Further Education (Hansard, 18 February 1998)

§ Mr. Öpik
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the numbers of student governors in colleges of further education; and if he will make a statement. [29532]

§ Dr. Howells
No record of this kind is kept centrally.

§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many further education colleges were in deficit for the financial year 1996–97; what percentage of colleges this represented; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the four previous financial years. [29420]

§ Dr. Howells
Out of 424 colleges which provided information to the Further Education Funding Council it is estimated that 234 (55 per cent.) were operating a deficit in the 1996–97 academic year. Information is not available for the 1992–93 academic year. The figures for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96 are 204 (44 per cent.), 263 (58 per cent.) and 264 (58 per cent.) respectively.

§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many further education colleges there are in England; and how many teaching staff are employed in these colleges(a) full-time, (b) on short-term contracts and (c) as agency teaching staff. [29427]

§ Dr. Howells
In September 1997 there were 444 colleges in the further education sector. The most recently available data for staff numbers are at July 1996. These indicate that there were 52,800 full time staff and 58,900 staff on fixed-term contracts whose primary role was teaching. Information on the numbers of agency staff is not collected.

§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with the Further Education Funding Council about the future role of the Association of Colleges. [29301]

§ Dr. Howells
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had such a discussion with the Further Education Funding Council which deals with matters such as that concerning the further role of the Association of Colleges.
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§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the total number of further education colleges running a budget deficit for the current financial year; and if he will list the current estimated deficit of each of these colleges for(a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99. [29421]

§ Dr. Howells
On the basis of returns from 424 colleges the Further Education Funding Council estimate that 211 of these colleges will be running a budget deficit in the 1997–98 academic year and 205 will be running a deficit in 1998–99. Forecast information provided by colleges to the Council is commercially sensitive and it is not the Council's practice to release forecast figures relating to individual colleges.

§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to increase the total number of students within further education colleges during the financial year 1998–99; how the increase will be allocated between different regions; what methods will be used to ensure that targets are achieved; what additional funding will be available to colleges for students; and what the impact will be on the average level of funding per student throughout the sector. [29382]

§ Dr. Howells
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State anticipates growth in further education colleges of some 20,000 students, in full-time equivalent terms, between the 1997/98 and 1998/99 academic years. We have announced an additional £100 million over the plans of the previous Government. The average level of funding per student will remain the same in cash terms, with the college sector as a whole absorbing only the costs of inflation. Allocations of funding to sector colleges are the responsibility of the Further Education Funding Council which will make them in the Spring. The Council's funding arrangements are designed to help ensure that college agreements are met.

§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what advice he has given to the Further Education Funding Council concerning the individual and collective responsibilities of the members of college corporations. [29302]

§ Dr. Howells
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to announce his proposals for governing bodies of further education colleges following the publication of the consultation paper on Lifelong Learning.

§ Mr. Chaytor
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many redundancies of(a) teaching staff, (b) support staff and (c) management posts were notified by further education colleges in England in each of the last four years; and what estimate he has made of the likely reduction in each of these three categories during 1998–99. [29300]

§ Dr. Howells
This information is not held centrally. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no estimate of likely reduction.