§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Evans), Official Report, 26th April, column 587, if he will publish a table showing how the scale of parental contributions towards student grants has been adjusted to compensate for the value of child tax allowances withdrawn from parents whose children are eligible only for the minimum grant.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe minimum grant which was to have been subsumed in the new grant arrangements for the academic year 1977–78 has been retained at a level of £80 for the academic year 1977–78 and £200 for 1978–79 to take account of the reductions in child tax allowance. These reductions for the fiscal year 1978–79 amount to £200 as compared with 1976–77 levels, so that the minimum grant will more than compensate in money terms for the loss of child tax allowance at the higher marginal rates applicable to parents contributing at this level.