§ Mr. Nichollsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many postgraduate courses are available in the United Kingdom; how many of these courses qualify for a grant from his Department; and how many qualify for a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council and its forerunner the Social Science Research Council.
§ Mr. BrookeThe Department does not collect information about the number of postgraduate courses in the United Kingdom. Figures for the number of students in United Kingdom further and higher education, analysed by level of course and subject group appear in table 27 of "Education Statistics for the United Kingdom" — 1983 edition —copies of which are in the Library.
The support of students and courses at postgraduate level is selective. The basis upon which applications for support are decided is a matter for the award-making bodies. In 1981–82, 3,319 postgraduate students in humanities subjects held awards from the Department and 2,197 students from the Social Science Research Council.