§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on levels of applications to universities in the last three years from(a) international students, (b) UK students and (c) students from the West Midlands. [131452]
§ Alan Johnson[holding answer 14 October 2003]The latest available information from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) covers applicants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK and is shown in the table. Comparable data for 2003 entry will not be published until January 2004, but the latest data for 2003 shows that, by early October, overall applicants were up by 3 per cent. This continued increase demonstrates that students realise that higher education can bring them better opportunities and are willing to make the investment.
Applicants via UCAS by home domicile Year of entry Applicant domicile 2000 2001 2002 Overseas1 52,937 54,188 59,511 UK 389,091 399,645 401,854 West Midlands 32,717 34,459 33,999 1 Includes EU and non-EU students