§ Mr. Kevin HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the amount of funding per student attending institutes of higher education in Yorkshire and Humberside; and what was the amount in each year since 1979. [23833]
§ Mr. ForthThe information is not readily available centrally—but could be requested from the relevant institutions.
§ Mr. HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment she has made of the impact on institutes of higher education in Yorkshire and Humberside of the reduction in the formula capital grant; [23835]
139W(2) what assessment she has made of the impact on the work of institutes of higher education in Yorkshire and Humberside with industry and commerce of the implementation of the recent budget cut. [24074]
(3) what proposals she has to provide interim funding to higher education to cover shortfalls in funding in the current year; [23837]
(4) what assessment she has made of the economic impact to the recent reductions in budgets for institutes of higher education; [23836]
(5) what assessment she has made of the impact on the economy in Yorkshire and Humberside of the reductions in budgets to higher education institutes in Yorkshire and Humberside. [23834]
§ Mr. ForthThe November 1995 budget settlement confirmed the 1994 plans for higher education recurrent expenditure. Planned capital expenditure was reduced in line with capital provision in most other public expenditure programmes, reflecting the policy that capital should, wherever possible, be financed through private finance schemes.
§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if changes to the current system of discretionary student grants are included in the review of higher education funding. [23770]
§ Mr. ForthMy right hon. Friends have yet to finalise, in the light of comments received during consultations, the terms of reference for the national committee of inquiry into higher education, but those terms will cover student support and are likely to be wide ranging. It will be for the committee itself to decide on which specific issues to focus.
§ Mr. HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received concerning the recent reductions in funding of higher education; and how many of these were from the Yorkshire and Humberside areas. [23814]
§ Mr. ForthEducation and Employment Ministers have received approaching 300 representations from higher education bodies and other interested parties concerning the recent reductions in funding of higher education. Around 4 per cent. were from the Yorkshire and Humberside areas.
§ Mr. HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the proportion of 18-year-olds currently entering higher education in the Yorkshire and Humberside area; and what was the proportion in each year since 1986. [23832]
§ Mr. ForthWe are unable to calculate the age participation index—API—for higher education on a regional basis as the data are not readily available. Comparable Great Britain figures are shown in the following table for the years concerned.
140W
Academic year API(percentage) 1986–87 14.08 1987–88 14.50 1988–89 15.10 Figures show the number of young (aged under 21 years) home domiciled initial entrants to higher education in Great Britain expressed as a percentage of the averaged 18 to 19-year-old population. Initial entrants are those entering a full-time course of higher education for the first time.
Academic year API(percentage) 1989–90 17.10 1990–91 19.30 1991–92 23.30 1992–93 27.50 1993–94 29.70 1994–95 31.00 1995–96 30–32.00 We do not yet have comprehensive figures on the number of full-time undergraduate students in Great Britain in the current academic year. Our best estimate is within a range based on the November 1995 Budget projection which took account of latest data available from the universities and colleges admissions services and from local education authorities.