§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what action he proposes to take as a consequence of the late payment of tuition fees by local education authorities to universities.
§ Mr. BoswellThe Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations place local education authorities—LEAs—in England and Wales under a statutory duty to pay most tuition fees in three instalments on specified dates or within one month of the receipt by the LEA of a valid request for payment, whichever is the later. My right hon. Friend wrote last September to the chairmen of all LEAs to remind them of the problems caused by the late payment of fees. My Department is pursuing complaints about late payments against a number of LEAs, including complaints made by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom.