§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if his Department will take steps to secure a derogation from EU law so that students from England can be charged a higher fee for a fourth year university course in Scotland than students from elsewhere in the EU. [18514]
§ Dr. HowellsNo, we see no need for such a derogation. From autumn 1998, the maximum support for fees that we are proposing to make available for full-time undergraduate students will be £1,000: this maximum will apply to students from England, Scotland, and the rest of the UK and the European Union, depending on the level of their parents', spouses' or own income. We have made it clear that top-up fees play no part in our proposals for home and EU full-time undergraduates.
Full-time students resident in Scotland and studying in Scottish institutions on honours degree courses that are a year longer than equivalent courses elsewhere in the UK will, however, be eligible, irrespective of income, for the maximum support for fees in the final year of the course from the Scottish Student Awards Agency. The EC Treaty requires Member States not to discriminate on grounds of nationality against nationals of other Member States, on matters within the scope of the Treaty. However, EC law 11W does not intervene in internal matters and require each Member State to treat all its own nationals in exactly the same way.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of the costs for local authorities of administering the means-testing of university tuition fees. [18515]
§ Dr. HowellsData on local authorities' costs of administering mandatory awards are not collected centrally. Local authorities already carry out means testing of student and parental income for awards purposes. In 1998–99, the results of this means test will be applied first to the university tuition fee and any balance to maintenance grants.