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17 Jan 2011 : Column 612W—continued
Teachers: Training
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what training his Department plans to provide to non-specialist primary school teachers in respect of (a) physical education and (b) after school clubs after April 2011. [25029]
Tim Loughton: The Department confirmed in February 2010 that there will be 18,640 primary initial teacher training places in 2010/11. We are currently considering the position for future years.
All primary trainees must demonstrate that they have met the requirements of the Qualified Teacher Status standards before being awarded that status. Trainees must know and understand the relevant statutory and non-statutory curricula and frameworks for their subjects and curriculum areas, and other relevant information applicable to the age and ability range for which they are trained.
We are committed to improving the quality and status of teaching which will include improving the quality and rigour of initial teacher training. We also want to establish a strong culture of professional development where schools think actively about how their staff contribute to pupils' achievement and teachers take responsibility for leading their own and others' development by sharing effective practice. Further details on both of these points will be set out in the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what procedure a school wishing to become a training school will be required to follow. [28054]
Mr Gibb: In the White Paper "The Importance of Teaching" we announced our intention to bring together the training school and national teaching school models to create a new national network of teaching schools from September 2011. We will make an announcement about schools which can apply to become teaching schools shortly.
In the meantime, any schools wishing to express an interest in applying for the new designation should register their interest with the national college at:
teachingschoolsenquiries@nationalcollege.org.uk
Teachers: Vacancies
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many unfilled teaching vacancies at (a) primary and (b) secondary school level there were in (i) Cumbria and (ii) England in each year since 1979. [28076]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 2 December 2010]: The following table provides the full-time teacher vacancies in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools in Cumbria local authority and England in each January, 1979 to 2010.
| Teacher vacancies in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools. Each January 1979 to 2010. Coverage: Cumbria local authority and England | ||||
| Cumbria local authority | England | |||
| Nursery and primary | Secondary | Nursery and primary | Secondary | |
| n/a = Not available (1) Between 1979 and 1983 vacancies have been included for full-time permanent appointments including appointments for at least one term's duration. (2) Advertised vacancies for full-time permanent appointments (or appointments of at least one term's duration). Includes vacancies being filled on a temporary basis of less than one term. Note: England figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Form 618g | ||||
Written Questions: Government Responses
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to reply to Question (a) 27202, on the Schools Sports Partnership, tabled on 24 November, (b) 27204, on school sports, tabled on 24 November, (c) 26598, on the Schools Sports Partnerships, tabled on 22 November and (d) 26599 on funding for the Schools Sports Partnership, tabled on 22 November; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply in each case. [30197]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 13 December 2010]: I apologise for delay in answering these PQs. PQ replies have been temporarily delayed due to the sharp rise in quantity of PQs received in this specific policy area and the heavy demand on existing resources to enable the PQs to be processed to meet deadline. I can confirm that PQ 26599 and 27203 have now been replied to on 16 December 2010, Official Report, column 859W and 10 January 2011, Official Report, column 92W, respectively. However, 26598 has been withdrawn so we are unable to provide a response to this PQ.
We aim to reply to all outstanding PQs shortly.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to provide a substantive answer to Question 29706, on Questions tabled for answer on a named day, tabled on 6 December 2010 for answer on 9 December 2010. [30914]
Tim Loughton: A response to PQ29706 was issued to the hon. Member on 13 January 2011, Official Report, column 446W.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to provide a substantive answer to question 29707, on questions tabled for named day answer, tabled on 6 December 2010 for named day answer on 9 December 2010. [30946]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 15 December 2010]: A response to PQ29707 was issued to the hon. Member on 20 December 2010, Official Report, column 1064W.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to provide a substantive answer to question 29330, on RM, on 2 December 2010 and for named day answer on 7 December 2010. [30948]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 15 December 2010]: A response to PQ29330 was issued to the hon. Member on 14 December 2010, Official Report, column 735W.
Youth Services: Finance
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has for future funding for youth centres; and if he will make a statement. [32079]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 12 January 2010]: The Government have committed £134 million over 2011-13 to complete the myplace programme of capital investment in 69 youth centres. Alongside this, we have given local authorities the freedoms and flexibilities to determine how future funding is best used to meet the needs of their communities and to use their local knowledge to make efficient investments in facilities that can make a real difference to the lives of their young people. This may include making better use of existing buildings such as Children's Centres and community buildings for youth work at times that suit young people.
