International Development
Children: Vaccination
Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many children have received vaccinations funded by his Department in (a) Africa and (b) globally since May 2010. [93361]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development supports vaccination programmes through a variety of channels including funding to the GAVI Alliance, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, core funding to UNICEF and the World Health Organisation and through the Department's bilateral country programmes.
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Through our commitment to the GAVI Alliance alone, UK funding has supported the vaccination of over 11 million children since May 2010. Through Britain's increased support to Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) c.57 million children have been vaccinated globally since May 2010, 28 million in Africa.
This is additional to our bilateral support which funds a wide range of activities in the health sector in many countries, including training of health workers, policy development, community mobilisation, campaign planning—all of which enable more children to receive life saving vaccinations.
Looking forward, our commitments will fund the vaccination of 45 million children over the next two years against polio (GPEI); vaccinate over 80 million children through GAVI over the next five years including against diarrhoea and pneumonia; and vaccinate 45 million children against measles over the next four years through the Measles Initiative, preventing 1.2 million measles cases and 24,000 measles deaths in each year of the programme.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many cases of (a) data loss and (b) breaches of confidentiality occurred in his Department in 2011. [94250]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) had no cases where data with a security classification was lost during 2011.
DFID did not have any incidents resulting in breaches of confidentiality during 2011.
Recruitment
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on (a) recruitment services and (b) executive search agencies in each month since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [93560]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not used any recruitment services since May 2010 and has used only two executive search agencies since during this period.
The Cabinet Office used the executive search agency Russell Reynolds in the recruitment of a new Permanent Secretary and at a cost of £7,076.03 in March 2011.
DFID also used the Executive Search Agency, Devex as part of a campaign to recruit new professional advisers on front line delivery work in the UK and in our offices based overseas. Devex are a specialist international development recruitment agency. The cost of the Devex search was £5,097.10 in September 2011.
EU Aid
Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what steps he plans to take to increase the proportion of the EU budget which is spent on Millennium Development Goal-focused programmes rather than neighbourhood programmes; [93731]
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(2) what progress he has made on his strategy for increasing the proportion of the EU budget which is spent on (a) international co-operation and (b) Millennium Development Goals rather than neighbourhood programmes in negotiations on the multi-annual financial framework. [93732]
Mr O'Brien: The European Commission has released proposals for the European Union (EU) budget for the period 2014 to 2020. Member states are now beginning detailed consideration of these. The UK welcomes the proposed better focus of Development Cooperation on the poorest and most vulnerable countries with the EU relationship with emerging economies and other better off countries moving to a new partnership arrangement.
Support to Europe's neighbourhood remains a key priority for the UK, not least as an essential element to our response to the Arab Spring. The UK welcomes the introduction of rigorous conditions that will ensure that the EU provides funding only in return for progress on political and economic reforms.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many invitations to attend events at the London 2012 Olympics (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have accepted; and if he will make a statement. [93639]
Mr Duncan: Details of hospitality received by Ministers, special advisers and the most senior officials at the Department for International Development are published on a quarterly basis and will be available for July-September 2012 in due course.
Cabinet Office
Civil Service Pensions
10. Mr Spellar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has had on pensions for senior civil servants; and if he will make a statement. [94030]
Mr Maude: On 20 December I published the Heads of Agreement on reforming the civil service pension scheme.
This followed months of intensive discussions that have taken place at both ministerial and official level. Discussions with the civil service trade unions are continuing on the remaining details.
Voluntary Sector
11. Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of jobs in the voluntary sector in the next three years. [94031]
Mr Hurd: Unfortunately the voluntary sector can not be immune from the cuts that the Government have been forced to undertake.
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I meet with representatives from the sector regularly and fully appreciate the concern about job losses. We firmly believe that our policies will create sustainable, long-term opportunities for the sector, not least in public services, and we are working hard to make those opportunities available as quickly as possible.
Public Bodies Act 2011
12. Claire Perry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects of implementation of the Public Bodies Act 2011. [94032]
Mr Maude: The Public Bodies Act gives Government the power to make significant reforms to public bodies, increasing accountability and efficiency. Our proposals will abolish, merge and reform approximately 500 public bodies.
A three-year review programme will ensure the public bodies landscape continues to become more accountable, streamlined and transparent.
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects of implementation of the Public Bodies Act 2011. [94022]
Mr Maude: The Public Bodies Act gives Government the power to make significant reforms to public bodies, increasing accountability and efficiency. Our proposals will abolish, merge and reform approximately 500 public bodies.
A three-year review programme will ensure the public bodies landscape continues to become more accountable, streamlined and transparent.
