Margaret Hodge: The available information is given in the following table: Higher education students(3) in England—as at 1 December Thousand Number 1999–2000(4) 1,610 2000–01(5) 1,652 2001–02(6) 1,710 (3) Full-time and part-time, postgraduate and undergraduate, home and overseas, including the Open University (4) Actual (5) Provisional (6) Projected
Margaret Hodge: This information is not available.
Margaret Hodge: Tuition fees at publicly funded institutions are uprated each year to take account of inflation.
Margaret Hodge: Total expenditure by my Department on lifelong learning will increase from £11.6 billion in 2000–01 to £14.7 billion in 2003–04, an increase of 18 per cent. in real terms. We are also seeking to expand the investment made by individuals and employers in lifelong learning through Individual Learning Accounts and other measures. This is against a background of a forecast increase in total...
Margaret Hodge: Widening participation is a key goal for this Government. We want half of all young people to have the opportunity to benefit from higher education by the end of the decade. In this spending review the Higher Education Funding Council for England have allocated £550 million to widen participation over the next three years. In addition the Excellence Challenge will put £90 million into...
Margaret Hodge: The student support arrangements for higher education in England and Wales are kept constantly under review. As announced in the recent "Opportunity for All" White Paper, we are currently reviewing the financial support available for learners in further education and we will make an announcement on this soon.
Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend receives many representations about a wide range of higher education issues, including the effects of the introduction of student contributions to tuition fees. There is no evidence to date that their introduction has had any demonstrable effect on applications by, and recruitment of, students from the three lowest socio-economic groups.
Margaret Hodge: The latest "Performance Indicators in Higher Education" published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England give an overall non-completion rate for students starting full-time first degree courses in the UK in 1997–98 of 17 per cent., a figure which has stayed roughly constant since 1991–92. Figures for students starting courses in 1998–99 will be published by HEFCE in...
Margaret Hodge: Vice-chancellors are appointed by and are accountable to the governing body of their individual university and my right hon. Friend has no plans to alter current arrangements.
Margaret Hodge: holding answer 4 July 2001 The projected income to higher education institutions in England and Wales from tuition fees governed by the student support regulations, the mandatory award regulations and for those post-graduate students funded by the research councils is shown in tables 1 and 2: Table 1: Estimated tuition fee income to English institutions £ million 2001–02...
Margaret Hodge: Higher education institutions have submitted their human resource strategies to the Higher Education Funding Council for England so that it can allocate the extra £330 million the Government are providing over three years to support increases in academic and non-academic pay. To gain their share of this funding institutions need to demonstrate that their strategies include clear and...
Margaret Hodge: I understand that the Association of Colleges (AoC), as the colleges' employer' group, issues notional national pay scales but these are a matter for the AoC and the relevant unions.
Margaret Hodge: The Department does not collect this information. I understand that data obtained by the Association of Colleges on the extent of pay implementation for 2000–01 indicate that (from an 80 per cent. response rate) 73 per cent. of colleges that responded had made an award either equal to or in excess of the national recommended level, and that a further 12 per cent. intended to do so at a...
Margaret Hodge: The Department does not collect this information. I refer my hon. Friend to my reply given earlier today to his related question on the implementation of pay awards.
Margaret Hodge: We are aware of the historic funding gap between schools and FE created by the last Administration and have pledged to ensure upwards convergence over time and as resources allow. We have already made an unprecedented investment in the sector, which should allow colleges greater flexibility to meet the genuine aspirations of their staff. An additional £300 million is available to colleges...
Margaret Hodge: Yes, they are eligible.
Margaret Hodge: A comprehensive, national approach to tracking young people is being developed as part of the Connexions Service. The system will enable Connexions partnerships to identify those not in learning more readily and support a more comprehensive approach to advice and guidance for those with multiple problems. It will also enable partnerships to support those who move between partnership areas...
Margaret Hodge: holding answer 9 July 2001 We have supported financially a project commissioned by the Association of Colleges, "National Review of Staffing and Pay in Further Education", which was undertaken in conjunction with the nationally recognised trade unions for further education (excluding sixth form colleges). We acknowledge that colleges need help to ensure that they have the right arrangements...
Margaret Hodge: The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for higher education institutions. However, the Government are providing £50 million in 2001–02, rising to £110 million in 2002–03 and £170 million in 2003–04, to support increases in academic and non-academic pay. This will give higher education employers more flexibility to address recruitment and retention difficulties and...
Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for future spending reviews. We have no plans to suspend the teaching pay initiative after 2003–04.