HC Deb 19 September 2002 vol 390 c112W
Mr. Flook

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of full-time students stayed in education in the Taunton constituency after the age of(a) 16 and (b) 18 years in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2001; and if she will make a statement. [73264]

Stephen Twigg

Data on the percentage of students staying on in full-time education is not calculated for areas smaller than LEAs as reliable estimates cannot be made. Participation rates at sub-national level are only available for 16 and 17 year olds.

The percentage of 16 and 17 year olds in full-time education in Somerset LEA, which includes the constituency of Taunton, in 1997–1998 and 1999–2000, the latest year for which figures are available, is set out below:

16 and 17 year olds in full-time education: Somerset LEA
Age 1997–1998 1999–2000
16 71 74
17 63 63

Participation rates by LEA are published in an annual statistical bulletin, "Participation in Education and Training by Young People Aged 16 and 17 in Each Local Area and Region, England".