HC Deb 19 July 1988 vol 137 cc935-7
8. Mr. McAllion

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make additional grants to Scottish universities in the current year to enable them to meet the requirement being placed upon them to provide details on their students to community charge registration officers.

Mr. Jackson

No, Sir. It is not expected that the community charge will place a significant additional administrative burden on universities.

Mr. McAllion

The real cost will be the damage that is done to the relationship between Scottish universities and their students. Does the Minister agree with the protest by Edinburgh university court, and its expression of grave concern at being forced to abandon its long-term commitment to treat students' addresses and other personal information in confidence? Will he support the university's offer to the Scottish Office merely to verify student status to poll tax registration officers, thereby removing the requirement on universities in Scotland seriously to infringe the civil liberties of their students?

Mr. Jackson

I am sure that universities will wish to co-operate in enforcing the law. If students are to be able to claim the 80 per cent. rebate that they are being offered, it will be necessary for them to have a certificate to make that claim.

Mr. Robert B. Jones

Does my hon. Friend agree that money would be available for this and other purposes if funds from the taxpayer were not being handed over to the National Union of Students, without the consent of the students concerned?

Mr. Jackson

My hon. Friend knows that the issue of students' unions is under review by the Government. I do not want to anticipate the conclusions of that review.

Mr. Buchan

Is the Minister aware that universities are keen on obeying the law, but are not keen on becoming part of the police system that has been adopted by the Government, with the invasion of privacy that that involves? The relationship between students and universities will be destroyed, and the universities are saying that they want no part of that. Will he listen to them?

Mr. Jackson

There is no invasion of privacy involved. We are talking of information that is necessary to enable a tax for local services to be collected. I am sure that the universities will wish to co-operate in that.

Mr. John Marshall

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Scottish universities are already funded generously, and that they gain more money than the proportion of the Scottish population would justify?

Mr. Jackson

We have a national system of higher education, and by that I mean British national. I am not aware of the statistics that my hon. Friend brings forward in respect of one part of the country.

Rev. Martin Smyth

Does the Minister agree that some record might wisely be kept, especially if Northern Ireland students and their parents are subject to double taxation? The parents will be paying rates according to the decision of the Government, and when their children come to England or Scotland they will have to pay the community charge.

Mr. Jackson

I am aware of the hon. Gentleman's argument. It is an important one and we shall be taking it up in the context of the student support review.