§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement indicating what funds his Department operates to alleviate hardship among Scottish students. [28966]
§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonI assume that the hon. Member is referring to the access funds which we introduced in Session 1990–91 as part of the wider changes in the student support arrangements. They are designed specifically to help those students whose access to, or continuance in, further or higher education might be being inhibited by financial difficulty.
In Session 1995–96 access funds resources totalling £4.3 million were made available to universities and colleges in Scotland. Individual applications for assistance are dealt with by the institutions which are best placed to judge the needs of their own students.
Access funds need to be viewed against the background of the overall level of resources made available to students through maintenance grants and loans. For students in full-time higher education, this package of support is uprated annually, and it is worth virtually the same in real terms as the grant alone in 1979–80.