§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what obligation there is on higher education institutions to charge higher fees for part-time study to overseas students than to United Kingdom residents; if this fee regime applies to EU residents studying in the United Kingdom; and if the same fees regime applies to UK-national students whose home is in another EU country. [115002]
§ Mr. Wicks[holding answer 16 March 2000]: There is no obligation on higher education institutions to charge higher fees for part-time study to overseas students than to UK students. Under our European Community Treaty 437W obligations, other UK-based EU students must be treated no less favourably than UK students for tuition fee purposes. This also applies to UK and other EU nationals studying in the UK whose home is in another European Economic Area country.