HL Deb 12 January 1994 vol 551 cc28-9WA
Baroness Robson of Kiddington

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are satisfied with the present arrangements by which students resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland who wish to study physiotherapy in England or Wales may be personally liable for £2,000–£3,000 in additional fees, to make up the shortfall between the full-cost fees charged under agreements with regional health authorities and in the apparent absence of Higher Education Funding. Council support for such students, and the £2,700 currently granted by Scottish Office Education Department or Education and Library Boards; what effect the proposed reduction in tuition fees will have; what arrangements apply to students from the remainder of the EC; and what proposals they have to ensure equity between all United Kingdom and EC students.

The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Fraser of Carmyllie)

The funding arrangements for courses leading to qualifications in physiotherapy, and a number of other disciplines allied to medicine, differ as between England and Wales on the one hand and Scotland and Northern Ireland on the other.

Most students on these courses domiciled in England and Wales intend to take up employment with a regional health authority and are funded by the Department of Health through their regional health authority, which meets the full cost of tuition. The tuition fees are negotiated periodically between the regional health authorities and the institutions concerned to reflect the cost of provision. These arrangements are designed to meet the particular financial and recruitment requirements of the regional health authorities in England and Wales. Students who do not benefit from regional health authority sponsorship may be eligible for an award under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations, or their Scottish or Northern Ireland equivalents, with tuition fees payable at the rates specified in those regulations. It is open to institutions to accept such students at the lower fee rates.

The same considerations do not apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where courses in physiotherapy and allied disciplines are funded as an integral part of the higher education system. This involves a combination of grant in aid and tuition fees payable on behalf of eligible students under the Students' Allowances (Scotland) Regulations or the Students' Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland). The proposed reduction in tuition fee rates announced on 30th November 1993 will apply to students from Scotland and Northern Ireland on these courses, and compensation will be available to institutions in those countries through grant in aid.

Eligible students from other member states of the EC are entitled to have their tuition fees paid on the same basis as home students. In the absence of sponsorship by a regional health authority (in England and Wales) they may apply for a "fees only" award from the relevant award-making body according to their place of study.

Her Majesty's Government believe that these arrangements properly reflect the different circumstances which will prevail in Scotland and Northern Ireland; and there are no plans to change them.