§ Mr. McNallyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total number of full-time equivalent students on courses of higher education in 1981–82 in (a) England and (b) Great Britain; and what was the total cost to central and local government of maintenance awards paid to them.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIn 1981–82 there were 498,000 full-time equivalent students on courses of higher education in England, and an estimated 611,000 in Great Britain as a whole. These figures exclude the Open University and students on short courses in universities. The total cost to central and local government of maintenance to postgraduates and students in England who received either a mandatory or full-value discretionary award in the financial year 1980–81, the latest year for which 503W information is available, was £494 million. Information on student awards for Scotland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.