§ Mr. Mageeasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has revised the recurrent grant for universities for the academic years 1975–76 and 1976–77; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Prentice:Because the number of university students by the end of the current quinquennium is expected to be lower than forecast when the quinquennial settlement was made, recurrent grant for the universities for the academic years 1975–76 and 1976–77 needs to be revised.
The grant for 1975–76 has now been fixed at £465 million. This figure includes 100 per cent. supplementation in respect of price rises on the customary basis, and is accordingly on the price basis appropriate to the 1975–76 academic year.
I am at present unable to announce the revised grant for 1976–77, but expect to do so later in the year. I realise that this delay involves the universities in planning difficulties, and I am aiming to resume the settlement of grants on a longer-term basis as soon as I can.