§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has received about the number of mature students who have been obliged to withdraw from courses in colleges of further education in the current academic year due to financial difficulties.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 22 November 1990]: Apart from the cases raised in correspondence by the hon. Member himself, we have no evidence that there have been significant withdrawals by mature students in general.
In the current academic session only 10 mature students have withdrawn from those courses at Scottish colleges of further education which are supported under the students' allowances scheme. There is nothing to suggest that any of these students withdrew due to financial difficulties. Indeed, with the introduction of student loans, we have increased student support by 25 per cent. this session. We have also allocated some £1.06 million in access funds to Scottish further education colleges to distribute to students experiencing financial hardship.