§ 5. Mrs. Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest)If he will make a statement on the percentage of students currently attending Scottish universities from (a) Scotland, (b) England, Wales and Northern Ireland and (c) parts of the EU outside the United Kingdom. [49918]
§ The Minister for Education and Industry, Scottish Office (Mr. Brian Wilson)From the latest data available, approximately 71 per cent. of students attending Scottish higher education institutions are from Scotland; approximately 16 per cent. are from England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and approximately 4 per cent. are from other parts of the European Union.
§ Mrs. LaingI thank the Minister for that helpful answer. I am sure that he is aware that the Government's climbdown on the matter of charging different fees to students from different parts of the United Kingdom attending Scottish universities has been widely welcomed, and not only by the Opposition. What advice has he received about whether the Scottish Parliament will have the power to make it illegal to charge students from England, who attend Scottish universities, and students from Scotland, who attend Scottish universities, different fees?
§ Mr. WilsonGiven the Opposition's rather desperate plight, I understand that they have to claim triumphs 899 where none exist, but I assure the hon. Lady that we welcome the fact that the Lords eventually agreed with us. The offer to monitor the operation of all the changes was on the table from the outset and I have absolutely no problem with formalising it. Incidentally, I am delighted to learn that applications from England to St. Andrews university, which had some lobbying influence in these matters, are up, not down, on last year. Hon. Members on both sides of the House might wonder whether the time of the House was not wasted just a little bit on that. The answer to the hon. Lady's question is that all these matters will become the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.
§ Mr. Ernie Ross (Dundee, West)Does my hon. Friend agree that the decision on tuition fees gives all universities in Scotland the task of trying to increase the number of young people from Scotland who attend them and to extend the range of opportunity available to people whom the universities might not, in the past, have tried to attract into university education?
§ Mr. WilsonMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. While we were wasting time on the diversion of whether applications from England to St. Andrews would go up or down by a couple of dozen, the reality of what the Government were doing elsewhere was far more important. We have been encouraging and putting real resources into encouraging wider access to Scottish universities and we have been very successful in that. I might add that I am particularly proud of the fact that in Scotland, and in Scotland alone, we have now abolished tuition fees for part-time students with low incomes. I understand that that is of absolutely no interest to the Opposition or to the House of Lords, but it is a very substantial achievement by the Government.
§ Mr. Andrew Welsh (Angus)May I offer my condolences to the Minister on having taken flak over a blatantly unfair policy and express the hope that that does not lead to his leaving the Scottish Office in too much of a hurry? Will he join me in condemning his ministerial colleagues who have failed to provide funds for fourth-year tuition fees for students in Scotland and have left him in an untenable position by accepting the need for a review?
§ Mr. WilsonI am pleased to note that the hon. Gentleman's wit is as razor sharp as ever.
One of the useful by-products of the debate was the securing of the first nationalist spending commitment since the wiping of the website. I must say that I am astonished by the commitment that the hon. Gentleman gave, on behalf of his party, to a Scottish Parliament's paying the £2 million for the students in question. The Scottish nationalists actually think that we should spend more of the Scottish budget on supporting students from outside Scotland than the £65 million net that we spend now. That is extraordinary—but it is a commitment that the hon. Gentleman has made and with which he will have to live.
§ Mr. Ian Davidson (Glasgow, Pollok)May I take up the question of the social origins of students at higher and further education establishments? Do the Government intend to set targets for such institutions and direct them 900 towards increasing the number of students they recruit from sections of society that are currently grossly under-represented?
§ Mr. WilsonThe reality—about which I am deeply concerned—is that only 11 per cent. of school leavers from the lower-income social groups go into higher education compared with more than 80 per cent. from the higher-income groups. The Government are not prepared to tolerate such an inequality of opportunity and fulfilments of aspirations, which has lasted far too long.
We have given the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council a directive to promote wider access as one of its objectives. We have put money into that and, as I have said, we have taken a major step through the abolition of tuition fees for part-time students from lower-income backgrounds. We will continue to pursue those policies. Until there are equal opportunities for everyone in every corner of Scotland, irrespective of economic and social background, we shall not have genuine equality in society. That is the objective that we are pursuing, and we will not be diverted from it by side issues.