Consultancy
13. Chris Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department spent on consultancy in the last year for which figures are available. [94033]
Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) in oral questions today.
Employment
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many pensioners were employed in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; [94290]
(2) how many people aged 18 or under were employed in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [94302]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2012:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions.
The available information is provided in the following table. Pensioners are assumed to be those people at, or above, the state pension age, which is the age at which people become eligible to receive the state pension. The estimates provided are for the latest quarter, July to September 2011, and the same quarter in the two preceding years. The figures take into account the gradual increase
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in state pension age for women which started in April 2010. The estimates for people aged 18 or under relate to people aged 16 to 18 inclusive. No data are available for people aged under 16.
The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| People in employment by age. Three months ending September, 2009 to 2011. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | ||
| Thousand | ||
| People at state pension age (1) and above | People aged 16 to 18 | |
| (1) Between April 2010 and November 2018 the state pension age for women is gradually increasing from 60 to 65. From April 2010 to April 2016 the state pension age for women is increasing by one month every two months. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.). Source: Labour Force Survey | ||
Education
Free School Meals
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Children's Commissioner for England report, A Child Rights Impact Assessment of the Welfare Reform Bill, what assessment he has made of the (a) costs, and (b) (i) short- and (ii) long-term effects on child poverty levels of implementation of the recommendation to extend free school meals eligibility to all children in households receiving universal credit. [93211]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education is considering options for new eligibility criteria for free school meals once universal credit is introduced. These options will take account of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC)'s independent review of passported benefits. We will consult on free school meal eligibility proposals during 2012, in time for the introduction of universal credit from October 2013.
The consultation will include analysis of the impact of eligibility changes on children and families.
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce the eligibility rules for free school meals following introduction of universal credit. [94088]
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Mr Gibb: The Department for Education is considering options for new eligibility criteria for free school meals once universal credit is introduced. These options will take account of the Social Security Advisory Committee's independent review of passported benefits. We will consult on free school meal eligibility proposals during 2012, and make an announcement in good time for the introduction of universal credit from October 2013.
GCSE
Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many children have received A* to C grades in GCSE (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) geography and (d) sciences in High Peak constituency in each of the last five years; [93212]
(2) how many children in High Peak constituency were awarded A* to C grades in GCSE (a) history and (b) a language in each of the last five years. [93294]
Mr Gibb: The information requested can be found in the following table.
| Numbers and percentages of pupils (1, 2) at the end of key stage 4 achieving A*-C grades in English, mathematics, geography, history, science (3) and language (4) GCSEs (5, 6) in high peak constituency (7) , East Midlands region (8) and England (9) . Years: 2006-10 Coverage: England | |||||
| Numbers and Percentages of KS4 pupils achieving A*-C grade in | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |
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| (1) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (2) Figures include all maintained schools (including CTCs and academies). (3) Pupils who achieved A*-C at GCSE in at least one of the following subjects: Physics, chemistry, biological sciences, single science, double science, additional science. Core science and applied science for the years 2008/09 and 2009/10 and for physics, chemistry, biological sciences, single science, double science for the years 2005/06 to 2007/08. (4) Pupils who achieved A*-C at GCSE in at least one of the following subjects: French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Japanese. Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Russian. Turkish. Urdu, Persian, Danish and Hindi. (5) Full GCSEs only have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs). Figures from 2006-2009 exclude iGCSEs, 2010 figures include accredited iGCSEs. (6) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (7) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (8) Regional figures are based on the region of the local authority maintaining the school. (9) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. Source: National Pupil Database | |||||
Members: Correspondence
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to reply to the letter of 21 December 2011 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield on Cadbury Sixth Form College. [93344]
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Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 February 2012]: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, Lord Hill of Oareford, replied to the hon. Member's letter of 21 December 2011, concerning Cadbury Sixth Form College's funding position on 1 February 2012.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to introduce teaching about healthy relationships in schools. [93869]
Mr Gibb: Sex and relationship education (SRE) is usually taught as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education in schools. Schools must also have regard to SRE guidance produced by the Secretary of State for Education.
The Government are reviewing PSHE education in order to strengthen the quality of teaching about relationships, positive parenting and sexual consent. The Government believe that all pupils should benefit from high-quality sex and relationships education at school; that schools have a clear role in reinforcing the information that children receive from parents, and in providing them with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop the knowledge they need to make wise and informed choices later in life.
The PSHE review will help to determine the core body of knowledge and awareness that pupils should be expected to acquire at school through PSHE education. It will be up to schools, in consultation with parents, to decide what more pupils need to know.
