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22 Jan 2009 : Column 1687W—continued
Vacancies
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus are in each of the next five years; when the projections were last revised; and what the projections were before that revision. [244216]
Mr. McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the projected numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus are in each of the next five years; when the projections were last revised; and what the projections were before that revision. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Projections for numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus are only available for the three years covered by the Department’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) 07. We do not have
future information yet about the next CSR settlement. The table below shows the original numbers of full time equivalent posts in Jobcentre Plus projected in each of these years and how these numbers have been revised from November 2008 in light of the pre Budget Report statement. Numbers for March 2011 are under review and a firm figure is not yet available.
| March each year | Original Projected Number | Revised Estimated Number (as at December 2008) |
Winter Fuel Payments
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) which constituencies are covered by each weather station used to calculate cold weather payments; [243133]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of (a) cold weather payments made and (b) recipients of cold weather payments in each of the last five years, broken down by constituency. [243134]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 15 December 2008]: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Apprentices
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprentices with each sponsoring employer were aged over 25 years (a) in 2007-08 and (b) to date in 2008-09. [250211]
Mr. Simon: Table 1 shows the total number of apprenticeship starts for those aged 25 or over at the start of their course in the 2007-08 academic year and August-October 2008 (2008-09), the latest period for which published information is available.
This information was published in a statistical first release on 18 December 2008. Information is not available by individual employer.
| Table 1: Number of apprenticeship starts for learners aged 25 and over at the start of their course. | ||
| Level | 2007-08( 1) | 2008-09( 2) |
| (1) Full year (2) August-October 2008 Notes: 1. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. 2. Higher Level Apprenticeships are included with Advanced Apprenticeships. 3. Provisional data for 2008-09 are subject to a data lag in the region of +5 per cent. Source: WBL Individualised Learner Record | ||
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many of the 35,000 extra apprenticeship places for 2009-10 referred to in the departmental press release of 7 January 2009 are additional to those referred to in the most recent annual grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council of 18 November 2008; [250346]
(2) how many of the additional apprenticeship places referred to in the departmental press release of 7 January 2009 are expected to be in (a) the public sector and (b) the private sector. [250373]
Mr. Simon: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a £140 million package to provide an extra 35,000 apprenticeship places over the coming year in both the public and private sectors to help strengthen the country's competitiveness. The 7 January Press release by my Department provided further information about the package.
All of the extra 35,000 places announced as part of the £140 million package will be available for new places in 2009-10 are additional to those places outlined in the Department's 18 November 2008 Grant Letter to the Learning and Skills Council.
While we expect the public sector to deliver a significant proportion of the additional opportunities, we have not set a target for the balance between public and private sector which will be determined by employer demand.
Departmental Work Experience
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many internships were (a) offered by and (b) taken up within the Department in 2007-08; and how many have been (i) offered and (ii) taken up to date in 2008-09. [250212]
Mr. Simon: The Department made a combined bid with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for 30 interns from the Cabinet Office Summer Development and Placement Programmes. The Department bid for four interns and placed three of them in summer 2008. In addition, the Department placed two students on the Windsor Fellowship in summer 2008 which is a leadership programme offering six week internships to talented undergraduate students from ethnic minorities.
The Department has made a similar bid with the DCSF for 15 Summer Development Interns and 15 Summer Placement Interns for summer 2009. The number to be offered places in the Department is yet to be confirmed. We expect the process to be completed by Easter with a view to interns taking up posts in July and August 2009.
The Department has also offered two places to students on the Windsor Fellowship which commences in summer 2009.
