§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and science whether he has any plans to amend the student loan scheme to provide additional assistance to advanced students of music for the acquisition of bows, violins and other musical instruments.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthNo. Full year student support from grant and loan is 25 per cent. higher than the grant alone last year. There will be a further 6 per cent. increase this autumn.
The support is intended to cover the cost of course equipment. Some non-recurrent purchases—such as musical instruments—may be expensive. Students may need to pay for such items over several years. It is for individual students to decide how best to use the additional resources that we have made available.