§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the criteria for selecting students to participate on medical courses under his programme for widening participation in medicine; and what opportunities there are for students with 30 or more points at A Level who have failed to obtain a place to study medicine to participate in this programme; [168202]
(2) how much funding has been allocated by the Government to the widening access programme in medical education in the current academic year; how much he plans to allocate in subsequent years; and if he will break down such funding by individual institution; [168203]
(3) how much funding has been allocated to the improving retention pot for university medical schools for (a) the academic year 2004–05 and (b) subsequent years. [168204]
§ Alan JohnsonThe admission and selection of students is a matter for individual institutions. Admissions should always be based on individual merit. Professor Steven Schwartz, Vice-Chancellor of Brunel University, is leading a review which will produce a set of high level principles on admissions and help universities learn from best practice at home and abroad.
We know that both the new and existing medical schools are themselves doing excellent work to address some of the access and diversity issues that surround the application and selection process. One of the criteria for the establishment of new medical schools in recent years has been the need to demonstrate an active commitment to widening participation from a broad range of social and ethnic backgrounds to reflect the patterns of populations which are served by the NHS.
In addition, there are projects under the Government's Aimhigher programme aimed at the healthcare professions. Aimhigher, the national outreach programme which operates most intensively in disadvantaged areas, provides funds to local partnerships to increase the attainment levels of young people and raise their aspirations towards university and progression.
38WIn addition, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has earmarked £273 million for widening participation in 2004–05, which is allocated as part of the block grant to institutions. Included in this sum is £49 million for widening access and £213 million for improving retention. The breakdown by institution is published in the HEFCE document, "Recurrent Grants for 2004–05" (March 2004/12). No decisions on allocations after that date have yet been made.
The HEFCE widening participation allocation provides some assistance to universities with the additional costs of recruiting and retaining students from non-traditional backgrounds. The allocation is not an incentive. It is paid to the institution, not to individual schools or departments, towards the support costs of students from non-traditional backgrounds who complete a year of their studies. How the funds are used is entirely a matter for the institution.