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1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. as described below:
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,
| Key | Coefficient of Variation (CV) | Statistical Robustness |
|
Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes |
Table 2: People aged 16-24 on sickness or disability benefits-Three months ending September, 1998 to 2010-Not seasonally adjusted
| Thousands and per cent | |||
| UK | |||
| Number | Percentage of people aged 16-24 | Percentage of people aged 16-64 | |
16 Dec 2010 : Column WA233
1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:
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 pop
16 Dec 2010 : Column WA234
| Key | Coefficient of Variation (CV) | Statistical Robustness |
|
Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes |
Table 3-People aged 16-24 not in education or employment, not unemployed and not receiving sickness or disability benefits-Three months ending September, 1998 to 2010-Not seasonally adjusted
| Thousands and per cent | |||
| UK | |||
| Number | Percentage of people aged 16-24 | Percentage of people aged 16-64 | |
1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:
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 pop
| Key | Coefficient of Variation (CV) | Statistical Robustness |
|
Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes |
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage adults who have never worked to find employment.[HL5073]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The Government are introducing the new Work Programme, which will help people with a wide variety of needs to move into employment. Work Programme providers will be offered higher rewards for supporting harder-to-help customers, such as those who have never worked, move into employment. This will ensure that it is worthwhile for providers to offer all customer groups appropriate employment support. The Government aims to have the new work programme in place nationally by the summer of 2011.
However, we recognise that, in itself, the Work Programme will not be enough and alongside the Work Programme, we will deliver a more flexible advisory service in Jobcentre Plus, giving local offices more control and allowing them to deliver in a way that is responsive to local needs.
In October we also launched Work Clubs to encourage people who are out of work to exchange skills and share experiences, and Work Together to enable the development of work skills through volunteering. We also announced the new enterprise allowance, which will support unemployed people who wish to move off benefits into self-employment.
We will also be launching Work Experience. Work Experience will offer eligible 18 to 21 year-old unemployed people a period of work experience between two and eight weeks in length and will be targeted at those customers who are harder to help, particularly those who want to work but find a lack of experience a barrier.
We aim to deliver this on a voluntary basis from January 2011, before the mandatory elements go live in April 2011. Several large employers have already expressed a wish to support Work Experience and the wider Get Britain Working measures.
16 Dec 2010 : Column WA235
Last month we also published our White Paper, Universal Credit: Welfare that Works, setting out our plans to introduce the universal credit, which will be the first step in making sure that work pays for everyone and that we better target financial support towards those most in need.
Universities: Admissions
Questions
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ask university admission staff to give priority to teenagers with good grades from poor comprehensive schools over other applicants.[HL4927]
Lord Henley: Universities are responsible for their own admissions policies and decisions.
The Government are committed to access to higher education being based on talent and potential, irrespective of background, and the coalition agreement recognises the need to attract a higher proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Good admissions policies consider all the achievements, qualities and potential of applicants, whatever their background. It is very much in a university's interests to admit those who will prove the best students and who will reap the most benefit from their chosen course.
The higher education sector keeps under review its admission policies and continually strives to improve them. The Supporting Professionalism in Admissions Programme (SPA) is a sector-led initiative and earlier this year produced updated guidance on the use of contextual data in admissions.
The Government are establishing a new framework, with increased responsibility on universities to widen participation. On 6 December we published draft guidance to the Director of Fair Access, setting out our expectations on how he might approach the approval and monitoring of universities access agreements, including how contextual data can be used to target outreach and other activities. We are also investing in improving the school attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds through a new pupil premium and setting up a new £150 million national scholarships programme, to encourage them to apply to university.
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will encourage universities to increase the number of students from poor backgrounds.[HL5074]
Lord Henley: The Government have been very clear about the importance of widening participation and improving fair access in higher education-all those with the ability should have access to higher education irrespective of family income.
The Government have set out plans to reform higher education student finance in England, which will offer a more generous package of financial support for low-income students living in England wishing to attend university in 2012-13. No full-time student will need to contribute to their tuition costs up front, and
16 Dec 2010 : Column WA236
We are establishing a new framework with increased responsibility on universities to widen participation, and government investment in improving attainment and access for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Widening participation will remain a key strategic objective for all institutions. As now, all universities will produce widening participation strategic assessments for HEFCE as a condition of their funding. Universities wanting to charge more than a £6,000 annual graduate contribution will have to demonstrate what more they will do to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds through outreach activities, targeted scholarships and other financial support.
On 6 December the Government published draft guidance to the Director of Fair Access setting out their expectations and suggestions for how he might approach the approval and monitoring of institutions' access agreements. This includes a requirement to participate in the new £150 million national scholarship programme. This work will be one of the areas supported by £2.5 billion pupil premium to turn school-based achievement into success at university.
Universities: Funding
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that universities are adequately funded.[HL5056]
Lord Henley: Our reforms to higher education will shift the balance of public funds for teaching from direct grant to institutions to funding that follows the choices made by individual students. This will provide strong incentives for institutions to focus on providing high-quality teaching as efficiently as possible. Over time, popular and successful institutions will be able to grow and we expect new providers to enter the sector, provided that they can offer teaching to the high standards students will expect. We do not expect the overall income of the sector to reduce, and we expect improved teaching quality and better informed students to have a positive impact on the economy. In recognition that the UK's research base is a vital national asset and critical to long-term economic growth, funding for science and research programmes has been protected in cash terms in a ring-fenced budget for the spending review period. Around half of this funding currently goes directly into universities. The remainder goes to institutes, many of which are sited in universities, and to large facilities, many of which are used by university researchers.
16 Dec 2010 : Column WA237
Wales Audit Office
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Conwy
To ask Her Majesty's Government who appointed the previous Auditor General for Wales; and how was this appointment process conducted.[HL5214]
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): The previous Auditor General for Wales was appointed in 2004 by Her Majesty following nomination by the National Assembly for Wales. Applicants were considered by a selection panel chaired by the chair of the Audit Committee of the National Assembly for Wales and comprising three members of the Audit Committee, the Auditor General for Scotland and the Director of the Welsh Local Government Association. The process was observed by an official from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments to ensure that it adhered to Nolan principles. The National Assembly for Wales voted unanimously to recommend the panel's chosen candidate, Jeremy Colman.
16 Dec 2010 : Column WA238
Women: Refuges
Question
Asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of cuts and changes in funding to women's refuges in Essex.[HL4940]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): The Government have secured £6.5 billion of funding for Supporting People over the spending review. In addition, the Home Office has committed to reverse the decline in rape crisis centres by considering how to use the proceeds from the victim surcharge to deliver fifteen new rape crisis centres, and give existing rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding.
Based on the expenditure information provided by local authorities, expenditure on domestic violence services in England has increased each year and, in Essex, expenditure has increased by over 20 per cent since 2005-06.
Information submitted by Essex County Council has also shown that the number of units of support for women at risk of domestic violence, funded by Supporting People, has remained stable over the last three years.
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