HC Deb 23 July 1987 vol 120 c325W
Mr. Key

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list (a) the number of foreign nationals who have studied in Britain from 1979 to 1987 inclusive and (b) the cost per annum in real terms to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Jackson

Information is available only for students whose normal domicile is outside the United Kingdom and who were attending full-time and sandwich courses at further and higher education establishments in Great Britain. This information is as follows for the years asked for (statistics for 1986 are provisional, and data for 1987 are not yet available):

Thousands
1979 85.3
1980 75.0
1981 64.3
1982 56.6
1983 55.4
1984 55.5
1985 62.7
1986 67.2

Apart from students from European Community countries and students supported under one of the Government awards schemes, all have been expected since 1980 to pay fees at a level which reflects the full cost of tuition and avoids subsidy by the British taxpayer.