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Education Maintenance Allowance
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to extend the education maintenance allowance pilot scheme to the London Borough of Hillingdon. [28488]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have no such plans at present. We will be taking decisions on any future extension of the scheme on the basis of the rigorous evaluation exercise, which is currently being conducted.
Connexions Service
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on enrolment of personal advisers for the Connexions Service. [27667]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The numbers of Personal Advisers (PAs) working in Connexions Partnerships since the Service was launched in April 2001 have risen steadily as partnerships have established their infrastructures. At the end of November, 1,820 PAs were in post in the 15 partnerships that are fully operational, representing nearly three quarters of the first year's PA recruitment estimates provided by Partnerships in their business plans.
PAs are being recruited from a range of backgrounds, including careers, education and youth services. Steps have been taken to widen the age and ethnic mix of PAs. Data from PA training records indicate that 12 per cent. of
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training participants are from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds and almost 40 per cent. of all PAs are under the age of 35.
Foundation Degrees
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many foundation degree places are available; and what proportion of them have been filled. [27666]
Margaret Hodge: A total of 2,123 student places were made available on 40 prototype foundation degree programmes. Of these programmes, 32 commenced in September 2001 and offered 1,539 student places. 85 per cent. (1,303) of these places were filled. The remaining eight programmes are on offer from January 2002. Figures relating to take up of these places will not be available until February 2002.
In addition to the 40 prototype programmes, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocated 1,790 additional student numbers for delivery of a further 29 courses. These student places were funded through HEFCE's mainstream funding routes and information on the take up of these places is collated as part of their management information cycle. This information is expected February 2002.
Examination Results (Somerset)
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the proportion of pupils achieving (a) one or more A* to C, (b) five or more A* to C and (c) five or more A* to G grades was (i) in the UK, (ii) in Somerset schools and (iii) in Yeovil constituency schools in each year since 1994–95; and if she will make a statement. [27042]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The proportion of 15-year-old pupils achieving (a) one or more A* to C, (b) five or more A* to C and (c) five or more A* to G grades at GCSE or the GNVQ equivalent, in (i) the UK, (ii) Somerset and (iii) the Yeovil constituency since 1994–95 are:
| Academic years | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (i) United Kingdom | |||||||
| 1 or more A* to C | 70.2 | 71.4 | 71.7 | 72.7 | 73.9 | 74.8 | 75.1 |
| 5 or more A* to C | 44.4 | 45.5 | 46.2 | 47.5 | 49.1 | 50.4 | 51.0 |
| (ii) Somerset | |||||||
| 1 or more A* to C | 74.9 | 75.6 | 75.5 | 77.1 | 78.0 | 79.0 | 79.0 |
| 5 or more A* to C | 47.7 | 50.0 | 48.9 | 51.2 | 52.7 | 55.3 | 54.6 |
| 5 or more A* to G | 90.8 | 91.4 | 92.5 | 92.3 | 93.7 | 93.4 | 93.0 |
| (iii) Yeovil constituency | |||||||
| 1 or more A* to C | 76.2 | 76.4 | 76.4 | 79.3 | 79.9 | 80.7 | 79.8 |
| 5 or more A* to C | 48.1 | 53.4 | 50.4 | 52.6 | 53.1 | 56.8 | 54.0 |
| 5 or more A* to G | 94.6 | 92.6 | 93.5 | 95.3 | 94.3 | 94.4 | 94.7 |
The information on those achieving five or more grades A* to G is not available for the United Kingdom.
Local Network Fund
Mr. Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will announce the areas that will receive funding in the second and third waves of the Local Network Fund. [28965]
Mr. Denham: I am pleased to announce that 30 new areas will be eligible for funding from the Local Network Fund in its second and third years of operation. The Local Network Fund is designed to tackle poverty and disadvantage among children and young people by making grants direct to local community and voluntary groups helping vulnerable children aged 0–19. £70 million is available over three years with second year areas operational from 1 April 2002.
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The Local Network funds are used to support local and community groups under four themes:
- Aspirations and experiences—projects that give children experiences, or help them achieve goals that more privileged children may take for granted.
Economic disadvantage—projects that help families to improve their living standards and cope with difficulties that come from being on low incomes.
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- Isolation and access—projects that help children that are isolated or alone, or have trouble accessing services.
