§ Dr. HampsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the average unit of funding for a university student assumed to be in the 1988–89 University Grants Committee settlement; by what percentage this assumed average unit was increased in real terms in the 1989–90 UFC settlement; and what assumptions were made for inflation in this increase.
Mr. JacksonThe public funding of universities is not determined on the basis of unit costs. The forecast level of inflation at the time of last year's Autumn Statement was five per cent. Including the additional funding for 1989 pay settlements, overall funding will increase by eight per cent. between 1988–89 and 1989–90. Student numbers are expected to increase by three per cent.