§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the current level of assessed parental income above which a student becomes eligible for (i) full and (ii) part payment of tuition fees; what plans he has to increase these threshold levels in line with inflation; what estimate he has made of the number of students who will become eligible for paying in full or in part their tuition fee if the threshold is not increased in line with inflation; and if he will make a statement. [82654]
§ Mr. MudieFor the 1998–99 academic year, parents with a residual parental income of less than £16,945 after allowable deductions are not assessed as due to make any payment towards the £1,000 tuition fee contribution. Thereafter, the level of the payment they are asked to make rises in line with their residual income. Parents are assessed as due to make the full contribution if they have a residual income of just over £27,000. The threshold levels have been increased in line with inflation for the 1999–2000 academic year. We estimate that around 30 per cent. of students, where parental income is taken into account, will continue to make no contribution towards the cost of their tuition. A further third will pay less than the full contribution.