HL Deb 21 May 1991 vol 529 cc103-4

Baroness David asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Access Fund for students in higher education and the amount of the student loan for the academic year 1991–92 have been decided.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Baroness Blatch)

My Lords, £25.8 million will be available for the Access Fund for Great Britain. The division between the further and higher education funds has yet to be fully decided. My right honourable friend plans to announce the maximum rates of student loan for the academic year 1991–92 shortly.

Baroness David

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Has monitoring taken place of what has happened in the universities and polytechnics as a result of providing access funds this year, both in the amounts spent and in the way that the universities and polytechnics have distributed them among students? Will the Access Fund be available for the whole of the next academic year or will the institutions which have not spent a certain percentage of it by the end of March be forced to forfeit the rest? That was threatened this year, though in the event that was changed.

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, the Government are monitoring and are committed to a review three years after implementation of this policy. In regard to the second question, I can assure the noble Baroness that the flexibility to deploy access funds throughout the whole of the year is a matter for the universities. That concession was made as a result of listening to the vice-chancellors.

Baroness Blackstone

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the access funds allocated this year failed to make up housing and other benefit which was taken away from students last year? Will the Government reconsider the sums allocated for next year in the light of the fact that this year's funds have been far too little to cover those benefits for which students are no longer eligible?

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, the noble Baroness is wrong to make a comparison between just the access funds and what was claimed in social security benefit. One must consider all the moneys available to students in total as a package, which is how the policy was presented. Access funds are additional to that. Those students who would have been eligible for social security benefits during the course of the current year would have claimed on average £329. The average loan is greater than that. Therefore, the total moneys available to students is greater than that, even including the loss of benefits.

Baroness David

My Lords, has the department worked out how much a student who has taken out a full loan this year will owe at the end of the year or at the end of the three years? Does the Minister have those figures? A figure of £2,000 was given to me but I heard from other sources that students will owe a great deal more at the end of their university or polytechnic studies.

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, I can only give the figure for the present year. The current inflation indicator is 9.8 per cent., which makes it a cheaper loan than one can obtain on the open market. Secondly, absolutely no student will be required to repay the loan unless they are earning at or above 85 per cent. of the national average wage. At the moment that is £11,580—£230 per week. That specific figure will be uprated each year for inflation.

Lord Peston

My Lords, can the noble Baroness clarify one point? She said that an announcement in regard to the loan would be made "shortly". It matters a great deal to students, especially those who are about to start their courses, to know when "shortly" is. Does it mean any day now or a much longer period of time?

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, the noble Lord well knows that it is difficult to be absolutely precise in these matters. It will be very soon. We are well seized of the importance of students knowing well in advance, first, what the indices will be and, secondly, what the available loan will be.