§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if new asylum seekers will qualify for the same concessionary fee status as asylum seekers in receipt of benefit under the new regulations; [14478]
(2) what estimate she has made of the financial impact on further education colleges required to cease claiming recurrent funding from the Further Education Funding Council for those asylum seekers with concessionary fees who are no longer eligible for income support after 5 February; [14479]
(3) how many asylum seekers are currently receiving concessionary fees and FEFC funding for part-time courses; and if these arrangements will continue when the new regulations come into force. [14477]
§ Mr. PaiceThe FEFC has only recently begun to collect separate data on asylum seekers eligible for student fee remission, so it is not at present possible to give the number of those currently benefiting from fee remission.
It is estimated that the number of students likely to be affected by the change in regulations will be very small. However, I understand that the FEFC has decided that if any further education colleges are seriously affected by the loss of recurrent funding from this source it will consider their cases sympathetically.
Arrangements for fee remission for asylum seekers studying at FE colleges are a matter for the FEFC, and I am asking the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.