HC Deb 16 June 1981 vol 6 cc847-8
4. Mr. Frank Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current public expenditure per student on university education aggregating total public expenditure from all sources on universities divided by total student numbers in the United Kingdom; and what will be the effect in real terms of proposed reductions in central Government grant.

Mr. Mark Carlisle

Average public expenditure on home and other subsidised students in Great Britain in the 1980–81 academic year is about £4,350 per student. This figure excludes expenditure on student maintenance, student unions, research projects and capital building programmes. Public expenditure per student in later years will depend on the number of students admitted.

Mr. Hooley

Is the Minister aware that the Under-Secretary of State has just admitted that the impact of the Government's policy on overseas students' fees will reduce student income? Is he further aware that the demand for university places is 3 per cent. up for men and 6 per cent. up for women this coming year and is likely to increase in subsequent years? Does he accept that other countries will view with amazement the Government's intellectual vandalism in attacking our universities which are great international institutions, with an immense reputation in art, science, medicine and every other field of intellectual endeavour?

Mr. Carlisle

The last part of the hon. Gentleman's question is total nonsense. Under Governments of both parties our universities have seen sustained expansion and have been protected from the financial pressures experienced in other parts of the economy. In trying to achieve our overall expenditure targets, we decided that over the next three years it was necessary to reduce expenditure on universities by 3½ per cent. and expenditure on home students by up to 8 per cent. The hon. Gentleman must remember that in two years' time the drop in the birth rate, which is now affecting secondary schools, will start to affect universities, so we cannot assume that they will continue to expand, as they have done up to this year.

Mr. Stokes

Is my right hon. and learned Friend satisfied that all our universities and colleges are strictly necessary? Could there not be some rationalisation?

Mr. Carlisle

As the Under-Secretary of State said, we do not intend to propose the closure of particular universities, but, if we are to make the necessary reductions in expenditure, they must be accompanied by rationalisation, which is why we have invited the University Grants Committee to approach the task in that way. I accept that it may mean the closure of some courses at certain universities.

Mr. Whitehead

In the light of the university cuts to be announced this month, will the Secretary of State give two undertakings? First, will he undertake that the cuts will not lead to a de facto system of three-tier universities, with the bottom tier cut off from research and reduced to second-class status? Will he also undertake that students who have been offered conditional places will be allowed to take them up in the next year? Will he comment on the remarks of the vice chancellor of Aston university, who said: Concerned parents, prospective students and employers throughout the country can only expect fewer opportunities for entry, poorer academic facilities for study, and fewer graduates to help in solving the complex problems of today"?

Mr. Carlisle

If the hon. Gentleman puts down a question concerning the remarks of the vice chancellor, I shall willingly reply. However, they are slightly surprising, since Aston university's grant for the forthcoming academic year is not yet known to him. The University Grants Committee will produce figures towards the end of the month. [Interruption.] Recalling the papers that I saw at the time, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the number of students going to Aston last year had dropped, which shows that there were vacancies at the university when the vice chancellor made his statement.

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman assurances on his other two questions until we see what the University Grants Committee recommends. If one accepts the overall policy of making reductions, it is better to do it in a way that preserves excellence, instead of making an across-the-board reduction in all universities.