Discretionary Student Grants

HC Deb 13 July 1993 vol 228 cc820-1

7. Mr. Hain

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he has any plans to alter arrangements for the award of discretionary student grants.

Mr. Boswell

My right hon. Friend keeps the administration of student awards under periodic review. Any plans for changes in this field would be announced at the appropriate time.

Mr. Hain

Will the Minister agree to ring-fence funding for discretionary student awards? I and other hon. Members know of many students who cannot study medicine, law, music or other courses that they want to follow. It is crazy for society to deny them the opportunity to acquire those extra skills. I warn the Minister "Don't dare blame local education authorities, after the Government have savaged their budgets in recent year."

Mr. Boswell

I cannot accept what the hon. Gentleman says for a moment—but, then, I usually cannot. The fact is that we continue to fund local education authorities for their responsibilities to schools and to all other aspects of education. We will continue so to do.

At the moment, we are looking at a pattern of anecdote, rumour and innuendo about the withdrawal of certain services. For the short term, there is no point in giving local authorities discretion and then trying to take it away from them by fettering that discretion. In the slightly more medium term, and in view of the concern that has been expressed, we have joined with the Gulbenkian and Sir John Cass Foundations, asking them independently and throughly to review the current state of provision. If they have any messages for us, we will consider them carefully and quickly.

Mrs. Peacock

Is my hon. Friend aware that some Labour authorities, such as Kirklees, are refusing to give discretionary grants, so young students who have taken law degrees cannot then go on to law school or to the Council for Legal Education? They have degrees, but they cannot practise. What action can he take to help resolve that?

Mr. Boswell

The nature of discretionary grants is such that LEAs must use their discretion when choosing whether to award them. We continue to fund them—[Interruption.]—whatever the Opposition may bray. If they want the figures, I can give them to them. If a local authority decides that it is not going to give any awards at all, that would be tantamount to a withdrawal of discretion, and would indeed be a serious matter. If my hon. Friend has evidence to that effect, I shall be pleased to consider it.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Is not it staggering that the Minister claims that he has the figures, yet he accuses my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) of anecdotes, rumour and innuendo, while his colleagues tell him that discretionary awards have, in effect, been abolished by local authorities? We are talking not simply about Labour authorities but about authorities up and down the country, and the Minister should know that that is the case. He should not come to the House and claim ignorance.

Let me ask the Minister a specific question. What will he do about those authorities? They tell me that cuts in Government money mean that they have to cut discretionary grants. No discretionary grants means no opportunity. The responsibility lies with the Minister. What will he do about it?

Mr. Boswell

The hon. Gentleman can start by being a bit less arrogant about the Gulbenkian report unless or until he has seen it. What on earth is the point of commissioning the report or paying part of its costs if we are not prepared to consider what it says and take a view in the light of its findings? The hon. Gentleman said that authorities are cutting back. I happen to know—this reflects the change of political control, although the decision was taken before—that my local authority has expanded its provision in discretionary awards. That is an anecdote.

As the hon. Gentleman would like to have the figures, I can tell him that we have increased total expenditure to local authorities by 2.6 per cent. this year for education. That is above the increase in pupil numbers. Taking into account the level of pay settlements, which is required under current policy, that should be sufficient to continue to fund discretionary awards. If local authorities choose not to do that, it is their choice. It is not a decision which we have either imposed on them or encouraged them to take.