§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the proceeds which will be received by Her Majesty's Treasury as a result of the imposition of tuition fees on veterinary students under his proposals for the funding of higher education. [25513]
§ Dr. HowellsUnder the new higher education funding system being introduced from 1998–99 universities and colleges will receive £1,000 for every home or EU full-time undergraduate new entrant—from the student and/or from the local authority depending on income assessed. We estimate that this will amount to around £130 million in England in 1998–99, after allowance has been made for costs of some 5 per cent. for collection and any default. This includes tuition fees for new veterinary undergraduates.
The Government have made it clear that the savings from the introduction of tuition fees would be used to improve quality, standards and opportunity for all in further and higher education. For 1998–99 we have announced an extra £165 million for higher education to spend, including a total of £129 million for higher education institutions.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many veterinary students are currently in receipt of(a) full and (b) part maintenance grants. [25518]
§ Dr. HowellsInformation on the subject of study of award holders is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to the letter of566W 9 January from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells), what estimate he has made of the extent of the deficit in veterinary graduates qualifying from United Kingdom veterinary schools. [25517]
§ Dr. HowellsVeterinary graduates are employed largely in private practice and the Government do not attempt to forecast demand for them or to estimate whether supply does or does not meet requirements. However, the increase in the numbers of overseas registrations as shown by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' registration statistics suggests that demand for veterinary graduates in the UK is not being met from UK registered graduates.
Registered Veterinary Graduates Year UK Commonwealth, foreign and EU Total 1995 369 469 838 1996 384 531 915 The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is currently conducting a survey to gauge the needs of the profession in future years.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research he has conducted into the manpower demand of the public sector for graduates in veterinary medicine. [25516]
§ Dr. HowellsMost veterinary graduates are in private practice. Neither this Department nor the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food conducts research into, or attempts to forecast, public sector demand for veterinary graduates. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons conducts periodic labour market research to gauge the needs of the profession.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the levels of indebtedness likely to be experienced by graduates and students of veterinary medicine as a result of his proposals for the funding of higher education; [25514]
(2) if he will estimate the total cost, including tuition fees and maintenance, of a five year veterinary course for students with a family income of (a) less than £23,000 per annum, (b) between £23,000 and £35,000 per annum and (c) over £35,000 per annum under his proposals for the funding of higher education. [25515]
§ Dr. HowellsThe amount that a student of veterinary medicine will be able to borrow under the student loans scheme will depend on a variety of factors including the length of the course, the place of study, and the student's and his or her parents' or spouse's income. A student 567W completing a five year course who began studying in 1999 and took out the full loan available each year might expect to have borrowed a total of between £13,205 and £17,255 in 1998 prices, depending on his or her individual, parental or spouse's income.
The level of monthly repayments that graduates will be expected to make will depend entirely on their incomes. In this respect the position of veterinary students will be no different from that of students of any other discipline. The Government have not, therefore, seen the need to commission specific research into the effects of their proposals on veterinary students.
The following table indicates in 1998 prices the contributions to fees and maintenance that parents would be expected to make, where their income was taken into account, for each year of a five year course outside London. Similar scales apply to spouses where appropriate. No parent or spouse will be expected to contribute more under the new arrangements to the cost of fees and maintenance combined than they would contribute to the cost of maintenance alone under the existing arrangements.
£ Income1 Annual parental contribution to fees Annual parental contribution to maintenance Maximum loan available to student for full year Low income 0 0 3,545 Middle income 1,000 0 3,545 High income 1,000 810 2,735 1 The contribution parents are expected to make will depend, as now, on their residual income, rather than gross income. The total incomes to which the residual income figures correspond will vary according to individual circumstances. The residual income below which no contribution is expected ("low income") is £16,945: on average this might equate to a total income of around £23,000. The residual income at which parents will be expected to contribute the full £1,000 towards fees ("middle income") is £27,119, which on average might equate to a total income of around £35,000. The residual income at which the maximum contribution towards fees and maintenance is expected ("high income") is £34,068. Contributions between these points are on a sliding scale.