§ Mr. KeenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list(a) the actual unit cost per full-time equivalent student, (b) the equivalent figure at constant 1996–97 prices and (c) the consequent efficiency improvement for each of the years from 1989–90 to 1996–97 and the projected figures for the years 1997–98 to 1999–2000 assumed in the Budget for (i) higher education institutions, (ii) further education colleges, (iii) maintained secondary schools and (iv) assisted places in independent secondary schools. [8844]
§ Mr. Forth[holding answer 19 December 1996]: The relevant information is set out in the following text and tables. Figures for each education sector are, however, not directly comparable.
Participation in higher education has risen substantially. One in three young people now attend university full time, compared with only one in eight in 1979. The expansion in student numbers has been accompanied by substantial improvements in efficiency and continuing high quality as demonstrated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England's quality assessments. Participation is planned to continue at record levels in the future and planned expenditure on higher education will increase by £200 million over the next two years.
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Higher education institutions Financial year (a) public funding per full-time (b) public funding per full-time equivalent student at 1996–97 prices (c) efficiency improvement (£) (£) Per cent. 1989–90 5,350 7,050 — 1990–91 5,310 6,480 8.1 1991–92 5,350 6,130 5.4 1992–93 5,110 5,620 8.4 1993–94 5,010 5,360 4.5 1994–95 4,970 5,230 2.6 1995–96 4,970 5,100 2.4 1996–97 4,800 4,800 5.8 1997–98 4,860 4,760 0.8
Higher education institutions Financial year (a) public funding per full-time (b) public funding per full-time equivalent student at 1996–97 prices (c) efficiency improvement (£) (£) Per cent. 1998–99 4,840 4,650 2.4 1999–00 4.720 4,450 4.3 Since the transfer of responsibility for the further education sector from local education authorities to the Further Education Funding Council on 1 April 1993, both expenditure on further education and the number of full-time equivalent student numbers have increased. Colleges have also made significant improvements in their efficiency. The Government will make available an extra £80 million over the next two years.
Further education colleges Financial year (a) public funding per full-time (b) public funding per full-time equivalent student at 1996–97 prices (c) efficiency improvement (£) (£) Per cent. 1993–94 2,820 3,020 — 1994–95 2,810 2,950 2.4 1995–96 2,750 2,810 4.8 1996–97 2,650 2,650 6.2 1997–98 2,560 2,510 5.6 1998–99 2,490 2,390 4.9 1999–00 2,410 2,270 5.3 Comparable figures before 1993–94 are not available because of the transfer of responsibility for funding the further education sector from local education authorities to the FEFC from 1 April 1993.
LEAs are responsible for the allocation of resources to pre-primary, primary and secondary schools which they maintain. Since 1979 spending per pupil has increased in real terms by 48 per cent. For 1996–97 and 1997–98 total additional funds of £1.7 billion have been provided for maintained schools. Since spending depends upon decisions made by individual LEAs, the Government do not make projections for future years and does not set targets for efficiency gains.
LEA-maintained schools Financial year (a) LEA-maintained NIE1 per pupil (£) (b) LEA-maintained NIE1 per pupil at 1996–97 prices (£) 1989–90 1,490 1,960 1990–91 1,620 1,980 1991–92 1,750 2,010 1992–93 1,860 2,040 1993–94 1,870 1,990 1994–95 1,890 1,990 1 NIE—net institutional expenditure—represents the direct costs in schools of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services, and from 1990–91 includes unspent balances held by schools under local management schemes. LEA-maintained schools include pre-primary, primary and secondary schools. The figures have not been adjusted for any changes in the functions of LEAs, such as, for example, the transfer of sixth-form colleges to the new further education sector on 1 April 1993.
Spending on the assisted places scheme has increased since 1989–90. The amount of spending per assisted pupil depends upon a number of factors, including changes in approved fees and in parental incomes and contributions. Net expenditure per place has risen in real terms as the 241W scheme has included an increasing proportion of lower income families whose contributions are smaller. Forecasting the relevant factors is subject to a range of uncertainty, and the Department does not publish projections of spending per pupil. Similarly, for these reasons it is not possible to calculate efficiency changes.
Assisted places scheme Financial year (a) spending per pupil (£) (b) spending per pupil at 1996–97 (£) 1989–90 2,280 3,000 1990–91 2,580 3,140 1991–92 2,960 3,390 1992–93 3,300 3,630 1993–94 3,490 3,740 1994–95 3,640 3,820 1995–96 3,770 3,860 1996–97 3,880 3,880 All table use GDP deflators published December 1996. All figures have been rounded to the nearest £10.