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 17 January 2011
Business, Innovation and Skills
Banks: Incentives
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on which occasions he has discussed with the chief executives of (a) Royal Bank of Scotland Group, (b) Lloyds Banking Group and (c) Barclays (i) the bonuses paid to their staff and (ii) their personal bonus since 1 December 2010. [34026]
Mr Prisk: Ministers meet bank executives on a range of issues and that it is not the Governments practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Banks: Loans
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to establish targets for banks in the area of business support; and if he will make a statement. [33013]
Mr Prisk: We have been working closely with the main UK banks through the British Bankers Association to ensure they deliver the commitments made as part of their response to the Government's Green Paper "Financing a Private Sector Recovery". I welcome the work so far from the banks, particularly the commitment to support a network of mentors for small businesses, the funding of new independent survey of business lending and the £1.5 billion Business Growth Fund for growing small and mid-sized businesses. In addition the coalition agreement stated that Government would consider net lending agreements among other options in order to ensure access to finance for viable businesses. This remains the case.
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of loan facilities for small businesses. [33279]
Mr Prisk: SME lending data collected by BIS shows that demand for credit remains at historically low levels. However, the large majority of SME applications for finance are successful. The Government continues to monitor the situation closely, and have conversations with both small business representatives and banks on this issue-through channels such as the Small Business Economic Forum.
While continuing to encourage lending to viable SMEs, the Government have agreed lending commitments with RBS and Lloyds which will be in place up until March 2011. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer
(Mr Osborne) has confirmed that he is currently in discussions with the major banks to ensure that they lend materially and verifiably more than they were planning to the businesses of Britain-especially the small businesses-so that they can grow and create jobs this year.
In addition, over £1.3 billion of loans have been offered to SMEs through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, which has been extended to 2014-15, with £600 million available this year.
Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider in his review of banking in the UK the effect on lending availability in the Northern Ireland market of (a) the restricted number of banking providers and (b) the effects on that market of the situation of banks operating in the market which are headquartered in the Republic of Ireland. [33702]
Mr Prisk: The Government have set up the Independent Commission on Banking to review the structure of the UK banking sector and address financial stability and competition. The Commission is due to present a final report of independent recommendations to the Government in September.
We need to see more competition in the banking sector and foster greater choice. Specifically, the OFT's recent review of barriers to entry, exit and expansion in retail banking found that
"brand loyalty to incumbent national brands in Scotland and Northern Ireland may be greater than elsewhere in the UK"(1).
The Independent Commission will take into account the findings of previous investigations into competition in markets for financial services, including the OFT report mentioned above.
We are in discussions with the banks to see if we can reach an agreement whereby banks treat customers fairly, and commit to lend materially and verifiably more than they were planning to the businesses of Britain-especially small businesses, across all the regions-so that they can grow and create jobs.
The effects on the market specifically relating to banks headquartered in the Republic of Ireland are not within the scope of the terms of reference established last summer by the Independent Commission on Banking. However, these terms of reference state that the Commission will formulate policy recommendations with a view
"reducing systemic risk in the banking sector, exploring the risk posed by banks of different size, scale and function".
The Government will continue to closely monitor the situation in Ireland in-line with the action and assistance package which was announced by the Chancellor last November.
(1) The Competition Commission also carried out a market investigation into Personal Current Accounts in Northern Ireland in 2007.
Business: Females
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of women entrepreneurs in the South East. [33888]
Mr Prisk: The coalition Government are committed to making this decade the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in our history.
We believe that aspiration needs to be raised amongst women to ensure that they see starting a business as a viable career option. This will best be achieved longer term by embedding enterprise awareness in mainstream education.
The Government are also currently reforming the way in which start-ups and existing businesses access the support and information that they need. We are establishing a modern, streamlined and efficient system of providing information and guidance to all.
More information on the Government's position is available at:
Business: Internet
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to facilitate the growth of small and medium-sized businesses which are dependent on the internet for their sales growth. [32990]
Mr Prisk: As part of the transformational ICT pilot programme, BIS has been testing a number of business support options in different regions to identify and address issues that deter SMEs from adopting digital technology and hence fail to benefit from the productivity and competitiveness benefits it offers.
