HC Deb 14 November 1989 vol 160 cc237-8W
Mr. Hanley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what detailed arrangements he now proposes for implementing increased tuition fees in higher education in 1990–91.

Mr. MacGregor

We have already announced that the maximum tuition fee for most first degree and designated comparable courses in publicly-funded institutions which will be reimbursed through mandatory student awards will be £1,675 from September 1990. In order to ensure that public funds are not provided in advance of need, I have decided that this tuition fee should be paid in termly instalments rather than in a single annual payment as at present. The funding councils will also adjust the profile of their recurrent grant instalments to institutions so that the combined flow of fee and grant income more closely matches institutions' spending patterns during the year. The changes have been discussed with representatives of the local authorities and the institutions, and we shall now consult further about the detailed arrangements for the termly fee payments.

I have also considered what fee levels would be appropriate for reimbursement through mandatory awards for courses where a student spends at least a year away from an institution—for example students on thick sandwich courses or spending a year as foreign language assistants. In these cases, the costs to the institution are usually less during the year away than for the main part of the course. I have decided that the maximum fee reimbursed in such cases should be half the standard tuition fee.