§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to extend eligibility for Access Fund payments to part-time students in higher education from 1998–99; and what estimate he has made of the cost. [14434]
§ Dr. HowellsWe have already indicated that part-time students will become eligible for consideration for payment from the higher education Access Funds from the beginning of the academic year 1998–99. Our guidance to the Funding Council will be amended to reflect this. We have also announced that the total amount available to the higher education Access Funds will be doubled.
Spending from the Access Funds is not demand led in the sense that if more students are eligible to apply, more money will need to be paid out. A fixed sum is allocated for the academic year and distributed amongst higher education institutions, who decide individual payments on 523W the basis of the evidence of financial difficulties presented by students applying. Doubling the amount available is intended to improve the position of both part-time and full-time students.