HC Deb 29 January 1997 vol 289 c260W
34. Mr. Chris Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the average annual maintenance grant paid to university undergraduates in(a) 1978–79 and (b) 1995–96. [11762]

Mr. Forth

The average net maintenance grants after means-testing paid to mandatory award holders by local education authorities in England and Wales in the academic years 1978–79 and 1994–95, the latest year for which data are available, were £840 and £1,520 respectively. These figures include awards to postgraduate certificate of education students. The average maintenance payment given is that received by non-minimum award holders. All mandatory holders in 1978–79 received a minimum grant of £200 irrespective of parental or other income. Since 1990–91, eligible students have also had access to non-means-tested student loans.