§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate the additional cost of maintaining existing levels of maintenance grants to students and not allowing the means testing of tuition fees in the next three years. [33462]
§ Dr. HowellsA policy of maintaining means-tested maintenance grants at current levels and continuing to meet tuition fees in full for home and EU full-time undergraduates and students of initial teacher training would not impose any costs in 1998–99. It would lead to forgone savings estimated at £100 million in 1999–2000 and £150 million in 2000–01, rising to £1.1 billion by 2015–16. These figures are for the United Kingdom and at 1995–96 prices. They do not reflect our decision to pay out loans on a termly basis, which released money in 1998–99.