§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what response he is making to the letter sent to him on 29 June from the Scottish Further Education Association on the issue of fees for overseas students in further education colleges.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherMy Department wrote to the president of the association on 6 July informing him that the fees for overseas students announced by my right hon. Friend on 1 April 1981 in reply to a question by my hon. Friend, the Member for Argyll (Mr. MacKay)—[Vol. 2, c. 119–20]—reflected the increases required to meet the rising costs of the courses concerned. The Department's letter also explained the Government's policy on fees for overseas students and informed the association that the number of new entrant overseas students in vocational further education in Scotland, excluding students from the European Communities, had fallen by only 2½ per cent, between 1979 and 1980.