§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many women and how many men, respectively, studied at the Open University in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of each received a grant.
§ Mr. BrookeThe number of women and men on Open University undergraduate courses are as follows:
Women Men 1974 14,880 27,756 1975 18,559 30,799 1976 19,990 31,004 1977 22,436 32,961 1978 24,266 34,512 1979 25,746 34,833 1980 25,928 35,079 1981 26,146 33,822 1982 28,214 34,905 1983 29,881 36,522 Information is not available on the proportion of these students who received financial assistance with their studies
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the estimated savings of the proposed cuts in funding to the Open University for 1984–85 and 1985–86.
§ Mr. BrookeThe total recurrent sums for the university's academic years 1984, 1985 and 1986 have been notified as £58.7 milllion, £59.1 million and £58.2 million respectively. The savings these figures will require the university to make will depend at least in part on its ability to contain costs through increased efficiency.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the total sum of grant to the Open University in real terms for the last 10 years and for 1984–85 and 1985–86.
§ Mr. BrookeFollowing is the total sum of grant (recurrent and capital) to the Open University for the last 10 financial years and for 1984–85 and 1985–86 in cost terms. The figures result from adjusting the cash outturn for past years and cash provision for future years to a base of average 1982–83 prices, using the deflator for gross domestic product at market prices. For 1983–84 onwards the GDP deflator figures used are given in table 5.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report".
372W
£ million Financial Year Grant in cash Total Total Grant in Cost Terms (1982–83 Base Year) Recurrent Capital 1974–75 13.9 1.0 14.9 43.3 1975–76 16.4 1.9 18.3 42.3 1976–77 23.6 2.4 26.0 53.1 1977–78 24.1 1.6 25.7 46.1 1978–79 30.0 2.2 32.2 52.3 1979–80 36.7 4.7 41.4 57.6 1980–81 47.1 4.6 51.7 60.6
Financial year Grant in cash Total Total Grant in Cost Terms (1982–83 Base Year) Recurrent Capital 1981–82 51.3 3.7 55.0 58.6 1982–83 *54.2 2.0 56.2 *56.2 1983–84 *55.7 0.7 56.4 *53.5 †1984–85 *58.4 1.4 59.8 *54.l 1985–86 ‡59.1 ║ ║ ║ * These sums exclude loans made available to enable the university lo develop its professional, industrial and commercial updating (PICKUP) activities. † Estimate. ‡ This figure is subject to review in the normal way in the 1984 survey. ║ Capital provision cannot be included because it has not yet been determined. The 1985–86 recurrent figure alone, revalued to 1982–83 base year, is £51.3 million.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many people from the ethnic minorities studied at the Open University in each of the last 10 years; and how many received a grant.
§ Mr. BrookeThis information is not available.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate how many fewer student places there will be at the Open University as a result of the proposed cuts in 1984–85 and 1985–86; and if he will provide a breakdown of this figure by subject.
§ Mr. BrookeThe university is reviewing its current activities and is considering a number of options, including student numbers. Until the review is concluded it is not possible to estimate the number of student places, either in total or by subject, that the university will be able to offer in the academic years 1985 and 1986.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the number of (a) academic and (b) non-academic jobs likely to be lost as a result of the proposed cut in grant to the Open University.
§ Mr. BrookeThe university is reviewing its current activities and is considering a number of options, including staff resources. Until the review is concluded it is not possible to estimate the university's staff reductions.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the visit to the Open University by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for City of London and Westminster (Mr. Brooke).
§ Sir Keith JosephMy hon. Friend visited an Open University summer school in August last year and the central campus at Milton Keynes in January this year. Both visits were to familiarise himself with the university, and he obtained a valuable picture of its activities and operations.