HC Deb 24 February 2003 vol 400 cc342-3W
Mr. Keith Bradley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many families with at least one child in higher education had an income of less than £10,000 in each of the last five years. [94440]

Margaret Hodge

[holding answer 30 January 2003]: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynn Jones) on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 358W. Historic data are not available for students from families with parental residual1 income below the threshold for means-tested tuition fee support. The current student support scheme introduced in 1998–99, provides students with full fee support if their income is below the threshold. Under the mandatory awards scheme in

Number of higher education students (thousands) assessed to receive full student support in England and Wales1
Academic year 1996–97 to 2000–012
Academic year3
1996–97 1997–98 1998–994 1999–2000 2000–015
Residual income threshold level for dependent students (£) 16,050 16,450 16,945 17,370 17,805
Residual income threshold level for independent students (£) 12,700 13,105 13,405 14,700 15,070
Student support scheme students6,7
Dependent students — — 69 148 194
Independent students — — 39 68 95
Total all students — — 108 216 289
Mandatory scheme students8
Dependent students 199 201 134 81 27
Independent students 144 137 77 40 12
Total all students 343 337 211 121 39
Total all students9
Dependent students 199 201 203 229 221
Independent students 144 137 116 108 107
Total all students 343 337 319 337 328
1 The table shows awards made by local education authorities in England and Wales to students normally domiciled in their area.
2 Provisional.
3 New students in 1998–99 received support for maintenance through income-assessed grants (comprising about a quarter of the support available) and non income-assessed student loans (about three quarters of the support available). From 1999–2000, students who entered higher education from 1998–99 onwards received support for maintenance entirely through loans, of which approximately three-quarters of the value was non income-assessed.
4 Data in 1998–99 include an estimated 15,000 student support scheme students in England and Wales who, because they did not expect to receive a contribution to their support from public funds did not make an application to their local authority.
5 Data for academic year 2000–01 are provisional.
6 Student support scheme funding arrangements in higher education came into effect from the start of the 1998–99 academic year, thus accounting for the apparent steep rise in student numbers through the academic years.
7 Most new students in 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 were expected to contribute up to £1,000, £1,025 and £1,050 respectively towards the cost of their tuition depending on family income.
8 Students who entered higher education up to 1997–98 and those who entered in 1998–99 to whom the mandatory scheme funding arrangements applied received support for maintenance through income-assessed grants.
9 Totals may not add through due to roundings.