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16 July 2008 : Column 500W—continued
DCSF, like all central Government Departments, actively seek to buy all wood and wood products (including furniture) from legal sustainable sources. From April 2009, all Departments will be required to procure legal and sustainable timber or timber licensed under the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade (FLEGT) initiative.
Young People: Unemployment
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what datasets his Department publishes which include information on the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training; and what the expected date of next publication of each set of data is. [219344]
Beverley Hughes: The Department's principal estimates of the number of young people of academic age 16 to 18 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are based on data from a range of administrative sources and the Labour Force Survey (LFS), and are published annually in a Statistical First Release each June. The most recent publication can be found via the following link: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000792/index.shtml. These data are used to measure the Department's target to reduce the number of young people NEET by 2 percentage points by 2010 (from a baseline of 9.6 per cent. at end 2004).
NEET estimates based solely on the LFS are published by the Department quarterly following the release of each LFS Quarterly dataset. They are published in the NEET Quarterly Brief, available on the Department's Research and Statistics Gateway. As a sample survey, LFS estimates of NEET are subject to sampling error, and these estimates are not as accurate as the official measure outlined above. However, they allow monitoring of in-year trends in the numbers of young people NEET.
The Department publishes figures on young people NEET from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS). For the first time, in 2008, these published statistics also used data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). Both of these sources are sample surveys, and provide information on young people from a single cohort rather than across the 16 to 18 age range. While the estimates of NEET produced from these sources are not accurate as the SFR measure, they are useful in providing breakdowns of NEET by characteristics and background. The next publication date for these combined data will be announced in the schedule of publications to be issued in March 2009.
Connexions services also collect information on young people known to them to be NEET. Connexions data on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET in each local authority are made publicly available on the DCSF website. Figures for the end of each year are made available by April of the following year.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average cost to his Department was of employing a press and media officer in 2007-08. [215190]
Mr. Lammy: The Department’s average cost to employ a press and media officer is;
| Information officer | £ |
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many permanent staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are classed as (i) staff without posts and (ii) part of a people action team. [215570]
Mr. Lammy: There are currently 11 staff in the Department who are classed as priority movers and are actively seeking posts within the Department or elsewhere in the civil service. The Department actively manages and supports employees in this position by ensuring access to vacancy information and engaging them in project work and other posts until a permanent position is secured.
The Department’s agencies have delegated responsibility for their human resource functions and the information requested is not held centrally.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many reviews of regulation (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have conducted or commenced since its establishment; and in which areas. [215621]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created one year ago. Since then, DIUS, the National Weights and Measures Laboratory and the Intellectual Property Office have reviewed six policy areas, which resulted in 18 amended or consolidated pieces of regulation.
The number of statutory instruments fully or partially revoked as a result of these reviews could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Education: Transport
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment the Learning and Skills Council has made of transport policy statements produced under Schedule 19 of the Education Act 2002; and if he will make a statement. [216079]
Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has responsibility for delivering the administrative functions in relation to local authority duties for transport for young people of 6th form age (as set out in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and related statutory instrument).
Therefore, I will make arrangements for Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, to write to the hon. Member for Yeovil with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 14 July 2008:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Questions that asked; “How many local authorities did not produce a transport policy statement under Schedule 19 of the Education Act 2002 in each of the last three years”. (216078)
“What assessment the Learning and Skills Council has made of transport policy statements produced under Schedule 19 of the Education Act 2002; and if he will make a statement”. (216079)
Under s509AB(5) of the Education Act 1996 (as amended by the Education and Inspections Act 2006) the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has power to issue guidance to local authorities in respect of the preparation of their transport statements and the local authority must have regard to that guidance in preparing the statement. The LSC can also specify persons with whom the local authority must consult in preparing its statement.
The LSC issues annual guidance to Local Authorities pursuant to this power. It also administers the transport partnership funding on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
The LSC also has certain powers and duties in relation to the Secretary of States' powers under the Education Act 1996 to ensure that local authorities carry out their statutory duties in relation to transport for post-16 learners. In summary the LSC has the responsibility of trying to resolve complaints and challenges in relation to the exercise by local authorities of their duties in relation to transport for learners of sixth form age. However the power to give directions to local authorities in the event they are failing to comply with their duties in relation to transport statements rests with the Secretary of State.
