HC Deb 01 December 1987 vol 123 cc539-41W
Mr. Wall

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average weekly pay of manual and non-teaching white collar staff in institutions of higher and further education, as a ratio of the pay of similar grades in private sector industry; and what were the figures in 1981 and 1984.

Mrs. Rumbold

Data on the average weekly pay of manual and non-teaching white collar staff in institutions of higher and further education are not available. The table compares the pay of all manual and administrative,

New entrants to higher education1 Participation in education and training of 16 year olds
Year Age Participation rate (per 100) Year Full-time Part-time2 All education and training2
United Kingdom 1984 18–21 331 1983 445 542 87
1985 18–21 332
United States of America 1982 18 660 1981 94 — 94
Sweden 1979 na 25 — na na na
West Germany 1984 19–21 27 1981 62 730 92
Japan 1984 18 638 1981 887 82 889
na = Not available.
1 New entrants (all ages) to full-time and part-time higher education as a percentage of the average population in the most relevant age group. This is the age group which includes 70 per cent. of new entrants to higher education. The average population is calculated by dividing the total population of the group by the number of years involved.
2 Including apprenticeships, Youth Training Scheme and similar schemes.
3 Students from abroad are excluded, as are post-graduates and others already having a higher education qualification. Excludes students studying for higher education qualifications outside the public education system other than nursing and paramedical students at DHSS establishments.
4 Excludes private sector full-time further education and training in the United Kingdom.
5 Includes estimates of those studying in the evening only.
6 Includes new entrants to private colleges.
7 Including compulsory part-time education at 16.
8 Estimated from new entrant and enrolment data.

Mr. Wall

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the funding of(a) universities, (b) public sector higher education institutions and (c) further education colleges is made up of private sector payments.

Mr. Jackson

The proportion of universities' recurrent income derived from the private sector payments was estimated to be 21 per cent. in the academic year 1985–86, the latest year for which figures are available. Comparable information is not available for polytechnics and colleges under local authority control.

professional, technical and clerical staff in local authority employment, which includes those employed in LEA-maintained further and higher education, with the pay of all manual and non-manual employees in the economy other than those in mostly public sector services.

£ per week1
April 1981 April 1984 Aprii 1987
1. Local Authority manuals 95 113 3137
2. All manuals2 115 147 176
3. Local Authority APTC 127 155 3188
4. All non-manuals2 132 175 224
1 All data are taken from the new earnings survey and reflect gross weekly earnings, including overtime payments.
2 All employees in the standard industrial classification (SIC) categories 0 to 8 (ie category 9, "other services", is excluded; category 9 employees had to be estimated for 1981 because of the different classification used then).
3 The figures for local authority staff do not include the 1987 settlements.

Mr. Wall

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the population of the United Kingdom go on to study in higher and further education; and what information he has as to the proportions in(a) the United States of America, (b) Sweden, (c) West Germany and (d) Japan.

Mr. Jackson

The readily available information is given in the following table:

Mr. Wall

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of students in(a) university and (b) public sector higher education institutions, are from a manual working class background; and what were the figures in 1966 and 1976.

Mr. Jackson

Estimates based on a survey conducted by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in "Young People's Intentions to Enter Higher Education" show that some 27 per cent. of those aged less than 21 entering polyechnics and colleges in England and Wales in 1985 were from a manual working class background, compared to 18 per cent. for universities. The proportion of older students from working class backgrounds is thought to be higher.

Information for 1962 published in the Robbins report (Cmnd. 2154) show that about one third of entrants to full-time higher education were from a manual working class background.

The percentage of acceptance to universities alone in the United Kingdom through the Universities Central Council on Admissions from a manual working class background were 24 per cent. in 1976 and 21 per cent. in 1986. Similar information is not collected by the polytechnic central admissions system.

The proportion of the population in the manual working class is estimated to have decreased more rapidly than the decrease in the proportion of entrants to higher education from the manual working class.