House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 04 Jun 2008 (pt 0010)

4 Jun 2008 : Column 968W—continued

Young Voice

Innovation, Universities and Skills

Apprentices

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adults enrolled on (a) Level 2 apprenticeships, (b) Level 3 advanced apprenticeships and (c) higher education apprenticeships in each year since 1997. [208110]

Mr. Lammy: The information requested about apprenticeships starts in England is provided in the following table. Information about apprenticeships at level 4 is not separately available, and information about starts by level is not available before 2002/03.

Adult^{( 1)} apprenticeship starts by level
	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07^{( 2)}
Level 2 apprenticeships	50,000	54,000	48,000	41,000	46,000
Level 3 and 4 Apprenticeships⁽³⁾	36,000	32,000	28,000	27,000	31,000
Total	86,000	86,000	76,000	68,000	77,000
⁽¹⁾ Adult is defined as 19+. ⁽²⁾ Figures or 2006/07 are preliminary due to late provider returns, therefore these figures may be revised upwards. ^{(3 )}Because of small numbers includes higher education level 4 apprenticeships. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 1000. Source: LSC Individualised Learner Record.

Apprentices: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding has been allocated by his Department to (a) adult Level 2 apprenticeships, (b) adult Level 3 advanced apprenticeships and (c) higher education apprenticeships in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11. [208109]

Mr. Lammy: The Department and the Department for Children, Schools and Families allocate funds to the Learning and Skills Council for the provision of Apprenticeships in England. The allocations for 2007-08 to 2010-11 are outlined in our joint grant letter to the LSC. Our allocations for apprenticeships are not available in the form requested. The funds we make available are specified for 16-18 year olds apprentices and those aged 19 and over as follows:

	Financial year (£000)
	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
16-18 apprenticeships	624,299	636,847	705,251	776,153
Adult apprenticeships and work-based learning	275,010	290,068	317,024	333,646
Source: LSC grant letter 2008-09

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Departmental Computers

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether he has issued guidance to staff in his Department to switch off personal computers when not in use; and if he will make a statement. [208177]

Mr. Lammy: DIUS staff are issued with laptops which are turned off and stored securely when not in use.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any officials in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies were disciplined or dismissed for (i) breaches of data protection requirements and (ii) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [205903]

Mr. Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. No officials in the Department have been disciplined or dismissed for alleged breaches of data protection requirements or for the inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data since it was established.

Departmental Equality

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2008, Official Report, column 246W, on departmental equality, what percentage of top management positions in his Department were held by women; and what percentage of senior civil service positions were held by employees with disabilities in April 2008. [208127]

Mr. Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was formed as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Pending transition to a common data collection system next year, the Department has access to information about its staff on the two databases of its predecessor Departments. Significant levels of non-declaration—as
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regards ethnicity and disability—affect the quality of present data. Subject to this limitation, the representation of women and employees with disabilities in senior positions is as follows:

(a) Currently three of 10 members of the DIUS board and three of four non-executive board members are women;

20 per cent. of the top management posts (permanent secretary and director general posts) are held by women (the Cabinet Office target is 30 per cent.);

32 per cent. of DIUS. senior civil servants are women (the Cabinet Office target for the whole civil service is 37 per cent.); and

(b) Where status is known, there are no senior civil servants in the Department reporting a disability.

Further Education: Admissions

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) if he will estimate the number of 19 to 25-year-olds expected to enrol on their first full level 3 course in each of the next five years; [196901]

(2) if he will estimate how many (a) 25 to 30 and (b) 25 to 35-year-olds he expects to enrol on their first full level 3 course in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [196906]

Bill Rammell: The Government are committed to ensuring that young adults have the opportunity to complete their education and gain a full level 3 qualification that will enable them to progress into skilled employment or higher education. We are committed to achieving the 2011 indicator of 56 per cent. of working age adults qualified to at least full level 3.

Table 1 shows projections of the number of adults (to the nearest 1,000) studying for full level 3 in further education until 2010-11. Projections beyond that date and for other age groups have not been made.

Table 2 shows projections of the number of adults aged 19+ (to the nearest 1,000) that will start a full level 3 qualification in Train to Gain and advanced apprenticeships through the employer responsive route. No breakdown by age is available. We have not measured the proportion doing first qualifications, although we expect it to be around 80 to 90 per cent. for Train to Gain.

