§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education which higher education institutions have taken advantage of qualified indexed securities; what was the value of the capital project supported and the subject matter concerned; and what estimate has been made of the additional cost to each university of the qualified indexed securities package ceasing to be available.
§ Mr. BoswellFrom the information currently available, the higher education institutions in England involved in qualifying index securities schemes are: London school of economics, Kings college London, University college London, University of Greenwich, University of Westminster, University of Bristol, University of Durham, University of Manchester, University of Portsmouth, University of Sheffield. Full details of all schemes are not necessarily kept centrally. The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals has estimated that some £300 million has been raised by about a dozen UK universities through QISs, to finance general building development and student accommodation. Universities concerned have estimated that the savings to them of QISs, by comparison with other available forms of funding, are about 2 per cent. per annum of the value of 243W the loans. Assuming an average loan of £25 million, this represents £0.5 million per annum for each university.