§ Margaret MoranTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many hours per week each UK online centre is used for community use; and if he will list each UK online project in Luton, South. [88308]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe DfES does not specifically collect such information, however findings from recent evaluation on UK online centres funded by the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) stated: There is a strong community based feel to most centres.
A large proportion of centres are based within target communities such as those in the 2,000 most deprived local authority wards; rural areas with significant transport and deprivation problems.
A table showing all UK online centres in the Luton, South constituency follows.
The DfES website includes information on all UK online centres, individuals can find their nearest centre at www.dfes.gov.uk/ukonlinecentres or call free on 0800 77 1234.
§ Margaret MoranTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the(a) number of participants, (b) numbers receiving qualifications at each level, (c) socio-economic status of each participant and (d) cost per participant of DfES-funded UK online courses. [88313]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe following information is taken from the Management Information the DfES collect from centres funded by the CMF which represents 2,840 of the over 6,000 figure. These figures are representative of 1,589 centres which were open for 37W use as at the end of September 2002. I have included a breakdown of stats in my hon. Friend's regional Government Office East (GOE) along with national stats for each question.
(a) Number of Participants
The number of users recorded nationally at CMF funded UK online centres between July and September 2002 was 115,250.
The number of users recorded within the same period for GOE was 9,379. This represents 8 per cent. of the national figure.
(b) Numbers receiving qualifications at each level
The DfES do not collect information for qualifications at each level; however the numbers of users that have gone onto further learning are as follows:
Nationally a total of 21,916 users of UK online centres have progressed onto further learning.
GOE represents 8 per cent. of the national figure with 1,790 users going onto further learning.
(c) Socio-economic status
UK online centres specifically target those in deprived communities. I have listed the numbers of users that fall in UK online centres target groups.
Number National Basic Skills Needs 18,684 Lone Parents 5,682 Disabled 10,036 Over 65 14,593 Unemployed 22,930 Ethnic Minorities 22,316 GOE Basic Skills Needs 773 Lone Parents 560 Disabled 748 Over 65 1,430 Unemployed 2,505 Ethnic Minorities 1,210 (d) Cost per participant of DfES-funded UK online courses
£199 million was made available from the CMF to help fund UK online centres in deprived communities. There are no funded UK online courses that have been developed by the DfES.
UK online centres offer an introduction to the internet and e-mail, with learner support to help new users. Centres may wish to develop their own learning material to achieve this.