§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what account is taken when assessing levels of tuition fee payments of the number of children within a family intending to go to university that the student's parents will have to support. [129094]
§ Alan JohnsonSupport for dependent students under 25 in higher education is based on a financial assessment of their parents' gross income in the previous financial year. In the academic year 2003/04, parents will not make any contribution to their children's support if their residual income is below £20,970 a year.
Where there is more than one child in higher education, the total parental contribution is limited to the amount that would be assessed if there were only one student child. The parental contribution is then apportioned between the number of children in the family studying a course of higher education. Therefore, where parents have more than one student child, there is no higher assessed parental contribution to make to their student support.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what controls are in place on the level of tuition fees for Masters Degree courses; and whether financial assistance is available for those unable to pay. [129095]
§ Alan JohnsonThe Government do not regulate the levels of fee charged for Masters Degree courses: it is for Higher Education Institutions to decide what level of fee they will charge. The Government do not make available assistance in the form of grants for fees for students undertaking Masters Degrees. The research councils and the Arts and Humanities Research Board provide a number of studentships and research grants each year for postgraduate students, including some on Masters courses depending on the field of study. These are allocated on a competitive basis.