HC Deb 26 June 2003 vol 407 cc947-8W
17. Mr. McLoughlin

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost of reaching his Department's higher education participation target. [121711]

Alan Johnson

"The Future of higher education", and in the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Assessments of the costs for increasing and widening participation beyond 2005–06 will be made as part of the 2004 Spending Review, work on which will commence shortly.

Mr. Khabra

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students in higher education are from social classes D and E; and what the proportion was in 1997. [121708]

Alan Johnson

The latest information shows that in 2001 10 per cent. of students accepted for entry to higher education courses were from Semi-skilled (social class D) or Unskilled (social class E) family backgrounds. The corresponding figure for 1997 was 11 per cent.