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25 Jan 2010 : Column 677W—continued
Support the implementation of a college strategic recovery plan.
Support the financial viability of a college.
Improve the quality of learning provision within a college.
The LSC does not usually name colleges in receipt of exceptional support due to the sensitive nature of this particular information. In addition the LSC would need to liaise with the AOC prior to any publication which would obviously take much longer.
Garages and Petrol Stations
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many full-time officials in his Department have responsibility for policy on the retail petrol industry; and if he will make a statement; [312728]
(2) what monitoring his Department undertakes of the geographical distribution of petrol filling stations. [312729]
Mr. Kidney: I have been asked to reply.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is responsible for oil policy and has three full-time officials with policy responsibility for downstream oil and its resilience. We receive quarterly data on the geographical distribution of filling stations for resilience purposes.
Higher Education
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of university students who have withdrawn from a course as a result of a delay in receiving student finance in 2009-10. [312211]
Mr. Lammy: The Department has not made such an estimate and data on non-continuation of students in higher education would not specifically show numbers who have withdrawn from a course in 2009/10 academic year due to delays in receiving student finance. I am advised that, as at 13 December 2009, Student Finance England had paid 817,000 students and that it is still receiving around 1,000 new applications a week. Students whose application for student support was not approved by the start of term would have been able to apply for help through the Access to Learning Fund, which is provided by the Government and administered by higher education institutions, and can provide assistance to students in financial hardship.
Higher Education: Admissions
Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals took up a place at (i) university and (ii) a Russell Group university in each year since 1997. [309215]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 6 January 2010]: The figures in the table show pupils who were in English maintained schools and aged 15 at the start of academic years 2001/02 and 2002/03 who progressed to HE by the age of 19 (in 2005/06 and 2006/07 respectively).
These figures have been estimated using matched data from the National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Learning and Skills Council Individualised Learner Record. Matched higher education data are available only from 2005/06. Figures for 2007/08 will be available in 2010.
| Estimates of the number and proportion of pupils aged 15 in 2001/02 and 2002/03 academic years, in English maintained schools, who progressed to HE by the age of 19 in 2005/06 and 2006/07 | ||||||||
| Young persons in UK HE( 1) | of which Russell Group HEIs | |||||||
| FSM( 2) | Non-FSM( 2) | FSM | Non-FSM | |||||
| Academic year | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage |
| (1) Includes HE level courses at English further education colleges. (2) FSM and non-FSM indicate receipt and non-receipt of free school meals respectively. Notes: 1. In 2002/03 there were 81,100 maintained school pupils aged 15 claiming free school meals. This represents around 14 per cent. of all pupils in English maintained schools. 2. All figures are estimates and numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. Source: Matched data from the National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Learning and Skills Council Individualised Learner Record. | ||||||||
Higher Education: Finance
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the amount of financial support provided by (a) UK and (b) non-UK (i) private sector organisations and (ii) charities for research in the higher education sector in each of the last five years. [310628]
Mr. Lammy: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) undertakes official data collection and analysis relating to higher education in the UK. The HESA Finance Record is published annually and it is the main source of historical information on the funding activities of UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The expected release of the next HE Finance Plus, relating to the year 2008/09, is April 2010.
Table 1 illustrates that financial support from UK private sector organisations and charities for research has increased substantially over the past five years. Annualised growth rates for both sources of income
stand at 3.6 per cent., well above the Treasury's projections for inflation (2.5 per cent. per annum over this period), thereby securing real growth of investment from non-public sources into HEIs research resources.
| Table 1: Funding from domestic sources for all HEIs in the UK | |||||
| All figures in current £ million | |||||
| Domestic funds | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
| Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 'HE Finance Plus'. Various years. | |||||
Foreign funds are reported under 'EU' and 'Overseas' categories, without consideration of the charitable status of the source. The relevant figures are listed in Table 2. They represent only a fraction of domestic resources attracted for research by HEIs in the UK but they have been growing faster than the former, at an annualised rate of 9 per cent., demonstrating an improving international standing of HEI research quality in the UK.
| Table 2: Funding from foreign sources for all HEIs in the UK | |||||
| All figures in current £ million | |||||
| Foreign funds | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
| Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 'HE Finance Plus'. Various years. | |||||
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what higher educational facilities in the UK receive funding from overseas Governments. [311499]
Mr. Lammy: Individual higher education institutions, as autonomous bodies, receive funding from a variety of public and private sources, both in the UK and beyond. The Higher Education Statistics Agency finance record gives details of the income received by the higher education sector as a whole. However, information related to funding from overseas Governments is not collected centrally.
