§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what projections he has made of full-time equivalent student numbers in higher education up to the year 2000; and what estimate he has made of the cost of this.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Department's latest projection to the year 2000, as at April 1991, is as follows:
Projection of home full-time equivalent student numbers in higher education in Great Britain Thousands 1990 795 1991 860 1992 918 1993 960 1994 984 1995 999 1996 1,024 1997 1,064 1998 1,110 1999 1,148 2000 1,170 This represents an increase of 47.2 per cent. between 1990 and 2000.
701WThe higher education White Paper published last May made clear the Government's commitment to providing a fair share of public expenditure for higher education. Projected student numbers will be taken into account with other relevant factors in assessing the financial needs of higher education in the public expenditure survey.