HC Deb 28 April 2003 vol 404 cc224-5W
Mr. Ruffley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds in(a) Suffolk and (b) Bury St. Edmunds in education have gone on to further education in each of the last five years. [108779]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The percentage of 16 and 17-year-olds participating in full-time education for Suffolk LEA in each of the last five years for which data are available is set out in the table. Data on the percentage of students participating in post-compulsory education are not calculated for areas smaller than LEAs as reliable estimates cannot be made. Participation rates at sub-national level are available only for 16 and 17-year-olds. Bury St. Edmunds is part of Suffolk LEA.

Participation in full-time education in Suffolk LEA
Percentage of age group
End 1996 End 1997 End 1998 End 1999 End 2000
16-year-olds 71 69 71 70 72
17-year-olds 59 59 58 59 57

Participation in education and training
1Percentage
Full-time education Total education and training2
LEA End 1998 End 1999 End 2000 End 1998 End 1999 End 2000
16 year olds
Stoke-on-Trent 52 58 60 68 73 78
Staffordshire 68 70 70 86 85 85
17 year olds
Stoke-on-Trent 38 41 46 63 64 65
Staffordshire 57 57 59 79 77 77
16 and 17 year olds combined
Stoke-on-Trent 45 50 53 66 69 71
Staffordshire 63 64 64 82 81 81
1 Percentage of age group.
2 Includes full and part-time participation in education and Government Supported Training, counting those in both education and Government Supported Training only once. Participation rates by LEA for 16 and 17 year olds are published in an annual statistical bulletin, 'Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17 Year Olds in Each Local Area in England'.