The Open University: Grants Policy (Hansard, 27 January 1983)

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, as far as the first part of the noble Lord's Question is concerned, this information is not collected. As regards the second part of his Question, Open University students are eligible for awards only at the discretion of their local authority. Where this is insufficient, the university itself may offer assistance. The Government made available to the university in 1982 and 1983 an earmarked grant of £0.5 million specifically to assist unemployed students.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, may I ask the noble Earl the Minister for some information? Is it the case that in this year, for the second year running, 40 per cent. of those offered places in the Open University were unable to take them up mainly because of cost? Secondly, is it the case that over the last two years the fees for the Open University have been increased by 79 per cent.? Lastly, has the noble Earl read the analysis made by the Open University itself on its 1981–82 admissions, which states that continually increasing fees may mean that lower income and other underprivileged groups will be priced out of study?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, coming to the third of the noble Lord's questions, no, I have not read that. So far as the fees are concerned, I am not quite so good at my sums as the noble Lord, but I can give him the fees. In 1981 they were £98—and this is the tuition fee for a full credit course; in 1982 they were £120, and in 1983 they are £127. I think that this last rise is just about the 5.8 per cent. which refers to inflation. The noble Lord had a third supplementary, and I have forgotten what it was.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, my other supplementary was: is it the case that 40 per cent. of those offered places at the Open University this year and last year were unable to take up their places because of the rise in costs?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, this is quite a difficult question to answer because people are not asked the exact reason why they have not taken up their places. The university carries out some form of survey. As I understand it, it is rather like one of those surveys where you get a list of columns and you tick things off. There are a number of reasons, and a number of reasons are given. I will try to help the noble Lord if I can, but the drop-out from the Open University is a difficult situation to discuss. It is not like a normal university where you suddenly give up. Obviously, you can stop in the middle of a course at the Open University where you are gaining credits and take a year off, if you want to.
It can refer to new applicants who are offered a place on the undergraduate programme but decline the offer. It can refer to students who finally registered on a course but did not sit the exam. Approximately 17 per cent. of new students fall into this category, and approximately 28 per cent. of continuing students, but nothing is known of the reasons why they did not sit. Finally, it can refer to existing students who conditionally register for courses the following year but decline some, or all, of them when offered. The details are that 62 per cent. of these students said that lack of time was either "quite" or "very important", and 40 per cent. said that not wishing to commit themselves to the cost of the course was "quite" or "very important". This analysis was based on 5,300 course declines. I think perhaps I would not disagree with the 40 per cent. that the noble Lord mentioned. At the same time, 63 per cent. seemed to think that the difficulty of studying was more important than that.

§ Lord Perry of Walton
My Lords, is the Minister aware that discretionary grants have become progressively more difficult for students to get because of the pressure on the finances of local authorities? Is he also aware that it lies within the power of the Government to extend the system of mandatory grants to the part-time students of the Open University? Could he give us the reasons why the Government have consistently not met this request of the students of the Open University?

§ The Earl of Swinton
Yes, my Lords. I would say, first of all, that awards given to students to study at Open University are made entirely at the discretion of the local education authorities. It is therefore inevitable that the practice will vary between authorities. Each authority will need, on the one hand, to balance the case for each applicant and, on the other, the need to keep its expenditure and rates at reasonable levels. Constraints on public expenditure in recent years have caused some local authorities to reduce the level of assistance they give under the discretionary awards arrangement, but this is a matter for authorities to decide for themselves.
The Government would have to consider introducing legislation should they decide to extend the mandatory awards to the Open University 371 students; and the Government have concluded that it would not be acceptable to consider extending mandatory awards for Open University students in isolation without including other part-time students. The cost of extending mandatory awards to cover all part-time students is estimated to be about £40 million, and currently resources just are not available to meet this extra cost.

§ Lord Harmar-Nicholls
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that in all ranges of industry, as a result of increases in rates, many sections are having to face problems and painful difficulties, and that the nation as a whole would expect the student fraternity to play their part in bringing about the essential economies that are necessary if we are to get back again to sound money and sound levying of taxes?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, yes, I would accept that point from my noble friend.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, would the Minister agree that less money will be available for helping students this year and next year because the financial assistance fund which is operated by the Open University itself, which it takes out of the DES grant, is going to be able to produce 25 per cent. less this year than it did before? Also, the half million, which of course they are glad to have again, will not be worth quite half a million this time, and the half a million last year was fully taken up. So overall there will be less money, and I think it is accepted that the increase in fees has deterred some students. There were 1,200 students assisted by the financial assistance fund in 1981. and 5,000 in 1982. Would the noble Earl accept that there is a very great need to help this particular class of student a little more?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I accept part of that. On the other hand, I cannot resist telling the noble Baroness that the Open University, as a direct grant institution, receives the major part of its income from central Government in the form of an annual recurrent grant. I am sure she is aware of that. Further, whereas in 1979 it received about £34 million, in 1983 it is receiving nearly £57 million; so I do not think it is doing too badly.

§ Lord Brockway
My Lords, the Minister said that a grant has been made available for the unemployed applicants. May I ask him whether that has been extended to old-age pensioners? I must declare an interest. When I am unable to come to this House, I propose to apply to become a student.

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I am sure that if the noble Lord, Lord Brockway, were to become a student and give up part of his time in this House we should all miss him immensely. I suppose the answer is that if you are unemployed it does not matter what age you are. I give that off the cuff. I think he would have to write to me for an answer in this case. I am sure that we should miss him very sadly if he were to go there too often.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, would the noble Earl the Minister put it on record that the Open University is one of the jewels in the British Crown, and universally respected all over the world? It is a great help particularly to industry. Perhaps he would tell his noble friend that. Is he also aware that one of the reasons for a large number of students not taking their examinations is that the grant to assist students to attend summer schools, which are compulsory for certain courses, has fallen from 75 per cent. in 1978 to under 60 per cent. by 1981, so that students simply cannot afford to go to summer schools? Is he further aware that it is women who are particularly discriminated against as students, are unable to take up their courses in the Open University, and particularly students in the North as distinct from the South?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, it is very difficult to answer the noble Lord because he asks so many supplementary questions at a time that, by the time he gets to the last one, one has forgotten what the first one was and vice versa. Perhaps it is easier to concentrate on the middle one, but I have even forgotten what that one was.
I think I have said enough in my answers to assure the noble Lord and other noble Lords that the Government support the Open University and wish it nothing but well. It is well worth saying that in 1982 the university planned to achieve an undergraduate student population of 59,530, full credit-equivalent students, and the actual student numbers were extremely close at 59,235. So I do not think that it is short of students.