It should be noted that the LSC does not have any power or duty to formally approve the local authority's transport statement and giving formal approval would potentially conflict with the LSC's duties to consider complaints and challenges to local authority's exercise of their responsibilities. Furthermore although there is a requirement for local authorities to consult the LSC in preparing their statements there is no statutory requirement that the statements must be approved by the LSC. This consultation is carried out through the local transport partnership of which LSC Area Teams are a member. The partnership considers whether statement is comprehensive and responds to local transport issues but the LSC does not assess the local authority transport policy statement to determine compliance with its legal obligations.
The following figures indicate the number of local authorities who provided the LSC with a copy of their annual transport policy statement (out of a total of 150 local authorities).
| Number of authorities | |
European Institute of Technology and Innovation
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on the establishment of a European Institute of Technology and Innovation. [218000]
Mr. Lammy: The Government welcome the recent adoption by the Council and European Parliament of a regulation establishing the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT). The regulation provides a solid basis for the EIT to support European innovation through the creation of partnerships (to be known as “Knowledge and Innovation Communities”) between existing excellent universities, research organisations and businesses in strategically important fields. The Government consider that a high calibre independent Governing Board, which is due to be appointed shortly, will play a key role in building the EIT’s reputation. The board is expected to develop detailed operational criteria in the coming months, which will enable the first KICs to be launched around spring 2010. The decision, agreed unanimously in June 2008, that the administrative headquarters will be located in Budapest, should also help ensure that the EIT becomes operational with minimum delay.
Higher Education: Further Education
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of students studying for a higher education qualification in a further education college are (a) directly funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, (b) funded via a university and (c) funded by the Learning and Skills Council; and what proportion each of these groups form of the total number of higher education students in England. [216888]
Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table.
Higher Education: Student Numbers
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many undergraduates in universities in England from households with incomes of (a) up to £25,000, (b) £25,000 to £27,120, (c) £27,120 to £30,000, (d) £30,000 to £35,000, (e) £35,000 to £38,330 and (f) greater than £38,331 attended university in each year since 2006-07 for which figures are available. [205866]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 15 May 2008]: Complete information on household incomes of students is not available centrally.
The recently announced reforms for 2008/09 mean we estimate that around one third of eligible full-time students will be entitled to a full grant. These students will have a residual household income of £25,000 or less. We also estimate around a third will be entitled to a partial grant, equivalent to a residual household income between £25,000 and £60,005.
Due to these reforms by 2011, we estimate that the number of full-time students receiving some level of grant will increase by around 100,000. As part of this change, we estimate an extra 50,000 students will receive a full grant.
Mathematics: Graduates
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent representations he has received on the adequacy of supply of graduates in mathematics and sciences. [218733]
Ian Pearson: There have been representations from a range of organisations who have raised issues concerning the supply of graduates in mathematics and sciences. DIUS Ministers have met senior representatives from professional, educational and business organisations, including the Wellcome Trust, the National Academies, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, GlaxoSmithKline, the Business Council for Britain, CBI, Shell UK, Universities UK, National Science Learning Centre, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET) and many others. DIUS Ministers and officials have also corresponded with numerous organisations and individuals on this issue, and my Department maintains an active dialogue with many of these.
The Government are committed to increasing the number of young people studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at higher education level. DIUS supports a range of measures, and works closely with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), to raise awareness of these subjects and to increase the engagement of young people in STEM activities to encourage them to pursue these subjects beyond school.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is providing £160 million over five years to increase the demand for and supply of students doing strategically important and vulnerable subjects, of which the majority will be spent on STEM subjects. Additional funding of £75 million has also been made available from 2007-08 for three years, for high-cost strategic science subjects at undergraduate level, including chemistry, physics and chemical engineering.
Medicine: Education
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he and his Department’s officials have had with their counterparts in the Department of Health on the adequacy of student financial support available through the Student Loans Company and the NHS Grants Unit for medical students. [216929]
Bill Rammell: Maintenance and tuition fee support for medical students is shared between the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department of Health; the Department’s officials meet regularly to consider issues of mutual interest.
Students on the standard undergraduate medical and dental courses are eligible for tuition fee and maintenance support on the same terms as other undergraduate students for the first four years. For the fifth and subsequent years of their courses the tuition fees are paid by the Department of Health and students are eligible for a means-tested NHS bursary and a reduced (broadly 50 per cent.) non means-tested student loan.
Graduates can apply to do an accelerated four-year medical or dental course. Graduates will have to fund the first year’s fees but are still eligible for a loan for maintenance. Tuition fees are then paid in full and means-tested bursary support is available from the NHS from the second year onwards of these courses on the same basis as students in year 5 and onwards of the standard undergraduate course.
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