§ Mr. Peter GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list the information he has available on the names of those local authorities which have not made full payment of tuition fees to institutions of higher education for the current academic year; and if he will indicate the amounts of the sums unpaid;
(2) what information he has on the percentage of fee payments due to institutions of higher education from local authorities for the autumn term 1990 and the spring term 1991 which remains unpaid;
66W(3) if he will take steps to ensure that those local authorities which have not paid in full the tuition fees owed to institutions of higher education for the first two terms of the current academic year do so.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1990 require local education authorities to pay tuition fees promptly to academic institutions on behalf of their mandatory award holders. I understand that a significant proportion of the autumn term 1990 fee instalments remained unpaid at the end of that term and that there were delays in paying the spring term 1991 instalments, but that the majority of both instalments have now been paid. I am awaiting further information from the bodies representing universities and polytechnics on the amounts still outstanding and the individual local authorities at fault. I deplore unnecessary delays in payment. The Department issued clear guidance last year on good practice deadlines for fee payment. All authorities have recently been reminded again of this guidance and the statutory requirements, and urged to settle outstanding fees. The Department is taking action with any individual authorities found to have substantial payments still overdue. Measures are being developed to improve the processing of fee payments for the coming academic year.