§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made towards increasing vocational degree places at universities and polytechnics.
Mr. JacksonThere is no standard definition of the term "vocational" as applied to degree courses. Many courses have at least some vocational element. Between 1979 and 1987 (the latest year for which figures are available) the number of degrees awarded annually by universities and the Council for National Academic Awards increased by about a quarter, from 101,600 to 127,100. I expect the proportion with a vocational element to have followed broadly the same trend.