§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which Government Department is responsible for the funding of(a) veterinary and (b) architecture students' additional year tuition fees. [25338]
§ Dr. HowellsFrom 1998–99, new students on full-time higher education courses in veterinary and architecture studies will make a contribution to tuition fees of up to £1,000, depending on income, for every year of their course. There is no equivalent to the Department of Health scheme for meeting tuition fee contributions of medical and dental students after the first four years of their course. This is because the Government cannot take responsibility for the supply of professionals such as vets and architects who are employed predominantly in the private sector. The student contribution to fees in any year is a small proportion of the total cost of tuition, the rest being met in England from the Department for Education and Employment grant to the Higher Education Funding Council.