Higher Education: Free School Meals
Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2010, Official Report, column 810W, on higher education: admissions, what the equivalent figures for university entrance are for pupils eligible for free school meals whose ethnicity was recorded as white British. [311115]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 January 2010]: I can confirm that the figures provided in that answer are for white British pupils only.
Higher Education: Overseas Students
Mr. Frank Field:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many non-EU overseas students were accepted onto an
undergraduate or postgraduate course, paid their fees, and were subsequently reported by their institution not to have attended the course in each of the last five academic years. [309803]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 11 January 2010]: I have been asked to reply.
Under the previous student route, education providers were not required to inform the UK Border Agency if an international student did not attend the course for which they were enrolled or pay the appropriate fee.
However, Tier 4 of the Points Based System introduces new requirements for education providers to provide details of international students and their courses. These requirements will mean that Tier 4 sponsors will be required to provide information on the course being followed, whether a student is not attending the course and whether any fees remain unpaid.
Higher Education: Research
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received from university and college unions on his Department's proposed changes to arrangements for research funding. [311749]
Mr. Lammy: In the course of departmental business Ministers meet with many stakeholders and discuss a wide range of issues. I meet regularly with representatives of the University and College Union (UCU). I met with Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the UCU on 20 January when the proposed detail of the impact element of the Research Excellence Framework was discussed.
Higher Education: Torbay
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many residents of Torbay constituency attended university (a) in 1997 and (b) in the most recent academic year for which figures are available. [312397]
Mr. Lammy: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency is provided in the following table.
| Enrolments( 1) from Torbay constituency( 2) , UK higher education institutions( 3) , academic year 1997/98 and 2008/09 | |
| Academic year | Number of enrolments |
| (1) Covers undergraduate and postgraduate students of all ages enrolled on full-time and part-time courses. (2) The table does not include enrolments where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid postcode information. (3) Excludes the Open university due to inconsistencies in their coding of students across the time series. Note: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | |
Higher Education: Wirral
Ben Chapman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department plans to establish a University of Wirral under its new University Challenge scheme. [312414]
Mr. Lammy: As set out in Higher Ambitions, we are committed to the enhancement of locally accessible higher education through a new University Challenge initiative. Since 2003, the Higher Education Funding Council for England has announced support for 17 new local HE centres. In October last year, the HEFCE announced that six further outline proposals could be taken forward, including one in the Wirral. The timing for submission of full business cases will be decided in the context of the next spending review.
Industrial Relations: Former Commissioners
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons the offices of (a) the Commissioner for Rights of Trade Union Members and (b) the Commissioner for Protection Against Unlawful Industrial Action were discontinued. [312276]
Mr. McFadden: As the Government explained in the 1998 'Fairness at Work' White Paper, the arrangements underpinning the work of the Commissioners were inefficient and unnecessary. The Commissioners were therefore abolished and new powers were given to the Certification Officer to ensure that trade union members could secure their rights more easily and effectively.
Jobcentre Plus: Vocational Guidance
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure effective co-operation between college and university careers services and Jobcentre Plus. [312812]
Mr. McFadden: Access to good quality information, advice and guidance is important in helping learners improve their skills, get a job and progress in work. The adult advancement and career service (AACS) will provide all adults in England, from August 2010, with access to impartial advice and support. Once established, it will work in partnership with a range of organisations in local networks, including colleges and universities, and with Connexions services to support smooth transitions between services for young people and adults. It will also work in partnership with Jobcentre Plus as an integrated employment and skills system. Currently, Jobcentre Plus advisers have comprehensive guidance on helping people access graduate internships, either directly through the graduate talent pool or by signposting customers to university careers services. We are developing a partnership agreement to promote good practice and active collaboration between university careers services and Jobcentre Plus. We will also be developing a graduate guarantee so that all new graduates still unemployed after six months will have access to an internship, training or help to become self-employed.
Minimum Wage: Lancashire
Hazel Blears: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of people in work in Salford have received pay at the national minimum wage rate since its introduction. [311946]
Mr. McFadden: Data for earnings are not available at the constituency level because of small sample sizes at this level in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). For the same reason estimates for those earning a wage rate exactly at the NMW are not available.
At the Government office region level, BIS analysis of the 2009 ASHE indicates that 107,000 jobholders in the North West region were earning a wage rate at or below the NMW rate in April 2009.
Department of Trade and Industry previously estimated that the number of jobholders that stood to benefit from the April 1999 introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in the North West region was 140,000.
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