr. Lammy: I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 7 May 2008.
Science: Voluntary Organisations
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with which third sector organisations his Department is working as a strategic partner on projects relating to science and innovation. [206299]
Ian Pearson: DIUS is working with a number of strategic partners from the third sector on projects related to science and innovation including the Association of Medical Research Charities, the Leverhulme Trust, the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the British Academy, the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET, STEMNET, The British Association for the Advancement of Science, Ecsite-uk, the Gatsby Foundation, Demos and the Foundation for Science and Technology .
Students: Fees and Charges
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of equalising the tuition fee arrangements of part-time first-degree students with those of full-time first-degree students; and if he will make a statement. [202816]
Bill Rammell: There are around 200,000 part-time first degree undergraduates compared to around one million full-time. To estimate the cost to the public purse of giving part-time students the same tuition fee arrangements is complicated due to their diverse nature. We can give very broad estimates based on the assumptions we hold for full-time students and replicating the exact same package of support. This enables us to estimate the resource cost of fee loans in the region of £150 million per year if all part-time students had fees of £3,000 per year; and £75 million if we assume they are studying at 50 per cent. intensity and are charged fees of £1,500 per year.
These estimates assume that part-time students are identical to full-time students in every respect except they are part-time. They are highly dependent on uncertain factors such as eligibility for and take-up of support, level of fees charged and earnings following completion of the course, all of which have been assumed the same as for full-time students.
This Government was the first to introduce statutory support for part-time students, in 2000/01. In 2006/07, we introduced the most generous package of financial support ever for part-time students in England. This included increasing the maximum fee grant by 27 per cent. and an above-inflation increase in the income threshold for receiving this support. The part-time package is different from the support available to full-time students because it has been designed to meet the particular needs of part-time students. Unlike full-time students, many part-time students are in full-time employment—two thirds according to the Woodley report, published at the end of 2004. That report also found that 36 per cent. of part-time students receive full fee support from their employer. We must ensure that statutory student support is carefully focussed to achieve maximum benefit.
Training: Finance
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to require employers which recruit immigrant labour to fund training and skills programmes for British workers. [206843]
Mr. Lammy:
We have no current plans to require employers to fund skills training for British workers. However, as announced by the Prime Minister, we will be consulting on a new right to request time to train. The new right would require employers to consider seriously requests from employees for time away from their mainstream duties to undertake relevant training. From this autumn employers will need to prove that they cannot fill skilled vacancies with resident labour or that they are recruiting into recognised skill shortage areas before employing skilled migrant labour. Employers,
individuals and the Government must all improve their efforts and investment if we are to deliver our ambition of a world class skills base. Train to Gain has engaged almost 83,000 employers with more then 390,000 workers starting learning programmes. We have ambitious plans to expand Train to Gain with increased funding from around £520 million this year to over £1 billion in 2010.
Vocational Training
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what role the (a) Skills Funding Agency and (b) Young People's Learning Agency will play in local authority involvement in skills training. [205439]
Mr. Lammy: The White Paper ‘Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver’ published March 2008 sets out plans to respond to the education and skills challenges for young people and adults. It outlines the roles of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA).
The SFA will be responsible for the demand-led services for adults and employers incorporating Train to Gain and skills accounts. It will underpin a new Adult Advancement and Careers Agency, the National Employer Service and the National Apprenticeship Service. The SFA will have a national and regional presence as well as having a role sub-regionally, working with local authorities and other partners to support local area agreements (LAAs) and Employment and Skills boards.
The YPLA will be responsible for supporting local authorities in discharging their new strategic commissioning role for 16 to 18 education and training. We anticipate that the YPLA will be established as a non-departmental public body (NDPB) and that its governance will include representatives of the key delivery partners, including local authorities. Its primary role will be to moderate the commissioning plans of local authorities for the purpose of budgetary control and ensuring that the new curriculum entitlement is delivered across every area of the country. Similar to the SFA, the YPLA will have both a national and regional presence.
Further details of the roles of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) are set out in the White Paper. The consultation period for the White Paper ends on 9 June 2008 and we are currently running consultation events in each region with a range of stakeholders including local authorities.
Children, Schools and Families
Cadets: Armed Forces
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his proposals for cadet forces will involve changes in the level of funding for existing combined cadet forces (CCF) units in schools; what estimate he has made of CCF funding per CCF member in (a) 1997, (b) 2000, (c) 2007 and (d) 2010; and if he will make a statement. [200528]
Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
Cadet Forces, where affiliated to the MOD, are wholly funded by a combination of MOD resources and charitable funding raised by the Cadet Forces’ own endeavours. The present funding for the current MOD affiliated membership will not be affected by any initiative from the Department for Children, Schools and Families. CCF funding per CCF member is summarised in the following table:
| Number of CCF Cadets | Funding per Cadet (£) | |
|
Note: The change in funding is as the result of efficiency gains over the past three years such as improved property management. | ||
The number of CCF members in 1997 is not known. Funding for 2010 is not yet allocated, nor has the number of likely Cadets been estimated.
Our aspiration, shared by our colleagues in the DCSF, is to increase the opportunity for as many young people as possible, from all backgrounds, to experience the benefits of the Cadet experience.
Children’s Centres
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Sure Start children's centres were open on (a) 31 March and (b) the latest date for which figures are available. [207078]
Beverley Hughes: On 31 March 2008 there were 2,906 Sure Start children’s centres. As of 21 May there are 2,907 designated centres. Local authorities are currently planning the final phase of the delivery of children’s centres so that by 2010 there will be 3,500 centres, one for every community.
Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions he has visited Essex in the last 12 months. [204972]
Kevin Brennan: Ministers in the Department for Children, Schools and Families have visited Essex three times since June 2007. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he will reply to Question 200528 on school cadet forces, tabled on 18 April 2008 by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. [203955]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 7 May, 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
I replied to the hon. Member today.
House of Commons Commission
Freedom of Information
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether it is the Commission's policy to release the home addresses of (a) senior and (b) middle-ranking officials of the House of Commons, if requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and what the Commission's assessment is of the implications for personal security resulting from the release of such data. [207218]
Nick Harvey: The terms of Freedom of Information Act 2000 require that each request for information held by the House of Commons is treated on its merits. The implications referred to would depend on the scope of any such request.
Parliament: Waste Management
Justine Greening: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much waste was (a) produced (b) recycled and (c) incinerated by the Parliamentary Estate in each year from 2002 to 2007. [202189]
Nick Harvey: The quantities of waste (a) produced, (b) recycled and (c) incinerated by the parliamentary estate in each financial year from 2002 to 2008 are given as follows:
| Waste | |||
| T onnes | |||
| (a) Produced | (b) Recycled | (c) Incinerated | |
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