HC Deb 03 December 1991 vol 200 c93W
Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the average amount in real terms spent on a university, college and polytechnic student for each year since 1979.

Mr. Alan Howarth

[holding answer 2 December 1991]: Expenditure data for financial years 1979–80 to 1989–90 per full-time equivalent student are given in the table:

Unit costs in universities, polytechnics and colleges, financial years 1979–80 to 1989–90
Universities1 Polytechnics2 Colleges2
1979–80 6,435 5,035 3,085
1980–81 6,840 4,960 3,070
1981–82 6,600 4,730 3,105
1982–83 6,830 4,465 3,060
1983–84 6,885 4,115 3,070
1984–85 6,815 3,975 3,050
1985–86 6,630 3,915 3,015
1986–87 6,555 4,000 3,065
1987–88 6,780 3,830 3,070
1988–89 6,620 3,795 3,045
1989–90 6,410 32,785
1 The unit of public funding for universities is estimated using the total of the University Funding Council recurrent grant and tuition fee income (excluding fees for overseas students) and the number of home full-time equivalent students in the financial year. The recurrent grant figure includes UFC grant for research.
2 Expenditure in polytechnics and colleges is derived from the local education authorities' returns of their spending to the Department of the Environment. The data cover net recurrent institutional expenditure and include overseas students' fees. Student enrolment data are taken from the FESR. The mode of attendance weights used to calculate the number of full-time equivalent students were changed in 1983–84 and in 1989–90. Source: CIPFA Handbook of unit costs, 1988–89. Up to 1988–89 the figure for colleges covers all LEA maintained HE and FE, other than in polytechnics. From 1989–90 onwards polytechnics and some colleges were incorporated into the PCFC and unit costs for polytechnics alone are not collected centrally. For 1989–90 the college figure covers all HE and FE in those establishments which remained with an LEA.
3 Provisional.
Real terms at 1989–90 prices, calculated using November 1991 GDP deflator.