As a result, we have identified a need to provide tools to up-skill SMEs and enable them to be "intelligent customers". We are now looking into the scope for developing a number of tools, such as a business IT guide, training modules and a diagnostic tool to be delivered nationally online to encourage SMEs to integrate the web and associated internet e-commerce activities across all parts of their business.
There are also a number of private initiatives to help SMEs, including Google's 'Getting British Business Online'. This collaboration between Google, Enterprise UK, BT, and e-skills UK, with the support of this Department, aims to help small businesses create their first website and understand the opportunities offered by the internet. Over 100,000 UK organisations have already been helped to set up their first website easily and for free. The initiative includes help for businesses on how to market on the web and use search engine optimisation to increase the number of customer visits to their website.
More generally, we are focusing our resources on improving small business performance and growth by investing in a universal service for all businesses, including those operating online. The new service will be delivered via the web and a contact centre, and changes include modernising the provision of online information so web-connected businesses can access what they need, when they need it.
Business: Regulation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to exempt small businesses from employment regulations. [33430]
Mr Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is leading and co-ordinating a long term project across Whitehall looking at all areas of employment legislation in all the relevant Departments to ensure that employment laws provide the flexibility that businesses need to grow without compromising fairness to employees. I am mindful that small firms can experience difficulty in understanding and complying with employment legislation and the review will certainly consider such issues.
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to amend employment laws affecting the smallest companies. [33727]
Mr Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is leading and co-ordinating a long term project across Whitehall looking at all areas of employment legislation in all the relevant Departments. I am mindful that small firms can experience difficulty in complying with employment legislation and the review will certainly consider such issues.
EU Law
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what legal advice his Department has sought on the routine copying out of EU directives directly into UK law; whether this advice differs from previous legal advice obtained from within Government resources; and if he will make a statement. [32573]
Mr Prisk: As a matter of routine, this Department is able to draw on legal advice as and when necessary. Details of any advice provided are confidential and attract Legal Professional Privilege.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which organisations he consulted on his proposal to adopt as routine the practice of copying out the text of EU directives as a means of implementing them in UK law. [32574]
Mr Prisk: Under its Guiding Principles for EU legislation, the Government will use copy out for transposition where it is available, except where doing so would adversely affect UK interests. This will help implement the coalition commitment to end 'gold-plating' of EU rules, so that British businesses are not disadvantaged relative to their European competitors.
Export Credit Guarantees: Sudan
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in respect of what projects in Sudan supported by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) in the last 30 years debt is owed to the ECGD. [33178]
Mr Prisk: Sudan defaulted on its external debts in the late 1970s and ECGD has no record of providing support for any projects since then.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) interest and (b) charges are added to the debt owed by Sudan to the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [33213]
Mr Prisk: Sudan's external debts were rescheduled under four bilateral debt agreements between 1979 and 1984. No payments have been received since May 1984. The total interest that has accrued up to 31 December 2010 on the defaulted amount of £173 million is £491 million.
Sudan is a heavily indebted poor country (HIPC) and it is the Government's policy not to seek payment of debts owed by HIPCs.
Exports: Higher Education
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the amount generated by UK higher education institutions in export earnings (a) in total, (b) by each higher education institution as a proportion of the total and (c) in total as a proportion of UK export earnings in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [33779]
Mr Willetts: Universities UK have estimated the gross value of exports earnings by UK higher education institutions (HEIs) to be £2.7 billion in 1999/2000, £3.6 billion in 2003/04 and £5.3 billion in 2007/08.
As a proportion of UK export earnings, these represent 1.0% in 1990/00, 1.2% in 2003/04 and 1.5% in 2007/08 of the total.
Estimates for each HEI are not available.
It should be noted that estimates of HE exports from Universities UK are not wholly consistent with total UK exports which are from official ONS statistics. When estimating the approximate UK shares, no adjustments have been made to account for methodological differences in the two sources.
