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19 May 2009 : Column 1329W—continued

USA

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on international security with the US administration. [276058]

Bill Rammell [holding answer 18 May 2009]: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses issues of international security with representatives of the US Administration—including in his frequent conversations with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He most recently discussed international security issues during his visit to Washington on 11-12 May 2009 where he met with Secretary Clinton, Deputy Secretary Steinberg and other representatives of the US Administration.

Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed in his meeting with his US counterpart during his recent visit to Washington DC; and what the outcomes of the meeting were. [276109]

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during his visit to Washington on 11-12 May 2009. They had a wide ranging discussion covering key foreign policy issues including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.

Secretary Clinton and the Foreign Secretary also agreed a joint statement on Sri Lanka which was issued following their meeting.

Uzbekistan: Human Rights

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the human rights position of children employed in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. [276190]

Caroline Flint: The UK remains concerned about allegations of the use of child labour in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. We have raised these concerns with the Uzbek Government most recently in discussions with the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March. Our embassy also remains in regular contact with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on the issue of child labour in Uzbekistan.

In order to help establish stronger child labour monitoring systems our embassy in Tashkent is supporting a project that estimates the prevalence of child labour in remote
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rural cotton growing areas of Uzbekistan. The project aims to prevent child labour through informal education and vocational training. We have also welcomed Uzbekistan's recent ratification of the International Labour Organisation Conventions on the minimum age of employment and on the worst forms of child labour, and stand ready to work with the Uzbek Government to implement its international obligations in this regard.

We remain concerned at the overall level of respect for human rights in Uzbekistan, and regularly raise these concerns through a critical, but constructive dialogue with the Uzbek authorities in Tashkent and in discussions with the Uzbek Embassy in London. In addition, the EU has a comprehensive human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan, which includes a focus on the need for further progress in Uzbek promotion and protection of human rights. The third round of talks is due to take place on 10 June 2009.

Innovation, Universities and Skills

Higher Education: Admissions

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many (a) applicants and (b) accepted applicants to full-time undergraduate courses in England there were in each of the last 10 years; and how many such applicants were domiciled in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland. [271019]

Mr. Lammy: The information is given in the tables. The figures cover students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS. UCAS does not cover applications to part-time undergraduate or postgraduate courses, or students who apply directly to institutions.

Applicants to full-time undergraduate courses in England via UCAS UK domiciled students
	Home domicile of student
Year of entry	England	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales	Grand total
1998	298,923	8,088	6,936	13,053	327,000
1999	296,081	7,617	6,781	12,546	323,025
2000	295,555	7,219	6,748	12,174	321,696
2001	302,400	6,927	5,965	12,272	327,564
2002	302,698	6,762	5,472	11,962	326,894
2003	309,561	7,114	5,407	12,273	334,355
2004	314,556	7,813	5,064	12,001	339,434
2005	342,927	8,836	5,281	12,675	369,719
2006	329,842	8,545	5,120	12,060	355,567
2007	350,127	9,068	5,032	11,950	376,177
2008	389,065	8,833	4,774	12,145	414,817

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Accepted applicants to full-time undergraduate courses in England via UCAS UK domiciled students
	Home domicile of student
Year of entry	England	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales	Grand total
1998	234,828	2,359	2,174	6,478	245,839
1999	239,573	2,250	2,149	6,388	250,360
2000	243,347	2,129	2,177	6,262	253,915
2001	257,705	2,229	2,109	6,527	268,570
2002	262,657	2,171	2,064	6,365	273,257
2003	263,958	2,613	1,989	6,423	274,983
2004	263,773	2,833	1,799	6,102	274,507
2005	287,909	3,174	1,881	6,324	299,288
2006	277,237	2,995	1,743	5,434	287,409
2007	294,533	3,203	1,754	5,306	304,796
2008	330,400	3,214	1,774	5,491	340,879
Notes on UCAS applicant data: 1. The applicant figures cover applicants submitting one or more applications to an English institution (up to 2007 each applicant could submit up to six applications, this was reduced to five from 2008). Students in this table applying to English institutions may also have applied to institutions in one or more of the other home countries, and some may have been accepted to institutions in those countries. 2. In 2008 the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions System (NMAS) was subsumed in to the UCAS application system and part of the increase from 2007 to 2008 can be attributed this factor. There were 14,184 applicants who were accepted to former NMAS courses, the majority of whom were English domiciled (and NMAS was only for English institutions). Source: UCAS

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Students: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of students studying for a higher education qualification in a further education college in 2007-08 were (a) directly funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, (b) funded via a university and (c) funded by the Learning and Skills Council; and what proportion of the total number of higher education students in England in that year each represents. [273072]

Mr. Lammy: The latest available information is given in the table.

Higher education enrolments by source of funding: English Further education colleges( 1) academic years 2005/06( 2) and 2007/08( 3)
	Number	Proportion (percentage)	Proportion of all higher education enrolments( 4)( ) (percentage)
Total higher education enrolments at further education colleges(5)	172,160	100.0	8.4
Of which:
Directly funded by HEFCE(6)	52,775	30.7	2.6
Funded via a University(2,7)	50,015	29.1	2.4
Funded by LSC	47,140	27.4	2.3
(1) The figures have not been adjusted for colleges that transferred during this period from the FE to the HE sector, or for those which merged with HE institutions. (2) Funded via a university figures come from the 2005/06 HESA record and were provided by HEFCE analysts. 2006/07 and 2007/08 HESA data are available but the equivalent analysis has not yet been performed by HEFCE. Therefore proportions given in the table for students funded via a university are estimates based on earlier data, and may not reflect 2007/08 actual proportions. (3) 2007/08 data are provisional. The final 2007/08 data will be available in January 2010. (4) All Higher Education enrolments cover Higher Education enrolments at Further Education Colleges plus Higher Education enrolments at Higher Education Institutions. The underlying Higher Education Institution data come from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record and are on a DIUS whole year count basis. Includes students registered by an English HE institution that are taught at any UK FE college (not just English FE colleges). (5) Includes students with other sources of funding, therefore the sum of HEFCE funded, funded via a university and LSC funded will not sum to the number of all enrolments; likewise the proportions will not sum to 100 per cent. (6) Includes students funded via a HEFCE-recognised funding consortium led by an HE institution. (7) Includes students registered at any English HE institution, this includes HE colleges as well as universities. Notes: 1. ILR figures are on a DIUS whole year count basis, which counts students enrolled at any point in the academic year. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five and proportions have been rounded to one decimal place. Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR) apart from funded via a University figures which are from the 2005/06 Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record.

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