Primary Education: Academies
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which primary schools are under consideration to be required to become academies; and whether any such schools are in Lambeth. [92966]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 February 2012]:We have been clear that we consider academy status to be the best way to improve schools that are consistently underperforming. We do pupils an injustice if we do not tackle entrenched underperformance where it exists.
The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced in his speech to the National College of School Leadership on 16 June 2011, that we would start work on turning around 200 of the most consistently underperforming primary schools. This would be achieved by finding new academy sponsors for them so that most can reopen from September 2012. We intend to explore academy options with three Lambeth primary schools.
Reading: Primary Education
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department plans to provide to teachers to administer the proposals on phonics screening at age six; and whether any such support will include information on how to interpret the results. [93862]
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Mr Gibb: We will provide written guidance and video training materials to support teachers administering and marking the phonics screening check. We will also make information available to support schools in interpreting the results.
School Leaving: Basic Skills
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the level of literacy and numeracy of (a) primary school leavers and (b) secondary school leavers from Harlow constituency in each of the last 10 years. [93398]
Mr Gibb: The information requested for the years 2004/05 to 2010/11 for Key Stage 2 and 2005/06 to 2009/10 for Key Stage 4 is given in the following tables. Figures for earlier years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Achievements at the expected level (1 ) by pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 in Harlow parliamentary constituency (2) , East of England (3) and England (4) . Years: 2005- 11 (5) . Coverage: England (6) | |||||||
| Percentage of KS2 pupils achieving expected level in | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1) Includes pupils who achieved Level 4 or above. Level 4 is the expected level of achievement for pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 (2) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (3) Regional figures are based on the region of the local authority maintaining the school. (4) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures and match the England totals in the local authority tables of the Statistical First Release: http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001047/index.shtml These may differ to the England totals in the national tables in the Statistical First Release. (5) Data is final data for all years apart from 2011 which is based on amended data. (6) Includes LA maintained schools and academies. Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. Source: National Pupil Database | |||||||
East of England and England figures for 2007 to 2011 are taken from table 23 in the Statistical First Release “National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 in England 2010/2011 (revised)”, published at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001047/index.shtml
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| Percentages of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving A*-C grades in English and mathematics GCSEs (1, 2) in Harlow constituency (3) , East of England (4) and England (5) (. ) Years: 2006- 10 (6) . Coverage: England (7) | |||||
| Percentage of KS4 pupils achieving A*-C grade in GCSE | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |
| (1 )Full GCSEs only have been included (full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs and AS-levels). Figures from 2006-2009 exclude iGCSEs, 2010 figures include accredited iGCSEs. (2) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (3) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (4) Regional figures are based on the region of the local authority maintaining the school. (5 )England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. (6) Data is final data for all years. (7) Includes LA maintained schools and academies. Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. Source: National Pupil Database | |||||
Schools: English Baccalaureate
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding was allocated to schools in Dartford constituency for the teaching of the International Baccalaureate in each of the last five years. [93083]
Mr Gibb: Institutions delivering 16 to 19 education and training receive a single allocation based primarily on the total volume and various types (for example the post-16 International Baccalaureate (IB), A levels, vocational qualifications etc.) of education delivered to their students the previous academic year (i.e. on a lagged basis). We do not specify which qualifications institutions should use their funding for, as it is for the individual institution to use its funding allocation as it sees appropriate in delivering its curriculum during the academic year.
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In the Dartford constituency(1), only Dartford grammar school has delivered the post-16 IB to any significant extent(2) at any time in the last five academic years (2007/08 to 2011-12). The figures in the following table are an estimate of how much of the post-16 funding allocated to Dartford grammar was used by the school to support the IB. This is based on the school's total allocation split according to how many students they recorded as taking the IB as part of their autumn census return for the academic year in question.