Graduates
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that graduates have both practical and academic skills. [33271]
Mr Willetts: Close contact between employers and the higher education sector is crucial to ensuring that graduates gain the skills needed to enter their chosen fields within industry. For example, work experience opportunities provided by employers enable graduates to use their academic knowledge as well as gain practical and real life skills in a working environment.
To promote this activity further, last summer the coalition asked all universities to introduce employability statements reflecting the importance of helping graduates ready for the world of work. We intend to build further on this work in forthcoming higher education White Paper.
Graduates: Disadvantaged
Mr Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many postgraduate research students in the UK who were British citizens received free school meals (a) in total, (b) as a proportion of the total number of British postgraduate research students in the UK, (c) in each higher education institution (i) in total and (ii) as a
proportion of the total number of British postgraduate research students at each institution, (d) by subject (i) in total and (ii) as a proportion of the total number of British postgraduate research students of each subject and (e) by institution by subject (i) in total and (ii) as a proportion of that total; and if he will make a statement. [33780]
Mr Willetts: The data we hold only allow us to track the progression of school pupils to age 19. At this age, those individuals who have progressed to UK HE are unlikely to have reached postgraduate study and there were none in the latest data for 2007/08. There is no information giving a breakdown of postgraduate students by eligibility for free school meals when they were younger.
Graduates: Training
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the merits of introducing a training wage for interns; and if he will make a statement. [33470]
Mr Davey: Government considered the proposal to introduce a training wage for interns mirroring the minimum wage rate for apprentices, but decided not to implement it.
We recognise the importance of ensuring that those interns who are eligible to be paid receive at least the appropriate NMW rate. We are working to update our guidance on the payment of work experience and interns to ensure that individuals and employers are clear about their rights and responsibilities, as well as ensuring that enforcement continues to be effective.
Internships have no legal definition and rarely result in a qualification. In this they differ from apprenticeships which are formal programmes of learning that result in recognised qualifications. It is much more difficult to work out who is genuinely an intern in different organisations and to make the case that interns are significantly different from other workers. The proposal for an interns' training wage does not fully acknowledge that some interns are already entitled to a minimum wage.
Green Investment Bank
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to his answer of 9 November 2010, Official Report, columns 297-98W, on the Green Investment Bank, what asset sales the Government is considering to provide funding for the proposed Green Investment Bank. [33363]
Mr Prisk: The Government have committed to using proceeds from some asset sales to complement the funding of £1 billion from departmental budgets for the Green Investment Bank (GIB), as set out in the spending review statement. It has not reached firm decisions about which asset sales will provide proceeds for the GIB.
I am unable to provide commercially sensitive information on individual asset sales, including our expectations on the size of proceeds. The Government will be making further announcements on its assets sales programme in due course.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) governance and (b) management structures for the operation of the Green Investment Bank he plans to establish. [33417]
Mr Prisk: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The governance mechanisms and business model will depend on the final design of the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The precise nature of the GIB is subject to further design and testing work with the proposals being evaluated for effectiveness, fiscal affordability and transparency.
(b) The GIB will make its investment decisions independent from political control and on a commercial basis and employ private sector skills and expertise.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria the Green Investment Bank will use for the allocation of funding to projects. [33418]
Mr Prisk: The Green Investment Bank's governance mechanisms and business model will depend on its final design. A framework will be developed in accordance with how funding allocations will be made, whilst leaving the GIB free from day-to-day ministerial interference.
The GIB's investment mandate will be to deliver the Government's ambitions in economic growth; facilitate the transition to a green economy, and support the UK's industrial transformation. All GIB investments will be further guided by the Government's tests of effectiveness, affordability and transparency.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what arrangements he plans to make to fund the Green Investment Bank; and from which of his Department's budgets its funding will be drawn. [33425]
Mr Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the spending review statement. The Green Investment Bank (GIB) has a specific departmental expenditure limit of £1 billion, for spend in 2013-14. This funding is outside of any Department's own allocation.
Additionally to the £1 billion, the GIB will also have significant funding from the proceeds of Government asset sales.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what processes the proposed Green Investment Bank will use to (a) evaluate applications for funding and (b) allocate funds. [33511]
Mr Prisk: The Green Investment Bank will be run on a commercial basis, employing appropriate private sector skills and expertise and free from ministerial interference in its day-to-day operations.
