| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 July 2008 : Column 1309W—continued
Higher Education: Admissions
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many students began undergraduate courses in universities in England in each of the last five years; [218779]
(2) how many students domiciled in England began undergraduate courses in universities in Wales in each of the last five years; [218780]
(3) how many students domiciled in Wales began undergraduate courses in universities in England in each of the last five years. [218781]
Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the tables. Table 1 covers entrants to full-time undergraduate courses, and table 2 covers entrants to part-time courses.
Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.
| Table 1: Entrants to full-time undergraduate courses by domicile and location of institution English and Welsh higher education institutions—Academic years 2002/03 to 2006/07 | ||||
| Of which : | ||||
| Academic year | Location of institution | All domiciles | England | Wales |
| Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||
Higher education is one of the most important investments a young person can make as graduates earn, on average, far more than people with A-levels or similar who do not go in to higher education. Over the working life, the average graduate will earn comfortably over £100,000 more, after tax and in today's valuation, than a similar individual who completed their education with two or more A-levels.
In recent years we have reformed student finance, offering improvements to both full-time and part-time students. For new entrants to full-time higher education in 2008/09 we have increased the means-testing threshold below which students are entitled to a full maintenance grant up from £17,910 for entrants in 2007/08 to £25,000. The threshold for a partial grant will increase from £38,330 for entrants in 2007/08 to £60,005. These thresholds relate to household income. This will mean that one third of all eligible students in England entering higher education in the academic year 2008/09 are expected to be entitled to a full non-repayable grant worth £2,835 and another one third are expected to be entitled to a partial grant of between £50 and £2,835. Due to these reforms, by 2011 the number of students receiving some level of grant will increase by around 100,000. As part of this change, an extra 50,000 students will receive a full grant.
In 2006 grants towards part time students’ fees were increased by 27 per cent. with an additional £40 million of institutional funding to higher education institutions to encourage participation from the most under-represented groups.
Latest figures from UCAS, covering applicants to full-time undergraduate courses only, show that, after the small downturn in 2006, applicants who were accepted for entry in 2007 increased. For accepted applicants from the UK, figures show a rise of 5.5 per cent. to 364,500, with those from England showing a 6.1 per cent. rise to 307,000, the highest ever, and those from Wales up 1.3 per cent.
Latest figures for students applying for entry in 2008, show as at the end of June, applicants to full-time undergraduate courses show a year-on-year rise of 6.5 per cent. with those from England up by 7.3 per cent. and those from Wales up by 4.9 per cent.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of 18-year-olds who had been previously identified as gifted and talented went on to higher education in each of the last three years. [219346]
Bill Rammell: The gifted and talented flag was not introduced into the national pupil database until 2006 and we do not yet have data on HE destinations that can be linked to this flag.
The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) catered for the national top 5 per cent. of 11 to 19-year-olds from 2002 to 2007. It has now been replaced by the Young Gifted and Talented (YG and T) Learner Academy.
NAGTY's 2006 student exit survey questionnaire showed that, of those completing the questionnaire:
87 per cent. said they went straight on to continue their education at university;
8 per cent. were taking a gap year before going into higher education.
The Government remain committed to widening participation in higher education and to securing fair access for gifted and talented students. It is an economic as well as a social imperative that everyone who can benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so. Widening participation is about spotting and nurturing talent, with schools, colleges and universities working together to ensure that all those with the potential and merit to benefit from higher education are able to do so.
Innovation: Medical Equipment
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the potential for future innovation in the market for (a) urology-related products, (b) stoma-related products and (c) single-line items. [220198]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The Department works closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, to improve patients’ access to beneficial new treatments and medical technologies. The contribution that innovative medical technologies can make to the delivery of modern health and social care services was recognised as part of Lord Darzi’s report on the NHS Next Stage Review “High Quality Care For All” published on 30 June 2008. As a result, the Department is working across Government and with the medical technology industry to develop a strategy which promotes uptake of clinically and cost effective innovative products throughout the care pathway. A copy of the Next Stage Review has already been placed in the Library.
Regarding stoma and urology items that are dispensed in primary care, mechanisms are in place to assess innovation when a supplier seeks to have an item listed in the Drug Tariff. Similar mechanisms would apply to single-line items.
The Department is seeking best value for money from the expenditure it makes in all areas of healthcare.
In Secondary Care, buyers procure goods and services via a tendering process. Consequently, market forces will drive a level of competition amongst suppliers who wish to secure NHS contracts.
Regarding the provision of stoma and urology items in primary care, the Department recently published an impact assessment (IA) alongside the consultation entitled “Proposed new arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and urology appliances—and related services—in Primary Care” June 2008. The IA considers the impact of the proposals set out in the consultation and includes a robust competition impact. A copy of the IA has already been placed in the Library.
Medicine: Education
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the merits of giving separate consideration for funding of medical students in the 2009 review of the funding arrangements for all students in England. [216925]
Bill Rammell: We have no current or future plans to fund medical students separately. Our policy has always been that there should be an independent review to examine the evidence from the first three years of the new fees and student support regime which will report directly to Parliament. Draft terms of reference for the review were published in January 2004. Ahead of that there are a number of pressing questions about what Government and universities should do over the next 10 to 15 years to ensure we have a world class system of higher education, it is on these questions that Government, universities and others should now focus.
Qualifications: Young People
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of 16-year-olds without a level 2 qualification are in full-time education; and what proportion (a) achieved a level 2 and remained in full-time education and (b) achieved a level 2 and left full-time education in the latest period for which figures are available. [220197]
Mr. Lammy: Estimates of the proportions of 16-year-olds attaining different levels of qualifications who continued in full-time education were published on 26 June 2008 in a Statistical Bulletin, Youth Cohort Study and Longitudinal Study of Young People in England: The Activities and Experiences of 16-Year-Olds: England 2007. The bulletin relates to young people who completed their compulsory education in 2006 and reached 16 during the 2005/06 academic year.
Fifty one per cent. of those without a level 2 qualification remained in full-time education; 88 per cent. of those who achieved a level 2 remained in full-time education and 12 per cent. of those who achieved a level 2 left full-time education.
Science: Postgraduate Education
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of current postgraduate students studying
science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects took their first degree in the UK, broken down by (a) type of postgraduate course and (b) subject. [219347]
Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the tables. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.
| Table 1: Number and proportion of postgraduate enrolments( 1) to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)( 2) courses by level of study UK higher education institutions. Academic year 2006/07 | |||
| O f which; those with a first degree from the UK( 3) | |||
| Level of Study | Enrolments | Number | Proportion (percentage) |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |