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15 Dec 2009 : Column 1092W—continued
Competition Commission: Public Relations
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what payments the Competition Commission has made to Euro RSCG Apex in each of the last three years; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made. [302303]
Kevin Brennan: The Competition Commission has made payments totalling £16,690 to Euro RSCG Apex over the last three years-£11,867.50 in 2007/08, £3,701.25 in 2008/09 and £1,121.25 in 2009/10. The payments related to strategic communications advice provided to the CC on specific investigations and for the organisation in general. The advice has been provided under the terms of a three year contract which can be terminated by the CC at any point with a month's notice. The contract is subject to the normal considerations of confidentiality regarding a commercial agreement such as this and it would not be appropriate to place a copy in the Library.
Construction: Economic Situation
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent assessment is of the effects on the construction industry of the recession; and if he will make a statement. [305294]
Ian Lucas: According to data published on 3 December by the Office for National Statistics, total construction output in the third quarter of 2009 rose by 2 per cent. compared with the previous quarter. An increase in repair and maintenance of 10 per cent. over the previous quarter offset a fall in new work of 4 per cent.
Information on construction new orders is more volatile, but data published on 10 December showed infrastructure and public non-housing work holding up, with increases of 46 per cent. and 13 per cent. respectively in the 12 months to October 2009 when compared with the previous 12 month period. Overall, new orders were 5 per cent. down in the three months to October compared
with the previous three months, and fell by 19 per cent. in the 12 months to October 2009 compared with the previous 12 month period.
Construction: Government Assistance
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department intends to take to support the construction industry in the next two years. [307246]
Ian Lucas: On 1 December the Department and the Office of Government Commerce, HM Treasury, took a major step in appointing Paul Morrell as the Chief Construction Adviser. Key tasks for Paul include driving the implementation and further development of best value construction procurement; and leading the low carbon construction Innovation and Growth Team which will assess the key barriers to growth in the UK's low carbon construction sector to ensure the UK industry is well placed to serve developing needs and markets.
Dietetics
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Masters of Dietetics degrees were awarded in each of the last five years. [307078]
Mr. Lammy: Information on Masters degrees awarded in dietetics is not available and the numbers of Masters qualifiers in Nutrition are given as an alternative in the table.
Nutrition is classified as a principal subject in the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record and includes courses in nutrition and dietetics.
Figures for the 2008/09 academic year will be available from HESA in January.
Employment Schemes
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of participants in the Learning and Skills Council's Golden Hello scheme his Department estimates have not completed their training in the last 12 months. [304567]
Kevin Brennan: The main objective of the Further Education Golden Hello scheme is to provide an incentive to improve the retention of teachers in the sector. The scheme's eligibility criteria do not require teachers to have completed training at the point of application for or payment of the Golden Hello. Consequently the Department does not require the LSC to collect information on completion of training for the purposes of the scheme.
Applicants, who must be in their second year of teaching, must show that they either hold or are working towards a Diploma to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) qualification. The Further Education Teachers' Qualifications (England) Regulations 2007 regulations require those who don't hold DTLLS as they commence teaching to complete their training within five years, during which time they can be employed in a full teaching role.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria the Learning and Skills Council applies for the selection of participants in its Golden Hello scheme. [304568]
Kevin Brennan: The full eligibility criteria and self assessment guidance for the Further Education Golden Hello Scheme are published each year via the Teachernet website:
In summary applicants must meet all of the following key criteria:
(a) be directly employed by, and in their second ever year of teaching in, an eligible FE institution.
(b) at the time the application is received by the LSC, have a teaching contract for at least one term.
(c) be teaching one or more of the designated shortage subjects.
(d) be qualified with or, at the time of application, be undertaking and working towards a Diploma to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) qualification.
Higher Education: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people applied for places at universities in Leeds for the academic year 2009-10; and how many studied at such universities in 2008-09. [306602]
Mr. Lammy: The latest figures are shown in the table. Each applicant can submit up to five applications, except those applying to Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science courses who can submit up to four applications. The 2009-10 application numbers cover applicants who applied via the UCAS main scheme by 30 June.