Foundation Degrees
Mr. Rob Wilson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s
annual budget was spent on the provision of foundation degrees in each year since the introduction of that qualification. [249108]
Mr. Lammy: The following table shows the percentage of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)’s annual budget represented by recurrent teaching allocations explicitly associated with foundation degree students since 2001-02 when foundation degrees were formally established. The latest data available are for 2006-07.
| Foundation funding as a percentage of total HEFCE budget | |
Higher Education: Admissions
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people enrolled on a higher national diploma course in each year since 2001; and what the drop-out rate has been in each year since 2001. [249107]
Mr. Lammy: Table 1 shows the number of enrolments on higher national diplomas (HND) since 2001/02. ‘Foundation Degrees 2008/13’ is the latest report from HEFCE, however, this does not contain figures for HND students. Therefore figures for the 2006/07 academic year are the latest available.
| Table 1: Home, EU and overseas enrolments on higher national diplomas English higher education institutions and further education colleges, academic years 20001/02 to 2006/07 | |
| Academic year | Enrolments |
| Notes: Number of overseas enrolments for 2005/06 and 2006/07 has been estimated by assuming they represent the same proportion as for the previous years students, that is 4.8 per cent for full-time and 1.7 per cent for part-time. Source: ‘Foundation degrees 2007/03’ report published by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Columns 1 + 2 of HESES and HEIFES (2006/07 values are provisional). | |
Table 2 shows the latest information on the progression of higher national diploma students. ‘Foundation Degrees 2008/13’ is the latest report from HEFCE, however, this does not contain figures for HND students. Therefore figures for the 2003/04 year of entry are the latest available.
| Table 2: Home higher national diploma students by progression and institution type English higher education institutions and further education colleges year of entry 2003/04 | |||
| Institution type | Progression | Number | Percentage |
| Notes: 1. Institution type refers to the institution the student is registered with. 2. Study in the following year includes students registered for any FE or HE study in HEIs in the UK, and students registered for any HE or FE study in FECs in England. Any study outside this coverage is not included and the students will be categorised as ‘not studying’. Source: ‘Foundation degrees 2007/03’ report published by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) | |||
Figures in Table 1 cover Home, EU and Overseas enrolments, whereas figures in Table 2 cover Home entrants only.
The number of students on foundation degrees programmes now exceeds the number of students studying for HNDs. However, this growth has taken place against a background of declining numbers of students studying towards HNDs and HNCs. This decline predates the introduction of foundation degrees. According to a study by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), even when foundation degrees were first introduced, this was not the main reason for institutions discontinuing HND and HNC provision (LSDA 2002). Since then the decline in HND and HNCs has accelerated, at least in part due to the growth in foundation degrees.
Higher Education: Finance
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he plans to send the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for 2009-10. [250215]
Mr. Lammy: The annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for 2009-10 was published today 22 January 2009. I have placed a copy in the Library.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will list each successful application to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for projects (a) to be funded, (b) to be partly-funded and (c) to be funded by loans via the strategic development fund during (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008; and how much funding was sought in each case. [250446]
Mr. Lammy: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has published a list of projects funded by the Strategic Development Fund on its website at:
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what applications to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for projects (a) to be funded, (b) to be partly funded and (c) to be loan funded via the Strategic Development Fund were not accepted during (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [250538]
Mr. Lammy: This information is not held in the form requested. Proposals to the Strategic Development Fund are developed iteratively between the HEIs and the Council's institutional teams, sometimes over a lengthy period. Projects that then come forward for funding have been thoroughly tested and hence are very rarely rejected. HEFCE's institutional teams have regular informal discussions with HEIs to discuss emerging proposals and many are turned back at that stage, and are not recorded.
Higher Education: Student Numbers
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people normally resident (a) in Jarrow constituency, (b) in South Tyneside, (c) in the north-east and (d) nationwide have been registered at university in each year since 1997. [249562]
Mr. Lammy: The latest available information is given in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available on 29 January 2009.
| Enrolments( 1) at UK higher education institutions from Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside local authority, North-east government office region( 2) and England, academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 | ||||
| Academic year | Jarrow | South Tyneside | North-east | England |
| (1) Covers all students on any year of a course. Includes students on both full-time or part-time courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level including the Open University. (2) Figures for the 1997/98 and 1998/99 academic years relate to the north of England, rather than the north-east due to a change in the classification of government office regions. Therefore, figures for this region from these two years cannot be directly compared to other years in the time series. Notes: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant and are rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||
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