§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many students in receipt of dependency grant last year were(a) women and (b) men; [24591]
(2) how many students in receipt of dependency grant last year were married; [24592]
(3) how many students last year received dependency grant; and at what cost to the Exchequer. [24590]
§ Mr. BoswellProvisional figures for the academic year 1993–94 show that 27,000 mandatory award holders resident in England and Wales received dependants' allowances. The gross value of these allowances was £55 million. Since these allowances are means-tested, the cost to the Exchequer will have been less that this amount.
Information on the marital status or gender of students in receipt of dependants' allowances is not collected centrally.
§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will bring forward regulations to ensure that women students with dependent children do not lose their entitlement to dependency grant when they marry. [24589]
§ Mr. BoswellUnder the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations, the additional allowance to the student's grant which can be made for children who are242W wholly or mainly financially dependent on him or her will continue after marriage if the children remain his or her dependants.