§ Mr. Alisonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the three-year Speech Therapy Diploma course, where two A levels are needed to secure a place, does not qualify for a mandatory award when the one A level entry Higher National Diploma courses and the two year sub-degree Diploma in Higher Education courses now both qualify for such an award.
§ Mr. Gerry FowlerMandatory awards are available only to students taking degree and comparable courses, courses 439W of initial teacher training and those leading to the Diploma of Higher Education and the Higher National Diploma. The Diploma of the College of Speech Therapists has not been designated as comparable to a degree course; for this purpose the content of the course as well as the entry qualifications are taken into account. Courses comparable with those leading to the Diploma of Higher Education and the Higher National Diploma do not attract mandatory awards.