§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the expenditure by Scottish universities on hardship funds in the latest year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [74559]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe Government distribute resources to further and higher education institutions in the form of Access Funds to enable them to assist students whose access to, or continuance, in education may be inhibited by financial difficulties. Many institutions also have funds of their own which are used for a similar purpose.
The Access Fund resources distributed to Universities and other higher education institutions in Scotland in respect of academic year 1998–99 amounted to £3.473 million.