§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the estimated total cost of the review of the student finance which he established in June 1986; how many staff were engaged upon it; how many representations were received about it; and what overseas trips by Ministers, officials and consultants were undertaken, by whom and at what cost.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe review of student support was conducted within Government, under the supervision of a group of Ministers and officials of which the membership and secretariat numbered seventeen. Since most of the staff engaged in the review were ordinarily involved, to a greater or lesser degree, in matters relating to student support, the significant additional costs arising from the review were essentially those relating to overseas visits; the commissioning of surveys of students' income and expenditure; the hiring of a consultant to advise on student support arrangements in other countries; and the publication of the White Paper. Four trips overseas were undertaken by a Minister, accompanied by one official at a cost of £4,600. The other costs were:
£ Surveys 235,000 Consultancy 10,000 White Paper 4,500 The review received written evidence from over 100 organisations, seven petitions signed by a total of 1,300 people, and almost 1,600 letters.
§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations have been received about the proposals for student loans contained in the White Paper Cm. 520 from(a) organisations and (b) individuals; how many of these are in favour of the proposals and how many are against them.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerAbout 4,500, including about 140 formal responses from organisations, and expressing a variety of views.