Growth Review
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the Growth Review to report; and if he will make a statement. [34241]
Mr Prisk: The first phase of the Growth Review will report by Budget 2011.
Herbal Medicine: EU Law
David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Health and (b) European Commission on the effects on businesses of the implementation of the Traditional Herbal Medicines Directive. [33719]
Higher Education: Admissions
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people from the four lowest socio-economic classes in Richmond Park constituency enrolled in UK higher education institutions in the latest period for which figures are available. [32969]
Mr Willetts: The latest available socio-economic information on young full-time undergraduate entrants from Richmond Park constituency to UK higher education institutions is shown in the following table. Figures have been taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record and are provided for the 2009/10 academic year. Information for the 2010/11 academic year will become available from HESA in January 2012. Socio-economic class information is not available for part-time entrants to higher education.
| Young( 1) full-time undergraduate entrants from Richmond Park constituency( 2) by socio-economic classification( 3) , UK higher education institutions | |
| Academic year 2009/10 | |
| Socio-economic classification | Entrants |
| (1) Refers to entrants under the age of 21. (2) The table does not include entrants where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid postcode information. (3) The socio-economic classification of young entrants is based on the classification of their parents. (4) Covers entrants whose socio-economic classification was never worked and long-term unemployed, missing or not classified: not classified includes occupations which were inadequately described, not classifiable or unstated. Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record | |
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people normally resident in (a) Wallasey constituency, (b) the Wirral borough council area, (c) the North West and (d) England applied to attend university to start in academic year (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12. [33861]
Mr Willetts: The information is in the following tables and is provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and therefore mostly covers full-time undergraduate study.
Data for 2010/11 represents applicants who had applied by 13 October 2010; end of year data will be available from 20 January 2011.
| Applicants to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS 2010/11 | |
| Location | Applicants |
| Source: UCAS | |
Data for 2011/12 represents applicants who had applied by 20 December 2010. Applicants can apply via the main scheme up until the end of June and through clearing after this. UCAS will release the next set of data on applicants for 2011/12 on 31 January 2011.
| Applicants to full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS 2011/12 | |
| Location | Applicants |
| Source: UCAS | |
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of those who applied to university from (a) Wallasey constituency, (b) the Wirral borough council area, (c) the North West and (d) England did not gain a university place in (i) academic year 2010-11 and (ii) each of the previous five academic years. [33862]
Mr Willetts: The information is in the following table and is provided by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and therefore mostly covers full-time undergraduate study.
Applicants who were not accepted for entry can include:
individuals who did not receive any offer; individuals who received an offer (conditional or unconditional) but decided not to go to university;
individuals who received a conditional offer and failed to meet the specific conditions (e.g. they did not achieve certain grades); and
individuals who decided to withdraw from the UCAS system.
| Proportion of applicants to courses at UK institutions via UCAS who were unplaced 2006/07 to 2010/11 | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 20101 | |
| Source: UCAS. | |||||
Data for 2010/11 represent applicants who apply for entry in 2010/11 at 13 October 2010; end of year data will be available from 20 January 2011.
All other years represent final end of year data.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applicants to university from (i) Wallasey constituency, (ii) the Wirral borough council area, (iii) the North West and (iv) England were from each socio-economic background in each of the last five years. [33863]
Mr Willetts: Data by socio-economic background are not available for each of the years requested. Therefore, applicants are split by Participation Of Local AReas (POLAR) quintiles.
Applicants who were not accepted for entry can include:
individuals who did not receive any offer; individuals who received an offer (conditional or unconditional) but decided not to go to university;
individuals who received a conditional offer and failed to meet the specific conditions (e.g. they did not achieve certain grades); and
individuals who decided to withdraw from the UCAS system.
| Unplaced applicants to full-time undergraduate courses in UK institutions via UCAS by area background, 2006/07 to 2010/11 | |||||||
| Unplaced applicants | Area background | POLAR2 q uintile | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010( 1) |
| (1 )Provisional. (2 )Unknown. | |||||||
Numbers for successful and unsuccessful applicants are too small to be split into five quintiles for constituency and local authority level. Therefore the data are split into those from areas classified as 'disadvantaged' or 'other'.
