HC Deb 17 November 1987 vol 122 cc461-2W
Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the percentage increase since 1979 in real terms, in expenditure on higher education, not including student support, and if he will make it his policy to restore expenditure to 1981 levels.

Mr. Jackson

Planned provision for public expenditure on higher education, excluding provision for student maintenance, in the United Kingdom is 3 per cent. higher in real terms in 1987–88 than the corresponding outturn in 1979–80. Estimated outturn figures for 1987–88 are not yet available. As a result of the increases in funding announced by my right hon. Friend on 3 November, recurrent grant to the universities in the financial year 1988–89 is planned to be 8 per cent. higher in cash terms than in 1987–88 and provision for the polytechnics and colleges under local authority control is planned to be 9 per cent. higher than in 1987–88.

Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give, expressed in constant prices with 1983 as the base, the value of the unit of resource for each student place in higher education for 1983 and each succeeding year.

Mr. Jackson

The information requested is set out in the table for the years 1983–84 to 1986–87 on the basis of UGC grant plus total fee income per full-time equivalent (fte) student in universities in Great Britain and the institutional expenditure per full-time equivalent student in establishments providing higher education maintained by local education authorities in England. The figures have been repriced to 1983–84 real terms using the gross domestic product (market prices) deflator.

Financial year Great Britain Universities Local authorities higher education England
£(1983–84 prices) £(1983–84 prices)
1983–84 4,845 2,985
1984–85 4,825 2,885
1985–86 4,675 2,805
1986–87 4,620 2,825