§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the number of higher education students from the EU accession states after 1 May. [161012]
§ Alan JohnsonIn 2002/03, there were 3,374 full-time undergraduates and 362 part-time undergraduates in the UK from the 10 countries acceding to the EU on 1 May 2004. This represents 0.2 per cent. of the UK and EU domiciled undergraduate student population in UK894W institutions. The funding made available to HEFCE and English universities for 2004–05 provides for a modest increase in student numbers from EU countries following accession. It is not possible to predict the numbers with certainty at this stage since a decision to study in the UK depends on a number of factors, including the availability of HE in the student's home country and their ability to support their own living costs.