For the purposes of their funding allocations, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) treat entrants from the most disadvantaged 40% of neighbourhoods as 'disadvantaged':
HEFCE uses two different groupings of areas to define disadvantage which are based on the historic levels of participation or qualification in higher education by the local population: one based on the participation rates of young (19 and under) people in HE (which is used by HEFCE when looking at young full-time entrants); and one based on the proportion of adults in the area who hold HE qualifications (which is used by HEFCE when looking at part-time and mature full-time entrants). Because this table includes applicants and accepted applicants of all ages disadvantage is defined by the HE qualified adults measure.
Data for 2010/11 represent applicants who apply for entry in 2010/11 at 13 October 2010; end of year data will be available from 20 January 2011.
All other years represent final end of year data.
Higher Education: Finance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the Higher Education Funding Council for England to confirm its next funding allocation to universities; and if he will make a statement. [33777]
Mr Willetts: As in previous years the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will announce its provisional allocations to institutions for the next academic year (2011/12) in March this year, with final allocations in July.
Innovation: Regional Development Agencies
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department has provided to centres of innovation that are dependent on funding from the regional development agencies (RDAs) on whether they will remain as going concerns following the closure of RDAs. [33766]
Mr Willetts: The Department has not provided any guidance to centres of innovation dependent on funding from the regional development agencies. We are however considering the future of these centres in the context of existing RDA assets and liabilities.
Furthermore, some of these centres may well succeed in their bids for future funding under the process of establishing the elite network of technology and innovation centres that is being run by the Technology Strategy Board.
Innovation: Research
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many expressions of interest his Department has received from organisations wishing to establish a technology and innovation centre to date. [33764]
Mr Willetts: The network of technology and innovation centres will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board which recently published a prospectus setting out the process for establishing these.
Formal expressions of interest in forming all or part of the high value manufacturing centre and requests for suggestions and to register an interest within the broad thematic areas of energy and resource efficiency, transport systems, healthcare, ICT, electronics, photonics and electrical systems-are being gathered by the Technology Strategy Board as part of the process outlined in the prospectus.
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which areas in the North East are not proposed to be covered by a local enterprise partnership; and what assessment he has made of the effect on such areas of exclusion from such partnerships. [33338]
Mr Prisk: All areas of the North East will be covered by a local enterprise partnership. Both the Tees Valley and the North Eastern partnerships have been asked to set up their boards.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has made a forecast of the number of local enterprise partnerships that it expects to be established in (a) the North East and (b) England; and if he will make a statement. [33508]
Mr Prisk:
In the North East there are two local enterprise partnerships (LEPs.) Across England 28 local enterprise partnerships have met the Government's
expectations to date and have been asked to put their governance arrangements in place. Other partnerships continue to develop their proposals so they can be in a similar position.
The development of local enterprise partnerships is a bottom up process. No estimate has been made on the optimal number of LEPs to be established. We wish to enable partnerships to better reflect the natural economic geography of the areas they serve and hence to cover real functional economic and travel to work areas. In addition, we would expect that partnerships to be of sufficient size to be able to have a strategic oversight of the area covered.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department made of the (a) reflection of a functional economic area and (b) governance arrangements in the successful second proposal for a local enterprise partnership to cover local authority areas in the North East. [34577]
Mr Prisk: The north-eastern local enterprise partnership proposal was assessed against the criteria as set out in the Local Growth White Paper. With regard to geography the Government concluded that the proposal represented a functional economic area that was supported by business and was sufficiently strategic.
No assessment of the partnership's governance arrangements has been made yet. The partnership has been asked to form its board and inform Ministers when this is done. Ministers will then assess the board to ensure it also meets Government expectations regarding membership.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to set out the process to be followed for the transition from the regional development agency to two local enterprise partnerships in the North East; and if he will make a statement. [34578]
Mr Prisk: Our proposals for restructuring the delivery landscape for economic development are set out in the Local Growth White Paper.
The two local enterprise partnerships which have been invited to form their boards in the north-east are already working, alongside the North East Economic Partnership, to develop proposals which will best serve the natural economic geography of their areas.
