HC Deb 23 October 1990 vol 178 cc181-3
7. Mr. Douglas

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the number of Scottish students entering Scottish universities for 1990–91.

Mr. Alan Howarth

Reliable figures for admissions to universities this autumn are not yet available. The number of Scottish-domiciled first year students entering Scottish universities last year was more than 5 per cent. higher than in 1988.

Mr. Douglas

May I crave your indulgence, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, before putting my supplementary question, to say how sad hon. Members in all parts of the House must have been to hear of the death of Norman Buchan, the hon. Member for Paisley, South? He had enormous interest in the topic of education hut, moreover, enormous interest in freedom of thought and expression. No matter how much one might disagree with Norman, one could always be absolutely sure that he would defend one's right to make one's point here, as much as he would want to have his point of view expressed. It is with great sadness that I rise to put this supplementary question, although he would be among the first to recognise that democracy in this form in the House must go on.

May I ask the Minister to say what stresses and strains are being put on Scottish students at university, in particular through the loss of certain benefits and through the harassment that they are experiencing as a result of the threat of arresting their tuition fees to pay the poll tax?

Mr. Howarth

The House will have heard with great respect and sympathy the tribute of the hon. Member for Dunfermline, West (Mr. Douglas) for his friend the hon. Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Buchan), and we all share those sentiments.

With respect to the matter that the hon. Member for Dunfermline, West raised in his supplementary question, he should recognise that more resources are now available to support students. We calculate that the average claim for benefit made by students would have been £327 in the current year. As the value of the loan outside London is £420 and there are, in addition, access funds, it is clear that most students are better off. The access funds are there to assist any students who may be found to be in genuine financial difficulty. As to what the hon. Gentleman referred to as harassment, I hope that he will accept that students have a responsibility to meet their community charge. Equally, local authorities have a responsibility to take any steps available to them to recover arrears. Arrestment of payment due to, or on behalf of, individuals is one such step. The exercise of the powers of local authorities and any challenge to them is a matter for the courts.

Mr. Allan Stewart

May I associate myself with the tribute to the late Norman Buchan, who was a constituency neighbour?

Will my hon. Friend the Minister confirm that a higher proportion of school leavers in Scotland enter higher education than in England? Is not it also the case in Scotland that all school leavers who are qualified and wish to do so receive places in higher education, either in Scottish universities or in the central institutions such as colleges of technology, which have expanded a great deal under the Government?

Mr. Howarth

The quality of Scottish education has always been much respected south of the border, both at school and university level. It is noteworthy that rather more than a quarter of students in Scottish universities come from south of the border, which is a measure of the respect given to and attractiveness of Scottish university courses.

Mrs. Margaret Ewing

Does not the Under-Secretary understand that he stands condemned by his own words for his inability to understand the particular problems facing students? Does he really say to the House that any steps to recoup the poll tax are acceptable? In Scotland, tuition fees are being pursued by regional councillors so that students will have their poll tax deducted. Is that acceptable at a time when students are being denied access to social security benefits, when the grant system has been undercut and when there have been rising costs in accommodation, whether in the private or public sector? What will the Minister do to ensure that our students have a fair deal?

Mr. Howarth

As I said just now, the exercise of their powers by local education authorities in that regard is a matter for the courts. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the rights and wrongs of what they are doing. The hon. Lady also ignores the increase in resources available to the vast majority of students and the fact that access funds worth £25 million have been made available to universities and colleges so that they can use them to ensure that students are not in need. Beyond that, I trust that the hon. Lady is not implying that it would be in any way right for students to refuse to pay their community charge.