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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1712W—continued
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of quality-related research funding for universities in the most recent research assessment exercise was allocated to university departments in each star rating category. [236594]
Mr. Lammy: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 27 October 2008, Official Report, columns 691-92W, to the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Binley).
Literacy
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what action the Government have taken to improve the reading and writing skills of parents. [239449]
Beverley Hughes: Parents improving their reading and writing skills remains an important priority for the Government. The Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills commit over £47 million per year to family learning programmes.
The Family Literacy Language and Numeracy programme (FLLN) targets approximately 60,000 parents per year in the most deprived local authorities in England. The aim of the programme is to raise the literacy, language and numeracy skills of parents and/or carers; improve parents' and/or carers' ability to help their children and to improve children's acquisition of literacy language and numeracy skills. FLLN has been successful in encouraging parents to re-enter education, training and work.
The Family Learning Impact Funding (FLIF) announced in the Department for Children Schools and Families' Children's Plan in December 2007 is designed to expand and further develop existing family learning provision to extend the reach of the programme, meet individual needs more effectively, improve the quality of provision for parents and increase the number of disadvantaged parents achieving qualifications and progressing.
Mature Students
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to promote opportunities for those over 30 years old to study at university both as full-time and part-time students. [239438]
Mr. Lammy:
We are providing more opportunities for those over 30 with generous support arrangements to help with costs of study for both full and part-time
learners; innovative forms of higher education that are particularly attractive to adults already in the workforce; and opportunities for progression through Access courses.
Numbers of part-time and mature students have increased significantly under this Government. Some 300,000 more students are in higher education now than 10 years ago and that trend will continue.
National Vocational Qualifications
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will estimate the cost to an individual of obtaining an NVQ level II qualification. [236946]
Mr. Simon: Where a learner is aged under 19 at the start of their programme they will not be required to contribute towards the costs of their course. This also applies where a learner is aged 19 or over and studying for their first full level 2 qualification and / or on income-related benefits.
Where a learner is aged 19 or over, and not eligible for full fee remission, it is assumed within the funding methodology that a contribution of 42.5 per cent. (in 2008-09) is made towards the cost of the course.
The funding rate for a NVQ level 2 qualification (excluding uplifts to take into account the subject of the course or the location of the college/provider), and therefore the assumed fee contribution from the individual, is based on the amount of hours required to deliver the course.
On this basis a full time NVQ level 2 qualification would attract a funding rate of just over £3,200. The assumed fee contribution (at 42.5 per cent. would therefore be £1363 - this is for the entire length of the programme (not per year). However, while this would represent the assumed fee contribution it is for the college or provider to determine the actual level of fee charged to a learner.
Part-Time Education
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1398W, on students: fees and charges, how many and what proportion of (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students studied part-time in each year between 1992-93 and 2001-02. [238799]
Mr. Lammy: Figures are shown in the following table. The break in the time series represents a change in the source of the figures. Figures for 1992/93 and 1993/94 include FE colleges, whereas figures from 1994/95 onwards do not, so figures across the time series are not directly comparable.
Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff in his Department left under (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 2005-06; how many of them in each case were paid (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000 in the year before they left; and how much (A) was spent in each of those years and (B) is planned to be spent on such schemes in (1) 2008-09 and (2) 2009-10 by (Y) his Department and its predecessor (Z) each of his Department's agencies. [237349]
Mr. Simon: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many of his Department's staff who left under (a) an involuntary and (b) a voluntary exit scheme in each year since it was established received a severance package of (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement. [239157]
Mr. Simon: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
Science: Museums and Galleries
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether he has received the report from Ecsite-uk on science and discovery centres; and if he will make a statement. [239283]
Mr. Lammy: As recommended by the Science and Technology Select Committee in October 2007, DIUS has commissioned independent research on science and discovery centres—both Ecsite-uk members and others. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, received a copy of the project specification from my hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for Science and Innovation, on 12 June. Frontier Economics were commissioned in July 2008 to conduct the study, which focuses on science centres’ contribution to science and society goals, compared with other DIUS-funded providers of enrichment activities. Their report is expected in January 2009.
Ecsite-uk completed a small-scale joint DIUS/DCSF-funded study of the value of their own science centres; this was published on their website in April 2008.
Science: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assistance the Government have provided to York as a science city since 1998. [237058]
Mr. Lammy: The Government have not provided any direct national funding to York as a Science City since the role of Science Cities is to bring together existing public investment in science and urban regeneration, and any additional funding is at the discretion of the Science City partners.
However, Yorkshire Forward has made the following investments to support York as a science city since 2001:
The University of York, one of the two Science City York principle shareholders, has received nearly £69 million funding between 2002-08 from DIUS and the Higher Education Funding Council through the three rounds of the Science, Research and Investment Fund (SRIF). SRIF’s replacement Research Capital Investment Fund (RCIF), which was established in July 2008, will be investing a further £21 m in the University of York during the three years 2008-11.
The University of York has also received over £6 million in funding from the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) to boost its knowledge transfer capacity since 2001.
Skills Pledge
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many companies have signed the Skills Pledge since its launch; [238883]
(2) how much his Department has spent on promoting the Skills Pledge. [238884]
Mr. Simon: The Skills Pledge is a voluntary, public commitment by employers to support their employees to develop their basic skills, including literacy and numeracy, and work towards relevant, valuable qualifications to at least Level 2 (equivalent to five good GCSEs). It is not a product or service but a philosophy which signals an employers’ understanding of the value of skills to their business and to their employees. We have made excellent progress since the launch of the Skills Pledge in June 2007 and, to date, 7,628 employers in England have made the Skills Pledge.
The Department has spent £1,154,000 on promoting the Skills Pledge since its inception, funded through the Learning and Skills Council.
Students: Finance
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many UK-domiciled students with a household income of between £50,020 and £60,000 the Higher Education Funding Council for England estimates will enter higher education in 2009-10. [233708]
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 29 October 2008, Official Report, columns 32-3WS, on the Education (Student Support) Regulations, what estimate he has made of the number (1) of students who would otherwise have expected to receive (a) a full grant and (b) a partial grant for their higher education studies had they commenced in 2008-09 who will receive no grant as a consequence of the reduction of the income threshold; [233594]
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