§ 22. Mr. Loveridgeasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will seek powers to provide that mature students, especially those leaving the Services with good records studying full-time with a view to entering a teacher 288W training college, are all paid the same amount irrespective of which local authority area they live in, and to ensure that their grant is not less than that paid to university students.
§ Mrs. ThatcherNo. Awards to students taking courses other than first degree or comparable courses are best considered by local education authorities in the light of the student's individual circumstances. Nevertheless, I have drawn the attention of local education authorities to the undesirability of wide variation of practice among authorities, both in their discretionary awards policy and also in the rates and conditions of their grants.