§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to reduce the level of(a) regulatory requirements and (b) numbers of administrative staff in further education colleges; and if he will make a statement. [97923]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 13 February 2003]: We are reducing and will continue to reduce the burden of unnecessary red tape on further education colleges. We have already announced plans to reduce the number of separate budget lines for the Learning and Skills Council from 45 to five, and to consolidate targeted funds for pay and staff training into colleges' core funding, and to introduce three year funding for colleges, from this year.
The Government and the Learning and Skills Council are committed to implementing in full the recommendations of the Bureaucracy Busting Task Force, chaired by Sir George Sweeney, which reported in November 2002. In particular, we will establish powerful scrutiny arrangements to keep in check demands on colleges, remove the requirement for all colleges to have an annual external audit of their Individual Learner Records, and work across government agencies to avoid repeat requests to colleges for the same information.
We are determined to go further. In particular, we are working with the Inspectorates to introduce more co-ordinated inspection arrangements, for example for colleges providing both FE and HE, and lighter touch inspection arrangements for better performing colleges. We will also assess, in 2003, the regulation of FE institutions through a review of the Instrument and Articles of Government.
FE institutions are independent corporations responsible for their own staffing and employment policies. As administrative burdens reduce, college managers will be free to make their own decisions about how they allocate resources within their own institutions.
§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimates were used in establishing the costs of raising student bonds to cover a delay in repayment times, in drawing up the proposals in the policy document, The Future of Higher Education; and if he will make a statement. [98133]
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§ Margaret HodgeRaising bonds to cover a delay in repayment times of student loans is not part of the policy set out in the White Paper. We decided not to pursue bonds as an option because the gains from a Government issue of bonds were not clear, and the cost of borrowing by higher education institutions (to fund the lending involved in a bonds option) would inevitably have been higher than borrowing by Government. Forecasts of Government net debt are published bi-annually in the pre-budget report and the financial statement and budget report.
§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimates were made of the extra income tax an average graduate earning £400,000 more than the average non graduate would pay if they were(a) a standard rate tax payer and (b) a higher rate tax payer, in drawing up the proposals in the policy document, The Future of Higher Education; and if he will make a statement. [98134]
§ Margaret HodgeWe said in the White Paper, The Future of Higher Education, that those with higher education qualifications earn around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates. Since graduates earn more than non-graduates, they also pay more tax. The amount of extra income tax they would pay over a working life will depend on how personal allowances, tax rates and thresholds change over time.
In drawing up the proposals in the White Paper, no specific estimates were made of the extra income tax that graduates would pay over their working lives compared to non-graduates. The underpinning analysis was based on the principle of balancing the contribution from the taxpayer with the contribution from the student, bearing in mind the substantial benefit which is derived from having a degree.
§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate of the funding gap in higher education his Department used in drawing up the proposals in the policy document, "The Future of Higher Education"; and if he will make a statement. [98145]
§ Margaret HodgeRecent studies into the capital requirements of higher education institutions concluded that there was a need for some £8 billion of investment in infrastructure. The Secretary of State receives regular confidential advice from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and others on the financial needs of the sector against the background of the 36 per cent. real terms fall in spending per higher education student between 1989 and 1997. The announcements made in the White Paper "The future of higher education" and in the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England show the Government are increasing spending on higher education in England by an average of over 6 per cent. a year above inflation in the three years to 2005–06.