§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the (a) New Deal for Lone Parents programme and (b) New Deal for Disabled People programme. [108514]
§ Ms Hodge[holding answer 7 February 2000]: The New Deal for Lone Parents programme is working well. Since October 1998, 112,570 lone parents have attended an initial
394W
§ Mr. WicksWe estimate that the cash cost of abolishing fees would be £110 million in 2001–02. The full economic cost, taking account of lower loan repayments in future years (on a resource accounting and budgeting basis), would be £270 million as the assessed contribution towards students' tuition fees would instead be taken into account in determining the level of student loan a student could apply for. Both costs are in current day prices. Figures beyond the end of the current CSR period would depend on student numbers on which decisions have not yet been made.