§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the maximum grant and loan available to higher education students in 1998–99 will be; what the maximum loan available in future years will be; and if he will make a statement. [42374]
§ Dr. HowellsStudents living away from home and studying outside London will normally be entitled to a maximum of £3,545 by way of grant and loan in 1998–99. New entrants to higher education in 1998–99 will be eligible for £810 grant and £2,735 loan. This reflects the transitional arrangements for student support that have been put in place for 1998–99 in preparation for the new student support system, based on 100 per cent. income-contingent loans, being introduced for 1999–2000 and beyond.
Students who are already receiving mandatory awards in 1997–98, together with those new entrants who are exceptionally being treated as continuing students in 1998–99, will be eligible for £1,810 grant and £1,735 loan. The amount of grant available can be enhanced by certain additional allowances, such as the disabled students allowance or the dependants allowance. The rates for 1998–99 were announced in December, and a memorandum giving full details of these rate was placed in the Library.
515WThe maximum loan rates for 1999–2000 will be announced later in the year, in line with normal practice.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) mature and (b) regular students took up higher education places in (i) 1996 and (ii) 1997; and how many in each case are predicted to do so in 1998, in (1) England, (2) Wales and (3) the UK. [42417]
§ Dr. HowellsThe information for 1996 and 1997 is given in the table:
Home entrants (thousands) to HE courses in higher education institutions 1996–97 1997–981 Country of study Young Mature Young Mature England 222.1 290.5 234.1 293.1 Wales 17.7 18.5 17.6 16.8 UK 276.2 339.1 290.1 342.9 1 Provisional. Mature students are defined as postgraduates aged 25 and over, and undergraduates aged 21 and over. The figures include both full-time and part-time students. Figures do not include those entering to study for a higher education qualification in further education colleges.
The Department does not publish forecasts of entrants by age or by country of study.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage change has taken place in the numbers of(a) mature students applying for courses of higher education and (b) lone parents applying for courses of higher education as mature students in each of the last three years. [42403]
§ Dr. HowellsThe available data are given in the table.
Mature1 home applicants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK applying via UCAS Year of entry: 1995 1996 1997 Numbers 97,643 90,687 97,401 Percentage change compared to previous year +2.9 -7.1 +7.4 1 Defined as applicants aged 21 or over The latest figures from UCAS on applicants for autumn 1998 entry show that, as at 20 March, the numbers of mature applicants are down by 14 per cent. compared with the previous year, though this indicates a recovery from the position earlier in the cycle. This fall in part reflects trends in demographics and the numbers of potential entrants with the relevant entry qualifications. However, these figures are not a particularly good guide to final numbers for mature applicants as mature students tend typically to apply later in the applications cycle. Moreover, the UCAS figures do not cover applicants to part-time or postgraduate courses. Information on the numbers of lone parents who applied as mature students is not held centrally.