§ Mr. Craigenasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many university places will be available in 1982–83; what information he has as to the total number of applications so far made for these places; and what the figures for 1981–82 were in respect of places and applications.
§ Mr. WaldegraveBy 15 December 1981, 158,652 candidates, of whom 11,410 were from overseas, had applied through the Universities Central Council on Admissions for 1982–83 admission to United Kingdom universities; the corresponding figures one year earlier—that is applicants for 1981–82 admission by 15 December 1980—were 153,599, of whom 14,804 were from overseas.
The total number of candidates who applied through UCCA for 1981–82 admission to universities was 167,096–17,766 from overseas—of whom 80,341–5,827 from overseas—were accepted. The number of students admitted to universities is usually slightly higher than the number of candidates accepted through UCCA.
It is estimated that the number of home students admitted in 1982–83 may be about 3 per cent. lower than in 1981–82.