§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from smaller colleges of higher education alleging difficulties in coping with Scottish Higher Education Funding Council-imposed budget reductions over the next three years; and what response he has made. [32232]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy Department has received letters from the principals of two monotechnic higher education institutions and nine copies of a campaign letter from representatives of St. Andrew's College of Higher Education. My right hon. Friend has also received formal representations from the Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals in relation to the 1995 public expenditure survey.
It is for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to determine the relative needs of institutions within the total resources available to it. The council keeps in close touch with all the institutions it funds.
My right hon. Friend will be considering carefully the council's assessment of the needs of higher education during the forthcoming public expenditure survey.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what distinction the SHEFC made in deciding budgets for higher education colleges in the next three years, between colleges which had reserves and colleges which had not been permitted to acquire reserves. [32234]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonNone. The SHEFC set out its allocations of funding to higher education institutions in its circular letter No. 10/95 on 15 March 1995.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the impact of funding cuts in the next three years on the quality of provision in higher education colleges. [32235]
318W
Full-time Part-time First degree Other HE Total under-graduates First degree Other HE Total under-graduates 1980–81 15,987 7,340 23,327 604 24,477 25,081 1981–82 16,249 7,309 23,558 829 19,808 20,637 1982–83 15,966 7,763 23,729 741 21,571 22,312 1983–84 16,199 8,006 24,205 922 22,395 23,317 1984–85 16,877 7,878 24,755 1,080 21,763 22,843 1985–86 17,321 7,893 25,214 1,107 24,037 25,144 1986–87 17,816 7,963 25,779 1,362 23,884 25,246 1987–88 18,312 8,425 26,737 1,424 23,793 25,217 1988–89 18,784 8,374 27,158 1,335 22,902 24,237 1989–90 21,393 9,265 30,658 1,508 23,218 24,726 1990–91 22,940 9,410 32,350 1,613 22,608 24,221
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonOur expenditure plans for higher education until the 1997–98 financial year were set out in the departmental report "Serving Scotland's Needs", Cm 2814. This included a summary of the quality assessment reports on teaching by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council in the academic session 1993–94, and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to greater accountability of HEIs in terms of relevant, up-to-date information about quality and standards to such as employers and current and prospective students. The funding councils, including SHEFC, are working to develop indicators for performance including teaching quality.
My right hon. Friend will be considering evidence as to teaching quality and various representations he has received in the forthcoming public expenditure survey. So far almost 30 per cent. of the quality assessments of teaching published by SHEFC have been rated as excellent and only 2 per cent. as unsatisfactory.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many overseas students there were in Scottish higher education institutions in each year since 1985; and what proportion they represented of the total. [32236]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe number and percentage of full-time overseas students in higher education institutions from 1985–86 to 1993–94 is shown in the table.
Number of full-time overseas students Percentage 1985–86 6,274 8.6 1986–87 7,015 9.5 1987–88 7,087 9.4 1988–89 7,183 9.3 1989–90 8,063 9.9 1990–91 8,779 10.0 1991–92 9,610 10.0 1992–93 10,722 10.2 1993–94 11,953 10.7
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the change in the pattern of undergraduate entry to higher education(a) between 1980 and 1987 and (b) between 1987 and 1993, and what studies he has initiated into it. [32241]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe number of entrants to higher education in Scotland by mode and level of study, for the years 1980–81 to 1993–94, has been published in the Statistical Bulletin "Scottish Higher Education statistics 1993–94". Summary information is given in the table.
319W
Full-time Part-time First degree Other HE Total under-graduates First degree Other HE Total under-graduates 1991–92 25,323 11,663 36,986 2,680 21,826 24,506 1992–93 28,680 14,048 42,728 3,789 23,284 27,073 1993–94 29,467 18,317 47,784 4,166 21,709 25,875 The centre for education sociology, University of Edinburgh, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council has recently published a paper drawing on data from the Scottish young people's survey, funded by the Scottish Office.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the amount per capita in real terms spent on higher education students in(a) 1980, (b) 1987 and (c) 1993. [32242]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information requested is not readily available for all higher education students. For those students attending universities previously funded by the Universities Funding Council I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 9 February,Official Report, columns 228–29.