§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, following the reduction of the allocation of funds for student grants, he will now reconsider introducing loans to students in higher education.
§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to introduce a partial student loan system to protect those students whose parents are unable to meet their new levels of contribution.
§ Mr. BrookeNo. The Government's policy remains that announced by my right hon. Friend on 10 May 1983 when he said that we have no intention at present of replacing any part of the student grant by a loan; but that we remain interested in finding means of widening access to higher education without excessive cost to the taxpayer, and in this context will continue to keep the whole system of student support under review.