§ Lord BEAUMONT of WHITLEYasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much it would now cost to abolish the means test for mandatory education grants, bearing in mind the resulting savings in local education authorities' administration; and whether they can quantify the latter.
§ Lord DONALDSON of KINGS-BRIDGEFor the academic year 1976–77, the estimated gross cost of abolishing parental contributions for all students in Great Britain is £118 million. If child tax allowances were to be wholly withdrawn now from all parents in respect of their student children, then the net cost would be £53 million. Both estimates take account of an administrative saving of £2 million by local education authorities and other grant awarding bodies in Great Britain. The abolition of contributions by spouses and students is estimated to cost a further £2 million.