Comprehensive data on students who studied at higher education institutions in 2008-09 will become available in January. Figures are therefore provided on accepted applicants to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS in 2008-09.
| Accepted applicants and applications to full-time undergraduate courses | ||
| Applicants accepted for entry in 2008/09 | Applications for entry in 2009/10 | |
| (1) An accredited college of the University of Leeds Source: UCAS | ||
Higher Education: Qualifications
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the targeted allocations provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England for (a) foundation degrees, (b) old and historic buildings and (c) accelerated and intensive provision of postgraduate taught subjects in price band D, with specific reference to the contribution of each to (i) teaching and learning, (ii) widening participation in higher education and (iii) helping re-train people in the recession. [303718]
Mr. Lammy: The Department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of these three targeted allocations.
In July HEFCE launched a consultation on the future of these three targeted allocations. That closed on 14 October 2009. At their meeting on 27 November 2009, the HEFCE board considered proposals to reduce or phase out these allocations. Final decisions will be taken early in the new year, in the light of confirmed allocations for 2010-11.
Hospitality Industry: Training
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made on the provision of skills training for those working in the hospitality industry; and if he will make a statement. [306516]
Kevin Brennan [holding answer 14 December 2009]: The Government are working in a number of ways to support the efforts of the hospitality industry to improve the skills of its workforce.
The National Skills Academy (NSA) for Hospitality forms a key part of the sector's skills strategy, and is backed by leading sector employers. The NSA provides the sector with quality assured training programmes to help to fill skills shortages.
A key priority for the sector is to upskill our domestic workforce to fill vacancies in the sector, and so reduce the sector's reliance on migration. Crucial to this is the roll out of the Government's Young Person's Guarantee. Hospitality, leisure and tourism is one of the first sectors to benefit from the 'Routes into Work' programme, which funds pre-employment training for 18 to 24-year-olds who have been long-term unemployed, with a guarantee of a job in the sector. We are also working with the sector on skills for the ethnic catering industry, where a review of qualifications is taking place and a long term strategy is being developed to reduce reliance on migration and upskill UK workers.
In addition, the industry's Sector Skills Council, People 1st, earlier this year received a new licence from Government, following a recommendation for relicensing by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
Learning and Skills Council for England
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, column 987W, on Learning and Skills Council for England: correspondence, when the review of processes will be completed. [306917]
Kevin Brennan [holding answer 14 December 2009]: I can confirm that the review of processes will be completed shortly, with a view to implementing any necessary changes early in the new year.
Office of Fair Trading: Hotels
Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Office of Fair Trading has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years. [306041]
Kevin Brennan: The Office of Fair Trading's expenditure on hotel accommodation for the last three years was as follows:
| £ | |
Expenditure on hotel accommodation was not separately recorded in prior years, and it is not therefore possible to produce this information without disproportionate cost.
Travel by civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the "Civil Service Management Code".
Office of Fair Trading: Training
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) away days and (b) conferences that took place outside the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) buildings attended by civil servants in the OFT there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each. [307455]
Kevin Brennan: OFT's expenditure on conferences since 2005 is shown in the following table.
| £ | |
Information on the number of conferences attended, and on away days generally, is not available without disproportionate cost.
Older Workers: Vocational Training
David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of people over 55 years old have been assisted in learning new job skills in each of the last three years. [303573]
Kevin Brennan: Data are available from the Labour Force Survey on self-reported participation in training related to their current job or a job they might be able to do in the future for England.
These estimates will not include everyone obtaining new job skills as some people surveyed may be studying for relevant qualifications that they do not personally consider to be job related.
Table 1 shows the proportion of working age people over 55 years old who say they have participated in training related to a current or future job in Quarter 2 (April to June) for the last three years. Annual estimates are not available as the question is only asked on the Labour Force Survey in Quarter 2 and covers only the preceding three months.
| Table 1: Training for working age people over 55 year-old in England | ||
| Number reporting being in training for a current or future job | Percentage reporting being in training for a current or future job | |
| Base: 56-59/64 year olds, England Source: Labour Force Survey | ||
We also hold information on the number of learners that were participating in LSC-funded Further Education. Table 2 shows the number of learners aged 55 or over participating in some form of further education. Note that not all of these learners will be learning skills relevant to a new job.
| Table 2: Participation in Further Education of learners aged 55 or over | |
| Participation for learners aged 55 or over | |
| Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred 2. 2. Age is based on academic age as at 31 August of the start of the academic year. Source: FE ILR | |
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