§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students there were in 1979 in universities, colleges and places of learning; what was the level of the mandatory grant; what were to the total costs of grants; and if he will give figures for the latest and most convenient stated date, allowing for the depreciation of the £ sterling in the last two cases.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIn 1979–80 in Great Britain there were 4,806,000 students over the minimum school leaving age in full-time or part-time education in schools, establishments of further and higher education and universities. Of these, 455,000 were home students in full-time higher education. The corresponding figures for 1981–82 were 4,874,000 and 492,000 respectively. In general, the provision of mandatory awards are restricted to home full-time students following a course in higher education other than at postgraduate level.
The full value of the maintenance grant of the mandatory award in the academic year 1979–80 for students in England and Wales (i) living away from home in London was £1,485 and (ii) living away from home other than in London was £1,245. The cost of providing mandatory grants to students by local education authorities in England and Wales in the academic year 1979–80 was £550 million of which £218 million related to tuition fees.
The levels of grant and total costs measured at current and constant 1982–83 prices are as follows:
£ million 1978–79 4.0 1979–80 4.7 1980–81 5.5 1981–82 6.8 1982–83 *5.2 * Provisional.