| Dartford grammar school (3) | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | |
| (1) The Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) does not make allocations to schools by constituency. Therefore, the data provided are based on a proxy used to identify delivery in the Dartford constituency. (2) The only other delivery noted on the census was for Leigh Technology Academy. This was in 2007/08 only and represented less than 2% of their overall delivery—given the negligible amount of IB provision delivered, this has been excluded from the figures provided. (3) Dartford grammar first started delivering the IB programme in the 2008/09 academic year. As such, the data provided are from that point onwards. (4) Portion of total allocation based on delivery element (excludes entitlement, transitional protection, teacher's pension and Additional Learner Support funding). Rounded to nearest £000. (5) Not yet available. | ||||
Science: GCSE
Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many and what proportion of pupils (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals were entered for GCSEs in the three separate sciences in each of the last three years; [89459]
(2) how many and what proportion of all pupils entered for a single science award GCSE were eligible for free school meals in each of the last 10 years. [89711]
Mr Gibb: The information requested for the years 2008 to 2010 is presented in the following table, earlier years can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on 2011 key stage 4 attainment by characteristics will be published on 9 February in the publication “GCSE and Equivalent Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England, 2010/11” which will be available here:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001057/index.shtml
| Number and percentage of pupils entered for GCSEs in biological science, chemistry, physics and single science (core science) by eligibility for free school meals: Years 2008-10 (final)—Coverage: England | ||||||||
| Biological Sciences | Chemistry | Physics | Core science | |||||
| FSM eligible | Not FSM eligible | FSM eligible | Not FSM eligible | FSM eligible | Not FSM eligible | FSM eligible | Not FSM eligible | |
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| Notes: 1. Single science is taken to mean “Core Science” only and no other science award. 2. Figures cover pupils in maintained mainstream schools only. 3. Figures do not take into account discounting where qualification content may overlap. | ||||||||
Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children in schools participating in the Year 1 phonics screening checked pilots were not checked because of (a) a recognised special educational need or disability and (b) any other reason. [93388]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not hold the information in the exact format requested. In the pilot of the Year 1 phonics screening check, teachers were asked to indicate whether a pupil was disapplied from the check, but they were not required to provide a reason for the disapplication.
Of the 9,310 pupils at schools participating in the pilot, 191 (2.1%) were disapplied. There were also 321 (3.4%) pupils who were absent.
In the national implementation of the check in 2012, it will be a requirement for schools to explain to parents why any child has been disapplied from the check prior to the week in which it is administered.
Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers in each English region have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for disciplinary offences related to inappropriate use of the internet in the last year. [94049]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Teachers: Sick Leave
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to publish information on teacher sickness absence in academic year 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [93920]
Mr Gibb: Teacher sickness absence figures for the academic year 2010/11 are expected to be published in April 2012 in the School Workforce in England, November 2011 Statistical First Release. The exact date will be notified on the Department's website at the following link in March:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics
Teachers: Training
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of people aged between 21 and 25 who entered the teaching profession through (a) PGCEs, (b) graduate teacher programmes and (c) Teach First in each of the last five years. [93794]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 6 February 2012]: The available information on the number of people aged under 25 or 25 to 29 who entered the teaching profession by gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through (a) Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses, (b) the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and (c) Teach First in the last five academic years for which data are available can be found in the following table:
| Number of people aged under 25 or 25 to 29 achieving QTS through PGCE, GTP or Teach First routes by academic year. Coverage: England | ||||||
| PGCE | GTP | Teach First | ||||
| Academic year | Under 25 | 25-29 | Under 25 | 25-29 | Under 25 | 25-29 |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Age is correct as of the start of the final year of study. 3. PGCE includes postgraduate courses undertaken at universities and other higher education institutions, school-centred initial teacher training and Open University but exclude employment-based routes. Source: TDA Performance Profiles | ||||||
Business, Innovation and Skills
Agriculture: Subsidies
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs withholding payments under the (a) Single Payment Scheme and (b) Rural Development Programme for England to (i) landowners who have not registered their land with the Land Registry and (ii) offshore trusts; and if he will make a statement. [91406]
Norman Lamb:
Payments under the single payment scheme and rural development programme for England are a matter for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman). However, I understand that the EU scheme rules do not give member states powers to make payments under either the scheme or programme conditional on landowners registering their land with the land registry and that payments under the scheme and programme depend on the farmer having land at their disposal, not on the nature of the ownership. For this reason there are no plans for the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and the
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Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to meet to discuss the issue raised by the hon. Member.
Banks: Third Sector
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had on the role of banks held in public ownership in achieving socially beneficial objectives. [92156]
Mr Hoban: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury Department.
Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations, overseas governments and ministries as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Business: Carbon Emissions
Dr Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what estimate his Department has made of the number of small businesses that will cease trading as a result of the ending of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme schemes; [94191]
(2) what assessment he has made of the number of job losses that will result from the ending of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme schemes to insulate homes. [94192]
Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) will transition to the new Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) at the end of 2012. We are considering responses to the recent public consultation on Green Deal and ECO, and detailed consideration of the impact this transition has on the industry, including on small businesses, will be included in the final version of the impact assessment accompanying the Government's response. We currently estimate that Government programmes to promote energy efficiency will support around 65,000 insulation sector jobs in 2015, which represents an increase from the present total of 27,000 jobs.
