Higher Education (Hansard, 19 June 1995)

§ Mr. Llwyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the proportion of young people from Wales entering HE in(a) 1993–94 and (b) 1994–95; and if he will make a statement. [29012]

§ Mr. Richards
Information for Wales for 1993–94 and 1994–95 is not yet available. The most recent data show that in 1992–93 an estimated 26 per cent. of young persons from Wales entered higher education.

§ Mr. Llwyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many students were studying at a Welsh higher education institution in(a) 1993–94 and (b) 1994–95; and if he will make a statement. [29100]

§ Mr. Richards
Information on the number of students studying at Welsh higher education institutions in 1993–94 and 1994–95 is shown in the following table.

Students studying at Welsh Higher Education Institutions

¹1993–94 ²1994–95

University of Wales 36,390 39,499

Open University 4,376 n/a

Other publicly funded higher education institutions:

higher education courses 30,538 38,900

further education courses 4,205 n/a

Sources: ¹ Welsh Office Further Education Student Record, Universities Statistical Record, Open University. At November for publicly funded higher education institutions, December for University of Wales and January for Open University. Data provisional pending publication.

Source: ² Higher Education Statistics Agency. Data are provisional and exclude students on further education and open university courses. At December.

§ Mr. Llwyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of Welsh higher education departments received a research rating of(a) three or above and (b) five during the recent research assessment exercise; and if he will make a statement. [29027]

§ Mr. Richards
Sixty-three per cent. of Welsh higher education departments assessed during the 1992 research assessment exercise received a research rating of three or above; 4 per cent. of the departments received the top rating of five. The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has as one of its objectives to "double the units of assessment graded four and five in the research assessment exercise conducted every four years".
The HEFCW has been allocated an additional £2 million in support of this objective in each public expenditure survey round since 1992. The next research assessment exercise is to be undertaken in 1996.

Students studying at Welsh Higher Education Institutions
	¹1993–94	²1994–95
University of Wales	36,390	39,499
Open University	4,376	n/a
Other publicly funded higher education institutions:
higher education courses	30,538	38,900
further education courses	4,205	n/a
Sources: ¹ Welsh Office Further Education Student Record, Universities Statistical Record, Open University. At November for publicly funded higher education institutions, December for University of Wales and January for Open University. Data provisional pending publication.
Source: ² Higher Education Statistics Agency. Data are provisional and exclude students on further education and open university courses. At December.