§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated level of funding required by(a) Queen's university, Belfast and (b) the university of Ulster, to meet identified maintenance needs and refurbishment of existing accommodation together with additional provision required for increasing student enrolment.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe information is not currently available in the form required.
The Universities Funding Council, in consultation with its working party on capital policy, has recently appointed consultants to undertake a detailed study into the accommodation implications of the growth in student numbers over the next decade for all United Kingdom 147W universities, including those in Northern Ireland. The council will advise the Department of Education for Northern Ireland on the needs of the universities in Northern Ireland in due course.
The Department has, however, recently agreed to provide grant off £5.34 million to the University of Ulster to enable it to construct an additional 3,000 sq m block of teaching and staff accommodation on its Jordanstown campus. It has also provided grant aid, and allowed Queen's university to use the proceeds of property sales, to fund an extensive programme of rationalisations and refurbishment amounting to over £10 million in the last five years.