§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the answer of 23 June, Official Report, columns 70–1, how many of the 140,000 students living away from home who will gain the full increase in the grant (a) are dependent upon their parents, (b) claim social security benefits during short vacations, (c) live in college accommodation, (d) claim housing benefit or (e) are absent from their accommodation during the summer vacation.
§ Mr. NewtonThe 140,000 students mentioned are those who claim neither housing benefit, nor supplementary benefit or unemployment benefit in the short vacations. None of them therefore falls into category(b) or (d). None are treated as dependent on their parents for social security purposes, although some will depend on contributions from their parents for all or part of the maintenance grant. It is not known how many of them live in college accommodation, or are absent from their 95W accommodation during the summer vacation; but, since they do not claim housing benefit, they will not be affected by the changes in entitlement in these areas.