§ Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimates he has made of the potential savings to the Exchequer of funding discretionary student grants by loans rather than grants.
§ Sir Keith JosephIn 1983–84, the latest year for which figures are available, expenditure on discretionary awards by local education authorities was some £125 million (of416W which £90 million was for maintenance and £35 million for fees). The extent to which Exchequer savings would accrue from the substitution of loans for grants would depend upon the terms of any loan scheme, as well as on the arrangements for assisting local authority expenditure through central Government grant.