§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much he has allocated for the next academic year to polytechnics and colleges of higher education to avoid a predicted shortfall in student places.
§ Mr. WaldenAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in his reply of 12 November 1985, at column107, to my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey, South-West (Mrs. Bottomley), the AFE quantum for the financial year 1986–87, which covers the first two terms of the 1986–87 academic year, has been determined at £661 million, an increase of 6 per cent. on 1985–86. Advice from the National Advisory Body for public sector higher education (NAB) on the allocation of the 1986–87 quantum, which, as my right hon. Friend indicated in his reply of 20 December 1985, at columns 338–40 to my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Mr. Thompson), has been accepted, was based on the proposition that student demand and therefore the number of places to be provided would remain roughly stable between 1985–86 and 1986–87.