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20 Apr 2009 : Column 19W—continued
Mr. Simon: Each autumn, in its annual grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) sets out the funding envelope for further education for the coming financial year. The grant letters published in October 2007 and November 2008 set out the planned investment for 2008-09 and 2009-10 respectively.
The publication of the grant letter starts the allocations process, which is led by the LSC. The LSC enter into a dialogue with colleges and providers, to determine their allocation based on expected delivery of both adult learner responsive and employer responsive provision.
This dialogue continues throughout the year, and during this time, the LSC and DIUS have regular discussions regarding the progress of the allocations process. Final allocations are made in the spring before the academic year to which they refer.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what factors have been taken into account in determining the remuneration for Learning and Skills Council staff responsible for processing applications for capital funding in the last three years. [268646]
Mr. Simon: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting LSC chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.
Nuclear Engineering: Higher Education
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2009, Official Report, column 1902W, on engineering: higher education, for how many (a) masters level and (b) doctoral nuclear engineering course places commencing in 2009 is funding available. [267002]
Mr. Lammy: Data at the level of detail requested by this question are not collected centrally. The following table sets out the overall numbers of chemical, process and energy engineering students at English higher education institutions over the last five years which would include nuclear engineering students. Data for 2009 are not yet available.
| Academic year | Masters | Doctorates |
| Notes: 1. Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five. 2 Covers enrolments of all domiciles to both full-time and part-time courses. 3 Excludes the Open university due to inconsistencies in their coding of subject over the time series. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||
Postgraduate Education
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of students from universities awarded a charter (a) before 1993 and (b) in 1993 or after offer at least one course leading to a post-graduate qualification. [255306]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 9 February 2009]: The latest available figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) are shown in the table. Figures for the 2008/09 academic year will be available in January 2010.
| Enrolments( 1 ) by level of study and institution type—UK higher education institutions, academic year 2007/08 | ||
| Old( 2) | New( 3) | |
| (1 )Covers enrolments of all domiciles to both full-time and part-time courses. (2 )Covers pre-1992 universities. (3 )Covers post-1992 universities. Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five. Percentages are based on unrounded figures. Figures exclude Higher Education Colleges and the University of Buckingham, which is an independent institution. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||
Students: Fees and Charges
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students have had their university tuition fees met from public funds in each of the last five years. [268433]
Mr. Lammy: All students who are eligible to pay the home rate of fee have their tuition fee subsidised by public funds in the form of HEFCE funding payable directly to the Higher Education Institution.
| UK domiciled undergraduate students( 1) enrolled in English higher e ducation i nstitutions( 2) | |
| Academic y ear | Students |
| (1) Covers students on both full-time and part time courses. (2) Includes the Open university. Notes: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population. Source: HESA. | |
Additionally eligible students may apply for student support:
Students eligible for tuition fee g rants
Students who entered higher education before 2006-07 may apply for a means tested tuition fee grant towards the cost of their tuition fees (up to £1,255 in 2008-09). The grant, paid from public funds, is paid direct to HE institutions, with students paying the balance of the tuition fee.
| England( 1) | |||
| Academic year | Full fee support | Partial fee support | Total( 2) |
| (1) English domiciled students studying in the UK. Data are not readily available for 2004-05. (2) Constituent parts may not add to totals due to rounding, figures are rounded to nearest 100. (3) 2008-09 figures are provisional and may increase substantially due to late applications. Source: Student loans company. | |||
Students with tuition fee l oans
All students entering higher education since 2006-07 may apply for a non-means tested loan to cover the whole cost of their tuition fees. The loan is repaid after leaving university and when income is above £15,000. A loan is also available to pre-2006-07 entrants if they are required to contribute to their fees.
| England( 1) | |||
| Academic year | Pre-2006-07 entrants | Entered from 2006-07 | Total( 2) |
| (1) English domiciled students studying in the UK and EU domiciled students studying in England. (2) Constituent parts may not add to totals due to rounding, figures are rounded to nearest 100. (3) 2008-09 figures are provisional and may increase substantially due to late applications. Source: Student loans company. | |||
Students: Finance
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many publicly-funded places for first-time undergraduates there were in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09; and how many there are expected to be in 2009-10. [268642]
Mr. Lammy: In 2007-08 there were 1,143,000 HEFCE-funded student places (in full-time equivalent terms). The mix of students between undergraduate and postgraduate courses is an institutional decision. In 2007-08 around 990,000 of the 1,143,000 places were undergraduate. We do not have information on how many of these were first-time undergraduates.
2007-08 are the latest data we have on HEFCE-funded student numbers. DIUS funded an additional 20,000 places for core students in 2008-09, and a further 10,000 in 2009-10. Further information can be found in the 2009 HEFCE Grant Letter. We will not receive outturn data on the 2008-09 student population until early 2010.
Vocational Guidance: Internet
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many unique visitors the website www.careersadvice.direct.gov.uk had in (a) 2008 and (b) 2007. [268791]
Mr. Simon: The number of unique visitors to the website:
were (a) 6.9 million in 2008; and (b) 5.4 million in 2007. The URL for the website changed from:
Vocational Training
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) how many learners were on Learning and Skills Council-funded work-based learning and Train to Gain provision at the end of each quarter of 2007-08; and what the average for each programme was in that year; [263781]
(2) how many learners were on advanced apprenticeships funded by the Learning and Skills Council at the end of each quarter of 2007-08. [264005]
Mr. Simon: Table 1 shows the number of Train to Gain and work-based learning starts by quarter for the 2007/08 academic year.
| Table 1: Train to Gain and work-based learning starts by quarter, 2007/08 | ||
| Quarter | Train to Gain starts | Work-based learning starts( 1) |
| (1) Apprenticeship starts have not historically been spread uniformly throughout the academic year. It is usual to see a peak in starts in the first quarter of the year, followed by a lower level of starts in the second quarter and then a gradual increase until the year end. | ||
Table 2 shows the number of advanced apprenticeship starts by quarter for the 2007/08 academic year.
| Table 2: Advanced apprenticeship starts by quarter, 2007/08 | |
| Quarter | Starts( 1) |
| (1) Apprenticeship starts have not historically been spread uniformly throughout the academic year. It is usual to see a peak in starts in the first quarter of the year, followed by a lower level of starts in the second quarter and then a gradual increase until the year end. Notes: 1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. Figures for advanced apprenticeships include Higher Level Apprenticeships (HLA) to be consistent with information published in statistical first releases. HLA numbers are currently too small to include as a separate category. 3. Work-based learning figures include apprenticeships, Entry to Employment and a small number of NVQ learners. Source: WBL ILR | |
In “World-Class Apprenticeships”, we announced that we were changing the way we count apprenticeships, moving to counting the number of people starting an
apprenticeship in the year (‘starts') and the percentage who complete an apprenticeship (‘completion rate').
The Government are committed to rebuilding apprenticeships. Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 65,000 to a record 225,000 apprenticeship starts in 2007/08. Completion rates are also at a record high with 64 per cent. successfully completing an apprenticeship—up from 37 per cent. in 2004/05.
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what research his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned on the (i) effectiveness of skills training courses and (ii) the proportion of those completing such courses who gain employment related to such training within 12 months of completion in the last five years. [266805]
Mr. Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has, through the LSC, conducted a number of evaluations examining the effectiveness of skills training courses. These are as follows:
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