§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Scottish Office plans to fund all four years of study by students from England, Wales or Northern Ireland at146W Scottish Universities; how many students from England, Wales or Northern Ireland are currently in the fourth year of a degree course at a Scottish University; and what assessment he has made of the cost of funding this fourth year. [16094]
§ Mr. Wilson[holding answer 14 November 1997]The Scottish Office provides a block grant for teaching in higher education to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. SHEFC funding supports about 118,000 full-time equivalent places in Scottish higher education institutions. These places are filled by students from any part of the European Union, including Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and the provision includes among other things all years of the Scottish first degree courses, including the fourth year of Scottish Honours courses. Broadly speaking, the funding from the Scottish Office for the fourth year of English, Welsh and Northern Irish students is about £15 million.
Current figures on student numbers are not yet available. Students in Scottish higher education institutions in the fourth year of a degree programme in December 1996 included around 3,400 domiciled in England, around 100 domiciled in Wales and around 900 domiciled in Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Office also provides student support to Scottish domiciled students for higher education courses no matter where in the UK they study.