§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effect of employing less experienced staff on the student unit of measurement in further education colleges. [25981]
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§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonNone. There is no evidence that colleges are employing less experienced staff.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will explain the formula used for the student unit of measurement in further education. [25982]
§ Mr. RobertsonMy right hon. Friend has placed the document "Funding Methodology for Scottish Further Education Colleges" in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of whether those areas of Scotland with a historically good record of financial support for further education are relatively disadvantaged under the new system of funding. [25998]
§ Mr. RobertsonThe purpose of the new system of funding for colleges is to create a more equitable and transparent system of funding for colleges throughout Scotland. In changes to the level of grant allocated to colleges in 1996–97 there is no discernible geographical pattern.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what restrictions there are on Scottish further education colleges taking extra higher national certificate and higher national diploma students; and for what reasons there are such restrictions. [25984]
§ Mr. RobertsonWhen grant allocations to colleges for 1996–97 were made, it was a condition of grant that they held the number of new entrants to full-time higher education courses at their 1994–95 academic year levels. This was due as part of the Government's policy of consolidating the number of students following higher education courses, on the grounds of affordability and following a period of rapid expansion.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for what reasons he has withdrawn the premium in grant given to further education colleges for advanced courses that allowed them to achieve equity with such courses in higher education colleges. [25983]
§ Mr. RobertsonMy right hon. Friend is not aware of any premium in grant given to further education colleges for advanced courses.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in what way financial allowance is made for courses that are more expensive to run in his calculation of a college's entitlement to funding. [25985]
§ Mr. RobertsonTo reflect the costs of different subjects a set of weightings is applied to the funding of student activity at colleges.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effect of the current year's system of funding further education colleges on the likelihood of courses being run for the construction industry; and what is the basis for this assessment. [25986]
§ Mr. RobertsonThe approach to funding for further education colleges is designed to encourage colleges to provide courses and training to meet local and national labour market needs. My right hon. Friend has no evidence to suggest there is a shortage of courses relevant to the construction industry.
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§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if funding for advanced courses in further education contains funding for five units of support studies; [25987]
(2) if funding for non-advanced studies in further education colleges contains funding for five units of support studies. [25988]
§ Mr. RobertsonNo. Neither the academic content of courses nor the form of learning activity undertaken by students is specified by my right hon. Friend.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if expenditure on senior management affects the calculation of student units of measurement for further education colleges; and how. [26031]
§ Mr. RobertsonA fixed element is allocated to each college by applying an additional weighting to the first 5,500 student units of measurement. This element acknowledges that certain fixed costs are incurred irrespective of the size of the college. These costs include the principalship, administration—including computer equipment—and student support.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with representatives of further education in Scotland about the future of the sector; and if he will make a statement about projected expenditure. [26033]
§ Mr. RobertsonMy right hon. Friend met the current chairman of the Association of Scottish Colleges last year to discuss further education issues.
Details of projected expenditure figures for further education colleges in Scotland are contained in "Serving Scotland's Needs—The Government Expenditure Plans 1996/97–1998/99", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect he plans his funding policy for further education colleges to have on the number of high-level courses offered by colleges. [25989]
§ Mr. RobertsonThe funding methodology for further education colleges is neutral in terms of level of course or mode of attendance. However, when grant allocation to colleges for 1996–97 were made, it was a condition of grant that they held the number of new entrants to full-time higher education courses at their 1994–95 academic year levels.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which specific areas of skill shortage in Scotland he is seeking to remedy through his funding policy for further education colleges. [25990]
§ Mr. RobertsonThe approach to funding for further education colleges is designed to encourage colleges to provide courses and training to meet local and national labour market needs.
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§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much finance would have been needed, in constant price terms, to provide the same level of service in 1996–97 by further education colleges as in 1995–96; and how much has been provided by him. [25991]
§ Mr. RobertsonThe amount of recurrent grant allocated to further education colleges in 1995–96 was £229.631 million. Assuming efficiency gains of 4 per cent. and inflation at 2.75 per cent. the amount of recurrent grant required to maintain the same level of service in 1996–97 would have been £226.508 million. The actual amount of recurrent grant allocated for 1996–97 is £231.160 million.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what grounds the grants for(a) Glasgow college of food technology, (b) Glasgow school of nautical studies and (c) Glasgow college of building and printing were reduced in the current year. [25992]
§ Mr. RobertsonGrant levels of these colleges were reduced as a result of the implementation of a new funding formula which rewards colleges which have been most successful in reducing unit costs and attracting and retaining students. These three colleges continue to have unit costs higher than the national average.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what basis he intends to allocate funds for bursaries for further education colleges. [25993]
§ Mr. RobertsonFunds for bursaries have been allocated to each further education college in line with the historical bursary levels provided by the former regional councils.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his answer of 3 April,Official Report, column 273, if he will make a statement on the numbers of staff and job designations now employed at senior management level in Scottish further education colleges. [26032]
§ Mr. RobertsonThe information requested is not held centrally. It is for individual college boards of management to determine the numbers and job designations of staff at senior management level.