To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students pursued A-level courses in (a) the public and (b) the private sector in each of the last five years; and what the average cost was to public funds of providing a place in each sector. [103311]

The number of students who pursued A-level courses in (a) the public sector and (b) private sector in each of the last five years are as follows:

Type of institution	1996–97	1997–98	1598–99	1999–2000	2000–01
(a) Public sector
Maintained schools	98,361	103,337	104,457	104,786	111,204
FE Sector	62,299	62,409	60,146	57,912	59,352
Total	162,657	167,744	166,602	164,698	172,557
(b) Private sector
Independent schools	29,682	29,867	26,649	28,578	28,777

The figures above are based on those students who were 17 years old at the beginning of the academic year in question.The following figures represent a range of funding per full-time student in different parts of the public sector. They are not directly comparable as they are not calculated on the same basis. The FE unit funding figure includes total public funding allocated for FE, while the schools' figures are based only on delegated funds and exclude other funding that schools receive centrally from LEAs that impact on post-16 students.

Unit of funding in FE
£
	Total unit of funding
1996–97*	3,050
1997–98*	3,070
1998–99*	3,120
1999–2000*	3,440
2000–01**	3,540
* Actual
** Provisional

Unit of funding in schools
£
	Total unit of funding
1996–97*	3,200
1997–98*	3,240
1998–99*	3,370
1999–2000*	3,500
2000–01*	3,890
* Estimate

Percentage distribution of mode of provision of education for excluded pupils—England
	March 20001				September 20012
	Key Stages 1 and 2	Key Stages 3	Key stage 4	Total	Key Stage 1 and 2	Key Stage 3	Key Stage 4	Total
Pupil Referral Unit	40.8	45.1	39.1	41.0	44.7	51.0	46.6	47.6
Home Tuition	32.3	24.0	11.0	16.8	30.8	20.3	9.6	14.1
Voluntary Sector	0.2	0.1	0.8	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.5	1.2
FE College	—	0.4	9.8	6.2	—	0.1	12.8	8.4