§ Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will make a statement on the number of students at polytechnics in England and Wales for whom there was no residential accommodation available in hostels, boarding houses or flats at the beginning of the current term and, in particular, on the circumstances in which students at Portsmouth Polytechnic were compelled to make temporary beds on the floor at Union House.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeThe Department does not collect information of this kind. There are difficulties about predicting exactly how many polytechnic students will need help in finding accommodation at the beginning of the academic year. For this reason I understand that about 10 students at Portsmouth Polytechnic were provided with temporary beds for two nights until accommodation could be found for them.