HC Deb 29 June 1981 vol 7 cc262-4W
Mr. Arnold

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the figure of £42 million which his Department expects to spend in the forthcoming year on support for overseas students represents the cost both of maintaining and extending the fee support scheme and of restoring awards under the technical co-operation programme to approximately 1978 and 1979 levels.

Mr. Neil Marten

The £42 million which my Department expects to spend in the current financial year on support for overseas students represents not only the cost of the fee support scheme and of restoring awards under the technical cooperation programme to approximately 1978 and 1979 levels; but also the cost of restoring the number of awards under the Commonwealth scholarship and fellowship plan.

Mr. Arnold

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the increased number of new awards for students from developing countries under Government to Government programmes and the Commonwealth scholarship and fellowship plan are being allocated on a geographical or hardship basis; how many of these awards have been allocated; what proportion has been granted to students from Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Neil Marten

Awards to students and trainees from developing countries under Government-to-Government programmes are made on a geographical basis in accordance with our technical co-operation agreements. The total number of new awards available under such schemes in the current financial year exceeds 4,200. Under our programme with Nigeria 265 awards are being made available.

Awards under the Commonwealth scholarship and fellowship plan are on the basis of selections by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom from nominations submitted by agencies and universities in many countries. No specific allocation is made in respect of Nigerian students—or for any other nationality—but in 1979, 39 were offered awards out of a total of 371; and in 1980, 25 out of 234. The selection process for the coming academic year is not yet complete.

Mr. Arnold

asked the Lord Privy Seal what proportion of current award holders of the fee support scheme are students from Nigeria; and if he will state the number.

Mr. Neil Marten

; There are 323 current fee support scheme award holders. Of these 28, or 8.6 per cent. are from Nigeria.

Mr. Arnold

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the 300 new awards under the increased fee support scheme for 1981–82 have been allocated; and how many have been granted to students from Nigeria.

Mr. Neil Marten

The fee support scheme selection process for 1981–82 is not yet completed. It now looks likely, however, that the number of eligible candidates will fall substantially short of the 300 awards available. I shall write to my hon. Friend giving the number of awards offered for 1981–82, including those to students from Nigeria, when this information is available.

Mr. Canavan

asked the Lord Privy Seal how much money has been spent by his Department over the past year on education for overseas students.

1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81
England N/A N/A 6,354 6,799 6,491
Scotland N/A N/A 928 1,006 944
Wales N/A N/A 346 371 312
Totals 7,917 7,497 7,628 8,176 7,747

Mr. Russell Johnston

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many overseas students the British Council has handled for the United Nations agencies in each of the past three years; and if he will show how these students have been allocated between England, Wales and Scotland.

Mr. Neil Marten

The numbers of new arrivals handled in each of the past three years are as follows:

1978–79 1979–80 1980–81
England 968 918 950
Scotland 182 235 210
Wales 135 131 145
Totals 1,285 1,284 1,305

Mr. Neil Marten

Final figures are not yet available, but it is estimated that expenditure on aid supported students and trainees in 1980–81 was about £35 million.

Mr. Russell Johnston

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will list the education and training institutions, below the level of universities, into which the British Council has placed students from overseas in the last year for which information is available; and if he will show the number of placements against each institution.

Mr. Neil Marten

The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Russell Johnston

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many overseas students the British Council has handled for fisheries-related courses, other than aquaculture, in each of the past three years; and if he will show the allocations for England, Wales and Scotland, respectively.

Mr. Neil Marten

The information requested is as follows:

1978–79 1979–80 1980–81
England 68 74 67
Scotland 12 9 11
Wales 3 7 2
Totals 83 90 80

Mr. Russell Johnston

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many overseas students the British Council has handled for the Overseas Development Administration in each of the past five years; and if he will show how these students have been allocated between England, Wales and Scotland.

Mr. Neil Marten

The information requested is as follows, except that the allocation between England, Wales and Scotland is only available for the past three years: