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16 Mar 2009 : Column 911W—continued
Higher Education: Community Relations
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what projects have been implemented as part of the Prevent strand of Project Contest to combat radicalisation in universities in England and Wales. [263169]
Mr. Lammy: We work with universities and student bodies to support universities in addressing the issues that can drive students into the hands of violent extremist groups.
Specific projects have included:
The publication of guidance for the higher education sector focussed on promoting shared values, fostering a healthy spirit of debate to engage and challenge those that hold extremist views, breaking down segregation among different communities, supporting students who may be at risk, and ensuring that staff and students are aware of their roles in preventing violent extremism.
A two-year student leadership pilot, run by Youth at Risk, that aims to improve student leadership skills and develop communities built on trust.
A project run by the Institute of Community Cohesion that is gathering information on social cohesion through a series of surveys and focus groups.
Funding for police forces so they can work with local universities to help implement the guidance mentioned above.
Local authorities and Government offices have been tasked with involving their local education institutions within their own local Prevent implementation arrangements.
Higher Education: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of school leavers resident in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire went on to higher education in each of the last 10 years. [263062]
Mr. Lammy: The following table shows the number of 18-year-old entrants to undergraduate courses from Hemel Hempstead constituency and Hertfordshire local authority. It is not possible to identify the number of school leavers from these areas who did not enter higher education in order to produce a participation rate.
| 18-year-old undergraduate entrants( 1) from Hemel Hempstead constituency( 2) and Hertfordshire local authority( 2) , UK higher education institutions( 3) , academic years 1998/99 to 2007/08 | ||
| 18-year-old entrants | ||
| Academic year | Hemel Hempstead | Hertfordshire |
| (1) Covers entrants studying both full-time and part-time courses. (2 )Parliamentary constituency and local authority are defined by full and valid home postcodes, returned by the student to HESA. (3 )Excludes the Open university due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants over the time series. Note: Figures are based on a snapshot as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) | ||
Higher Education: Research
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much research funding his Department will provide to university science and technology departments in the next four years. [262916]
Mr. Lammy: The Department provides research funding to universities through the Science and Research Budget and also, for English universities, through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The allocations in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review for the Science and Research Budget are: £3,554 million in 2008-09; £3,715 million in 2009-10; and £3,970 million in 2010-11. Most of this budget is allocated to the research councils which they use to fund research at universities and other research institutes.
Additionally, HEFCE provides quality-related research funding to English universities. The CSR07 allocations are: £1,444 million in 2008-09; £1,509 million in 2009-10, and £1,634 million in 2010-11. HEFCE also provides capital grants to universities to ensure the maintenance of world-class research facilities. The allocations are: £291 million in 2008-09; £366 million in 2009-10, and £167 million in 2010-11. The 2010-11 figures are indicative and will be finalised in early 2010.
Metrication
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has had with (a) other Government departments, (b) local authorities and (c) other groups following his announcement in October 2008 of the intention of deterring prosecutions of people selling goods in imperial measures. [250345]
Mr. Lammy: Neither I nor any of my ministerial colleagues in the Department have had discussions. However, officials in the Department have held discussions on enforcement of the law in this area with:
(a) The Department of Communities and Local Government
The Local Better Regulation Office
(b) The Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS)
(c) The Trading Standards Institute
The British Weights and Measures Association
Opinion Leader Research
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) its agencies have paid Opinion Leader Research in each financial year since 2003-04. [260888]
Mr. Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Information on how much was paid to Opinion Leader Research (OLR) prior to this date is held by predecessor Departments.
Neither DIUS nor its agencies have made any direct payments to Opinion Leader Research (OLR) since its inception in June 2007. However, there has been one payment through the Central Office of Information (COI) to OLR, on behalf of DIUS. This payment was for OLR to organise two citizens’ juries, which took place on 10 and 11 December 2007 in London and Hull. This was a joint project between the Department for Communities and Local Government, and DIUS.
The final cost, shared between the two Departments, was £59,615. DIUS made a contribution of £29,807 to this amount, these figures are exclusive of VAT.
Student Wastage: Higher Education
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what information his Department collects on (a) university completion rates and (b) reasons for non-completion of university courses. [264152]
Mr. Lammy: The latest information from the performance indicators in higher education shows that the percentage of UK domiciled full-time first degree starters at English higher education institutions, who were expected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another institution, was 13.9 per cent. in the 2005-06 academic year. Figures for 2006/07 will be available in June.
We are maintaining very good completion rates for first degrees with the latest statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that the UK ranks third of the 27 countries reporting data in this area. This has been achieved and maintained during a period when higher education has been opened up to both increased numbers and a greater diversity of students.
The latest available information on reasons for leaving higher education courses is shown in the table.
The reason for leaving information on the HESA Student Record should be treated with some caution, because the ‘Other personal reasons and dropped out’ and ‘Other’ fields are used extensively. Institutions are not always able to record the precise reason for leaving. Furthermore, HESA allows only one reason for withdrawal to be recorded, however it is likely that many students leave for a combination of reasons.
Students: Loans
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1337-38W, on students: loans, (1) how many applications for career development loans have been (a) made and (b) granted in each of the last five years; [261341]
(2) how many career development loans have been awarded in each of the last five years; and how many have been awarded in 2008-09 to date. [263295]
Mr. Simon: Applications for Career Development Loans are made direct to the banks engaged in the programme; details of applications that are unsuccessful are not made available to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) which administers the programme. The LSC collect information relating to loans that have been agreed by the banks.
The numbers of loans made in the last five full financial years and this year in Great Britain are set out in the table. The LSC believes that the lower numbers in 2007-08 and during this year reflect the adoption of tighter lending strategies by banks, but not a reduction in demand from learners.
“New Opportunities: Fair Chances for the Future” set out that Government would make funding available to increase the number of loans.
The banks have agreed to work with the Department and the LSC to agree the terms of an expanded programme which would include the higher maximum loan value of £10,000. I expect the increase in opportunities that Professional and Career Development Loans will offer in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to be taken up in response to increased, targeted marketing and as people continue to need to re-skill in response to the impact of the economic downturn.
| Career development loans made in Great Britain | |
| Number | |
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what amount of mortgage-style student loans taken out before 1998 is yet to be repaid. [261909]
Mr. Lammy: The total amount of mortgage-style student loans taken out before 1998 which has yet to be repaid stood, at 31 March 2008, at £962.3 million. At this date, 56 per cent. of borrowers with mortgage-style loans had fully repaid their loans. These are provisional figures which will be updated in the Statistical First Release due to be published in the summer of 2009.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many live accounts are held by the Student Loans Company in relation to which no repayment is currently being received, broken down by reason for the lack of repayment. [261916]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education on 10 September 2008, Official Report, columns 1939-41W. The response remains the same because the information published on 10 September 2008, Official Report, column 1938W is based on the Statistical First Release which remains the latest published information available.
It is not currently possible to disclose information for the period after 31 March 2008 because, following National Statistics protocol, the statistics for the period ended 31 March 2009 will be embargoed until their publication in the Statistical First Release due in June/July 2009.
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