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1 July 2008 : Column 836W—continued
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service: Personal Records
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any personal information held by the University and Colleges Admissions Service is sold for commercial use. [214024]
Bill Rammell:
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service does not sell personal data for commercial purposes. It will, through its subsidiary company, UCAS Media, co-operate in advertising campaigns where information is sent or e-mailed to applicants (provided they have not opted out of receiving such communications). It is a matter of choice left to the applicant if they wish to pursue any promotional literature received but, until
such times as they do so, the identity of individual applicants remains unknown to the advertiser.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity.
Vocational Training: Finance
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will consider the establishment of a dedicated learning bank through which (a) individuals, (b) employers and (c) the Government may fund skills training. [214989]
Bill Rammell: In “Workskills” (published on 12 June 2008), we set out our plans to offer all adults a skills account. These accounts will enable individuals to access funding to ‘buy’ the skills training provision that meets their needs, as well as encouraging personal investment in skills by making the value of skills—and the relative contributions of individuals, employers, and the state—more transparent.
From 2010, skills accounts will provide individuals with a virtual ‘voucher’ of funding from Government to spend at an accredited provider of their choice, or to redeem on work-based training through Train to Gain or an apprenticeship in discussion with their employer. Public funds would still flow, as now, direct from the LSC, but the money given to providers will follow the choices made by the individual, giving individuals maximum incentive to learn and providers the maximum incentive to offer what learners need. Skills accounts will also enable individuals to manage their own record of achievements, qualifications and aspirations and to access careers advice and guidance to support their choice of training.
We have already rolled out Train to Gain as the Government's premier skills service for employers, supporting employer of all sizes and in all sectors to identify and address their skills needs at all levels. Through Train to Gain, we are encouraging greater investment from employers in their employees by giving them real purchasing power. Skills brokers help employers identify the training and qualifications that will best address their skills needs, and help them to choose the training provider that is best placed to deliver that training at a time, and a place to suit them.
Together, these mechanisms aim to ensure that individuals have access to the funding from Government they need to realise their aspirations, and that they are empowered, well-informed and well supported in their learning journey, whether at college or at work.
The establishment of the proposed National Learning Bank would represent a fundamental change to the adult skills landscape, and a major departure from the mechanisms we already have in train to give individuals real purchasing power, and to encourage investment in skills from individuals and employers.
Higher Education: Admissions
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many residents of the London Borough of Bexley entered higher education in each of the last five years, broken down by ward. [215054]
Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009. Figures broken down by ward are not available.
| Entrants( 1) to undergraduate courses from Bexley local authority, UK higher education institutions, academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 | ||
| Bexley | ||
| Of which; | ||
| Academic year | All Entrants | Full-time |
| (1) Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years and are rounded to the nearest five. Figures include the Open University but exclude those on writing up, sabbatical or dormant modes of study. (2 )Figures for 1997/98 exclude the Open University because there are no figures available for entrants to undergraduate courses at the Open University by local authority for this year. (3 )The increase in entrants between 2004/05 and 2005/06 may be greater than in reality as a consequence of a problem identified with data submitted by the Open University (OU) in the 2004/05 academic year. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||
Health
Abortion
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Department's Statistical Bulletin on Abortion Figures 2007, if he will review the abortion strategy for England and Wales. [213574]
Dawn Primarolo: In England, the Government are working hard to reduce unplanned pregnancies through improved contraceptive services and implementation of our Teenage Pregnancy and sexual health strategies. In 2008-09 £26.8 million has been invested to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies.
We are also working to ensure that women have access to abortion services as soon as possible as evidence shows that the risk of complications increases the later the gestation. We have made significant investment to improve early access and set a standard of a maximum waiting time of three weeks. The latest data for 2007 show that progress is being made to increase early access: 68 per cent. of national health service funded abortions took place at under 10 weeks compared with 51 per cent. in 2002.
A review of the Sexual Health and HIV Strategy is currently being undertaken by the Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV which will be published in summer 2008.
Services in Wales are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women had had (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven and (h) eight or more abortions at the most recent date for which figures are available. [213575]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is set out in the following table:
| Legal abortions: Number of previous abortions by age( 1) , England and Wales, 2007 | |||||
| Number of previous abortions | Total | Under 18 | 18 to 24 | 25 to 29 | 30+ |
| (1 )Age not stated have been distributed pro-rata across age group 20 to 24. (2) Values are suppressed where totals are less than 10 (0 to 9) or where a presented total would reveal the suppressed value. | |||||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department is monitoring the implementation of the Abortion Act 1967; and if he will make a statement. [214059]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department is responsible for monitoring the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, in England. The Department takes its role in monitoring the Act seriously and any complaints or allegations of abuse are investigated and action taken as appropriate.
The Abortion Act 1967 also places a legal duty to notify the chief medical officer, via the submission of form HSA4, when a registered medical practitioner terminates a pregnancy. The Department monitors all HSA4 forms to ensure compliance with the Act.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the abortion rate per 1,000 women aged (a) 19, (b) 18, (c) 17, (d) 16, (e) 15, (f) 14 and (g) under 14 years was in 2007; and what forecast he has made of the rate in each of the next 10 years. [214060]
Dawn Primarolo: The reasons women seek an abortion are complex and may be subject to a number of different factors. As such, we have invested £26.8 million in 2008-09 to improve women’s access to contraception and help reduce the number of abortions, repeat abortions and teenage pregnancies. Further funding will be available in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The information is set out in the following table.
| Abortion rates by age under 20, residents of England and Wales, 2007 | |
| Age | Rate per 1,000 women( 1) |
| (1) Rates are based on 2006 mid-year population estimates. (2) Rate not available. | |
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 18, (c) 19 to 24, (d) 25 to 29, (e) 30 to 34, (f) 35 to 39 and (g) over 40 years of age in (i) Essex Strategic Health Authority and (ii) England who had an abortion in 2007 had (A) no children, (B) one child, (C) two children, (D) three children, (E) four children and (F) five or more children. [214064]
Dawn Primarolo: The available information is set out in the following tables.
| Total abortions for residents of Essex PCTs( 1) by number of previous births over 24 weeks, 2007 | |||||||
| Total previous pregnancies that resulted in a live or still birth | |||||||
| Age( 2) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 and more | Total |
| (1) Totals shown relate to primary care trusts for Mid Essex, North East Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex and West Essex. (2) Age groups are shown as published so as not to overlap ages and reveal small numbers. (3) Denotes suppressed value or where a presented total would reveal a suppressed value. | |||||||
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