They will be focusing on key issues of importance to support rebalancing the economy of the north-east. These issues include: transition to a low carbon economy, supporting enterprise and private sector business growth, building on key economic strengths, improving skills and performance, and strengthening transport connectivity and infrastructure.
Manpower: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which staff of his Department have been transferred to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as a result of the transfer of responsibility for media and telecommunications competition policy; and whether such transfers are (a) on secondment and (b) permanent. [33765]
Mr Vaizey: The details of which work will be transferred from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been agreed and these Departments are now considering which staff will move and on what terms. No decisions have been made yet about whether the transfers will be permanent or on secondment.
Metals: Imports
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the level of security of supply of rare earth metals required by industry. [33726]
Mr Prisk: This Department is currently monitoring the various issues across Government surrounding rare earth metals, and discussing concerns with industry as they arise.
Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's policy is on support for research and development in the hybrid motor vehicle industry in the comprehensive spending review period; [33632]
Mr Prisk: To meet UK carbon targets, the road transport sector needs to be decarbonised and a key element will be the move to ultra-low carbon vehicles, including electric and plug-in hybrid. The spending review announced provision of in excess of £400 million over the lifetime of this Parliament to support the decarbonisation of road transport. This support will include:
A commitment to a national recharging infrastructure for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, informed by the eight Plugged-In Places (PIP) pilot projects which will deliver approximately 8,000 charging points, between 2010-13;
The Plug-In Car Grant (PICG) which was successfully launched on 1 January 2011. The PICG promotes consumer uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles by providing 25% of the cost of the car up to a cap of £5,000 to both private and business purchasers of eligible cars (which include the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid);
The Technology Strategy Board's (TSB) core budget for the upcoming spending review period has yet to be allocated and until such a time it will not be possible for the TSB to specify the level of funding that it is likely to allocate towards the development of Low Carbon Vehicle technology. The TSB has been working in close partnership with this Department, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to support Low Carbon Vehicle Research and Development (R and D) under a range of themes-including hybrid vehicle technology-prioritised by an industry-led steering group and informed by the New Automotive Innovation and Growth Team Technology Roadmap and Automotive Council findings. Funding is not, however, pre-allocated to specific themes, is subject to a competitive process and success will depend on the quality of the proposals submitted.
The projected R and D spend over the period 1 April 2011-31 March 2015 by the EPSRC in support of the hybrid motor vehicle industry is shown in the following table (based on current grants only).
| Financial year | EPSRC spend on hybrid motor vehicle research (£) |
The DfT funded Low Carbon Vehicle Public Procurement programme has provided 200 all-electric and hybrid vans into public sector fleets. The value of this has been £6 million in the financial year 2010-11, and will be £1 million in 2011-12.
DfT pays a bus subsidy incentive, at a rate of 6 pence per kilometre, to bus operators in England who use low carbon buses (including hybrid buses) on their local bus network.
New Businesses
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Government is taking to encourage the establishment and growth of new small businesses. [33724]
Mr Prisk: The Government are encouraging the establishment and growth of new small businesses by:
Launching the new Enterprise Allowance to help the unemployed become self-employed;
Revamping the:
website which will include a dedicated "start-up hub" bringing into one place the information that people need when thinking of starting or are running a new business;
Establishing a network of at least 40,000 experienced business mentors offering practical advice to existing businesses and people who want to start a business;
Encouraging local authorities to work with the private sector to create Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs) to create the right conditions for small firms to grow;
Refocusing the range of Solutions for Business products so that they are better focussed on helping firms grow;
Investing over £200 million in a national network of elite Technology and Innovation Centres to support the development and commercialisation of new technologies by UK businesses; and
Establishing a new Business Coaching for Growth Programme to enable those new small businesses with high growth potential to realise their potential.
One NorthEast
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the abolition of One NorthEast on businesses in the North East. [34601]
Mr Prisk: An assessment of the impact of the abolition of One NorthEast will be made as part of the process surrounding the Public Bodies Bill.