Copyright
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has quantified the monetary (a) costs and (b) benefits to the principal affected groups of implementing options 1 to 5 in his Department's consultation paper on the Hargreaves review. [93886]
Norman Lamb:
The initial impact assessments published with the current consultation on copyright were developed on the basis of available evidence from a range of sources, including the submissions made to the Hargreaves review. The Government are now seeking more detailed
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evidence on the costs and benefits to all parties who could be affected by the proposals, through public consultation.
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans to review the economic assessment of the proposals contained in his Department's consultation paper on the Hargreaves review has been carried out. [93887]
Norman Lamb: The initial impact assessments published with the current consultation on copyright will be reviewed and revised in both the light of the ongoing Government research programme and further evidence of costs and benefits collected from stakeholders during the consultation process.
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will (a) publish and (b) place in the Library copies of the responses his Department has received to date to its consultation on the Hargreaves review. [93889]
Norman Lamb: I confirm that, subject to resolution of any specific requests for confidentiality, following the completion of the consultation the Government will publish all formal responses in accordance with normal practice.
Departmental Procurement
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent procuring products and services in 2010-11. [93870]
Norman Lamb: In 2010-11 the Department spent a total of £202,442,693 procuring goods and services. This figure includes the amount spent on accommodation and facilities management.
Higher Education: Access
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the devolved administrations on policy issues relating to the widening of access to higher education; and if he will make a statement. [93175]
Mr Willetts: Neither I nor the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), have had recent discussions with Ministers of the Devolved Administrations on policy issues relating to widening access to higher education.
I am always willing to meet with Ministers of the Devolved Administrations to discuss issues of higher education policy.
Officials of the Department for Business, innovation and Skills continue to make regular contact with officials of the Devolved Administrations about the development of higher education reforms announced in the 2011 White Paper, including on widening access to higher education.
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Higher Education: Admissions
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Higher Education Funding Council for England and (b) Universities UK on steps to encourage adult students into higher education; and if he will make a statement. [93176]
Mr Willetts: I and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), meet regularly with the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) and Universities UK (UUK) to discuss a range of issues surrounding higher education including widening participation and fair access.
In the guidance from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to the Office of Fair Access (OFFA) issued in February 2011 the Government said it wanted to support mature students, that it would like institutions to consider such students within their overall approach to access, and would like OFFA to take account of their efforts in considering their access agreements. For the first time, we are making loans available to part time students to meet tuition costs.
Land Registry
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Land Registry will be moved from the Ministry of Justice to his Department; and what the cost will be. [93924]
Norman Lamb: The Land Registry transferred to this Department on 18 July 2011 in response to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's announcement that, in order to enable the development of a proposition for the establishment of a Public Data Corporation, responsibility for HM Land Registry, the Meteorological Office, and Ordnance Survey, would transfer to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from the Secretaries of State for Justice, Defence, and Communities and Local Government respectively.
There were no material external costs involved in the change. Estimates of allocated internal time suggest an internal time cost of circa £200,000, albeit these costs are of course fixed in nature and hence no material incremental costs were incurred.
Student Loans Company: Pay
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the terms and conditions offered to the chief executive of the Student Loans Company and the tax arrangements associated with his pay package. [94308]
Mr Willetts:
In line with arrangements set out in the Framework Document between the Student Loans
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Company (SLC) and the four UK Government Administrations, the appointment and remuneration package for SLC's chief executive was approved by Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills following consultation with and agreement by Scottish Ministers in December 2010.
Student Loans Company: Public Appointments
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the appointment of the chief executive of the Student Loans Company will be a joint appointment between HM Government and the Scottish Government. [94307]
Mr Willetts: The chief executive of the Student Loans Company is not a ministerial appointment. The Student Loans Company's Board is responsible for appointing the chief executive subject to agreement by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Scottish Ministers and following consultation with the devolved Administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Students: Debts
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the level of student debt of adult learners who progress to higher education (a) after a further education student loan funded access to higher education course and (b) immediately after secondary education. [93884]
Mr Hayes: Further education loans will be introduced for the 2013-14 academic year. We estimate, based on figures for the average cost per enrolment of an Access to Higher Education course in 2010-11 that the average loan for such a course undertaken by someone aged 24 or above in 2013-14 will be around £2,500. For those participants who are under 24 such courses will remain grant funded.
For all those who begin a three-year degree course in 2014-15 and take up both a fee and maintenance loan every year, the additional amount borrowed could on average be around £38,000.
Students: Finance
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on future funding of post-graduate research fellowships. [93157]
Mr Willetts: There has not been any recent discussion between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on postgraduate research fellowships. EPSRC does not fund postgraduate fellowships, but it does provide support for PhD studentships across the Engineering and Physical Sciences as well as postdoctoral fellowships in some research areas (e.g. Mathematical Sciences and Theoretical Physics).