§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the overseas earnings of the Open University; and what information he has as to how they compare with similar earnings by other universities.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe Open University's overseas earnings for the academic year 1984 were £0.418 million, almost all of which came from sales by the University's marketing company, Open University Educational Enterprises Ltd. This sum represented about 0.5 per cent. of the university's recurrent income for that year. The latest information available on overseas earnings for the other publicly funded United Kingdom universities is for the academic year 1982–83. The overseas earnings for that year were £96.4 million, most of which came from overseas student fees, the remainder from overseas research grants and contracts. This sum represented about 5 per cent. of the universities' total net recurrent income.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage change in grant in real terms of (a) the Open University and (b) other universities between 1980–81 and 1986–87.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe decrease in the Open University's recurrent grant in real terms (as defined in Cmnd. 9428) between the financial years 1980–81 and 1986–87 is estimated to be 11 per cent.
Comparing the Open University figure with levels of funding for other universities in Great Britain is complicated because of the changes in funding arrangements that have taken place. Adjusting for the increase made to recurrent grant to compensate the universities for alteration in the level of home tuition fees, the decrease in recurrent grant paid to universities in Great Britain through the University Grants Committee over the same period is estimated to be 10 per cent. No adjustment has been made to take account of other funding changes in this period.