Post Offices
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what additional public sector services he expects to be delivered through the Post Office branch network by 2015. [33344]
Mr Prisk: The Post Office is already a trusted partner to the public sector, delivering a wide range of services for both central and local government. But the wide distribution and unparalleled national coverage of the Post Office network makes it ideally suited to go further and act as a front office for Government. This would see the Post Office as the natural place to complete face-to-face transactions, including those that support the delivery of online services, such as identity verification, as well as having a role in supporting people to use online services. More detail can be found in the policy statement 'Securing the Post office Network in the Digital Age', published on 9 November 2010, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support the Post Office network. [33628]
Mr Davey: We set out our policy towards the Post Office network in the policy statement 'Securing the Post Office Network in the Digital Age', published on 9 November, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. We will be providing £1.34 billion of funding for the Post Office over the next four years, enabling the maintenance and modernisation of the nationwide network of around 11,500 branches and the development of new revenue streams. There will be no programme of post office closures under this Government.
Post Offices: Bank Services
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed when taking the decision not to proceed with the creation of a Postbank. [33343]
Mr Prisk: We have looked carefully at the different options for providing financial services through the Post Office network. The three main approaches we focused on were the Post Office continuing to expand into financial services under its existing arrangements, the Post Office working with a different banking partner, and Government creating a state-backed Post Bank. In coming to our conclusion we reviewed relevant publicly available documents, studied international comparisons and engaged with stakeholders, including supporters of a state-backed Post Bank.
Post Offices: Closures
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post offices were (a) closed, (b) under temporary closure and (c) operated by temporary staff since May 2010; and what estimate he has made of the likely number of post office closures in 2011. [33824]
Mr Davey: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the managing director of the Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Postal Services: Fees and Charges
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to ensure that no geographical zonal pricing for Royal Mail services results from implementation of the provisions of the Postal Services Bill. [33517]
Mr Davey: The Postal Services Bill clearly sets out the minimum requirements of a universal postal service and this includes the delivery of a universal service at affordable prices determined in accordance with a public tariff that is uniform throughout the United Kingdom.
It is the responsibility of the regulator, Postcomm (or Ofcom once regulatory responsibility is transferred to them under the Bill) to consider any requests by Royal Mail to operate services on a zonal basis and their considerations would obviously include any impact on customers affected by any such proposed change. And as is currently the case, any such requests would also be subject to consultation. Any universal service products must be provided at a uniform rate across the UK.
Royal Mail do of course already operate zonal pricing for some 'access' products for bulk mail products. These products are outside of the universal service so there is no requirement for a uniform rate.
Regional Growth Fund
James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications have been received for round 1 of bids to the Regional Growth Fund to date. [33630]
Mr Prisk: To date four bids have been received. It is typical in any competitive bidding process for applications to be received at the last minute, so we expect bids for the first round of funding to reach us nearer to the 21 January deadline.
Research: Overseas Students
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many postgraduate research students in the UK were from outside the UK (a) in each of the last 10 years by (i) number and (ii) proportion of the total, (b) by subject in each of the last 10 years by (i) number and (ii) proportion of the total; and (c) how much they paid for their course in each of the last 10 years by (i) number and (ii) proportion of the total according to fee bands (A) £0 to £5,000, (B) £5,001 to £10,000, (C) £10,001 to £15,000, (D) £15,001 to £20,000, (E) £20,001 to £25,000 and (F) over £25,000; and if he will make a statement. [33801]
Mr Willetts: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) regarding overseas postgraduate research enrolments is shown in tables 1 and 2. Due to a change in both subject classification and the way in which students were assigned to a subject of study in 2002/03, earlier figures are not comparable. For this reason, figures for 2000/01 and 2001/02 are provided in table 1 and later years in table 2. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will be available in January 2012.
The Department does not collect data on the amount higher education institutions (HEIs) charge postgraduate research students in fees.
| Table 1: Overseas( 1) postgraduate research enrolments by subject of study. UK higher education institutions. Academic years 2000/01 to 2001/02 | ||||
| 2000/01 | 2001/02 | |||
| Subject of study | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments |
| (1) Covers EU and non-EU domiciled enrolments. Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||
| Table 2: Overseas( 1) postgraduate research enrolments by subject of study. UK higher education institutions. Academic years 2002/03 to 2009/10 | ||||||||
| 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | |||||
| Subject of study | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments |
| 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |||||
| Subject of study | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments | Number | Percentage of all enrolments |
| (1) Covers EU and non-EU domiciled enrolments. Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | ||||||||
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