HC Deb 16 February 1984 vol 54 c311W
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the actual recurrent grant to universities in each of the last five years for which figures are available in constant prices and in cash terms; and what are the projections for grant in constant price terms for the next five years.

Mr. Brooke

Given below in cash and in cost terms (using the actual and forecast GDP deflator as appropriate) are the recurrent grants paid to universities in the last five financial years. The figures for the financial years 1984–85 to 1986–87 are based on the Government's expenditure plans for those years, published in Cmnd. 9143. The last two years are subject to review in the course of future public expenditure surveys.

Financial years (£ million)
Cash Cost terms (base year 1979–80)
1979–80 729 729
1980–81 943 799
1981–82 967 740
1982–83 1,119 803
1983–84* 1,190 813
1984–85† 1,249 813
1985–86† 1,289 799
1986–87† 1,320 783
* Provisional.
† Planned.

These figures provide from 1980–81 for the progressive withdrawal of the subsidy for overseas students. They include provision for minor capital works as defined from time to time, and from 1983–84 for the information technology and "new blood" programmes (announced on 16 December 1982 at c. 187–89.) They exclude payments to meet the cost of redundancies.

Mr. Andrew F. Bennett

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what element in cash and percentage terms was included in the recurrent grant to universities in each of the years from 1979 to 1983–84 for redundancy payments to university staff.

Mr. Brooke

Recurrent grant to universities (Supply Estimates Class X, Vote 3, Subhead Al) contained no specific provision by the Government for redundancy payments. Provision was made in a separate Subhead (A5) in the 1982–83 and 1983–84 financial years. In 1982–83 the sum provided was £50 million; in 1983–84 the £50 million originally provided was reduced to £30 million as part of the net reduction of £22 million in expenditure on the universities as a consequence of the cash limit reductions announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26 July 1983.