HC Deb 02 July 2002 vol 388 cc241-3W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of full-time students stayed in education in the Portsmouth, South constituency after the age of(a) 16 and (b) 18 years in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2001; and if she will make a statement. [66469]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

Data on the percentage of students staying on in full-time education are 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 Portsmouth LEA, which includes the constituency of Portsmouth, South, in 1997–98 and 1999–2000, the latest year for which figures are available, is set out in the table:

16 and 17 year olds in full-time education: Portsmouth LEA
Age 1997–98 1999–2000
16 73 70
17 55 55

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'.