Children's voices—projects that give children and young people the chance to express their opinions and give advice on matters that concern them.
| Local network area | Approximate allocation |
|---|---|
| North East | 1,523,100 |
| Tees Valley (Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington) | 437,500 |
| Tyne and Wear (Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland) | 644,500 |
| Durham (County)(7) | 275,700 |
| Northumberland (County)(7) | 165, 400 |
| North West | 3,684,500 |
| Merseyside/Halton (Knowsley, Sefton, Liverpool, St. Helens, Wirral, Halton) | 977,000 |
| Greater Manchester (Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, Bury, Stockport) | 1,452,700 |
| Lancashire (Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn) | 726,500 |
| Cheshire (Cheshire, Warrington)(7) | 310, 400 |
| Cumbria (Cumbria)(7) | 217,900 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 2,566,700 |
| South Yorkshire (Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield) | 699,200 |
| West Yorkshire (Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield, Leeds) | 1,137,400 |
| Humberside (Kingston upon Hull, NE Lincolnshire, N Lincolnshire, East Riding) | 478,500 |
| North Yorkshire (County, and York)(7) | 251,600 |
| East Midlands | 1,845,100 |
| Nottinghamshire (Nottingham and Nottinghamshire) | 525,800 |
| Leicestershire (Leicester and Leicestershire) | 389,200 |
| Derbyshire (County and Derby)(7) | 407,100 |
| Lincolnshire (County)(7) | 265,200 |
| Northamptonshire (County)(7) | 257,800 |
| West Midlands | 2,426,300 |
| Birmingham/Solihull (Birmingham and Solihull) | 825,300 |
| The Black Country (Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Dudley) | 631,000 |
| Shropshire (County, Telford and Wrekin)(7) | 207,400 |
| Staffordshire (County, Stoke on Trent)(7) | 427,000 |
| Warwickshire (County, Coventry)(7) | 335,600 |
| East | 804,900 |
| Norfolk | 305,100 |
| Bedfordshire (County, Luton)(7) | 254,600 |
| Suffolk (County)(7) | 245,200 |
| South West | 1,327,600 |
| Cornwall (Cornwall with Isles of Scilly) | 252,600 |
| Devon (County, Torbay and Plymouth) | 452,200 |
| Former Avon (Bristol, Bath and NE Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire)(7) | 371,300 |
| Dorset (County, Bournemouth and Poole)(7) | 251,500 |
| South East | 1,472,200 |
| Kent (Medway, Kent) | 592,000 |
| East Sussex (East Sussex and Brighton and Hove) | 297,700 |
| Hampshire (County, Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight)(7) | 582,500 |
| London | 3,349,600 |
| All London Boroughs | 3,349,600 |
(7) New area
Examples of projects funded in the first year of funding:
- Ashford Mobile Toy Library, Kent
- The library lends good quality toys to families with pre-school children. Over 100 children from around 70 families use the toy library regularly. The Local Network grant helped to purchase new equipment and fund the costs of training new volunteers.
- The Mustard Seed Project, Cornwall
- Covering the Helston, Porthleven and Lizard areas of Cornwall, which have the highest rate of unemployment in the district, this
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- project provides a range of services including evening club activities for 10 to 14-year-olds, a drop-in centre and coffee bar with cheap wholesome food. The Local Network grant helped provide outreach into rural areas to help isolated young people and their families access the centre and its information and support services.
- Alpha Grove Community Centre, Millwall, East London
- The Alpha Grove Community centre is working to help disadvantaged young people in the area, providing an environment where they can meet, learn, create, express and develop social skills. A Local Network grant will allow a local artist to work with these young people to produce artwork for the centre which reflects subject matter derived from debates conducted with them on the issues they feel are relevant to them.
- Tyne and Wear Youth Bank, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- YouthBank is a grant making scheme run by young people. The Local Network grant is redistributed by the young people to small projects in the Tyne and Wear area which are run by and for young people.
- Sefton Women and Children's Aid, Litherland, Liverpool
- SWACA was established 24 years ago to provide a range of services for women and children who are victims of domestic violence, including valuable one-to-one support to children aged 0–17 years. The new grant will enable the group to assess what impact this service is having on the children and whether it is meeting their real needs. It will run group sessions with children aged five and over, so that they can describe what they would like to get from the service, allowing them to discuss issues of concern to them.
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