Table 1: Adult learner responsive
			2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Total aged 19+	Further education	Full level 3 learners	173,000	190,000	213,000	224,000
		of which, first full L3	95,000	104,000	117,000	123,000

Aged 19-24	Further education	Full level 3 learners	82,000	99,000	120,000	126,000
		of which, first full L3	45,000	54,000	66,000	69,000

Aged 25+	Further education	Full level 3 learners	91,000	91,000	93,000	98,000
		of which, first full L3	50,000	50,000	51,000	54,000
Source: Based on LSC projections for Annual Statement of Priorities November 2007

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Table 2: Employer responsive
	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Train to Gain L3 learners and advanced apprenticeships (aged 19+)	69,000	118,000	127,000	362,000
Source: Based on LSG projections for Annual Statement of Priorities November 2007

Further Education: Higher Education

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many students studied a higher education course in a further education college in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available; [203925]

(2) what percentage of higher education students were studying at a further education college in the most recent period for which figures are available. [203926]

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table. Information prior to the 2002/03 academic year is not available on a comparable basis.

Higher education enrolments^{( 1)} at English further education colleges^{( 2)} academic years 2002/03 to 2006/07^{( 3)}
Academic y ear	Enrolments
2002/03	139,215
2003/04	143,065
2004/05	140,490
2005/06	138,305
2006/07⁽³⁾	131,040
⁽¹⁾ Excludes students registered at a higher education institution but franchised out to a further education college. ⁽²⁾ Birmingham college of food, tourism and creative studies transferred to the higher education sector in 2002 and Leeds college of music transferred in July 2005. The figures have not been adjusted for colleges that transferred during this period from the FE to the HE sector, or for those which merged with HE institutions, and which therefore account for some of the year-on-year reductions. ⁽³⁾ 2006/07 data is provisional. The final sweep of 2006/07 data will be available in January 2009. Notes: Figures are on a DIUS whole year count basis, which counts students enrolled at any point in the academic year, and have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Individualised Learner Record

The changes in the number of higher education enrolments at further education colleges are partly due to the transfer of institutions from the further education sector to the higher education sector. In addition, improvements to the reporting of franchising arrangements between higher education institutions and further education colleges may have contributed to the changes in numbers. Franchising is a process whereby one institution delivers a course on behalf of another and this often occurs between higher education institutions and further education colleges.

The methodology for calculating the number of students studying at higher education level in a further education college has recently been revised and updated, providing a more consistent time series back to 2002/03 when the individualised learner record was introduced.

On the above basis, the percentage of higher education students that were enrolled at an English further education college in the 2006/07 academic year was 6.6 per cent.

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Higher Education: Admissions

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many people enrolled on (a) access courses and (b) foundation degrees in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement; [195307]

(2) how many (a) access courses and (b) foundation degree courses were running in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement. [195308]

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is determined to develop and increase the range of non-traditional pathways into and through higher education. Improving the progress of school leavers into higher education will not be sufficient to meet the skills needs of the future. The Access to Higher Education scheme is one way of enabling adults, some of whom may have few other qualifications, or have been out of education for a number of years, to study successfully at the higher education level. The following table gives the available figures for Access to HE courses since 2006 in England and Wales.

	2005/06	2006/07
Total learner registrations⁽¹⁾ on QAA-recognised Access to HE courses in England and Wales	41,984	37,818

Access to HE courses running in England and Wales (of total number available)	1,079	1,057
	(1,341)	(1,258)
⁽¹⁾ Figures include learners registered on Access to HE courses which are in Higher Education Institutions and learners which are not publicly funded. Source: QAA. This data is collected by QAA from the 15 Access Validating Agencies in England and Wales. Data is collected retrospectively, following the completion of an academic year. As a result, no data for learner registrations or courses running is available for 2007/08.

Over recent years we have seen an expansion of more flexible routes into HE and increased options for those wishing to benefit from an HE experience, such as Foundation Degrees and progression through professional and vocational courses, and figures show that the number of people applying to enter higher education continue to increase.

The latest available information for the number of students on Foundation Degrees is shown in the following table.

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