§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the proportion of students in England who currently go on to higher education.
§ Mr. FormanThe usual indicator of participation by young people in higher education is the age participation index (API)—that is the number of full-time and sandwich home initial entrants aged less than 21 expressed as a percentage of the averaged 18 to 19 age group. The API for Great Britain in 1991–92 was 23.5 per cent. and is thought to have reached about 28 per cent this autumn. No corresponding figures for England are available.