§ Lord Varleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will announce their response to the report of the Quigley Committee. [HL1790]
§ Baroness BlackstoneMy right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment established a committee under the chairmanship of Sir George Quigley in December 1998, as required by Section 25(4) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, to review fee support for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the fourth year of first degree courses at Scottish institutions. The report is laid today before Parliament and placed in the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament.
We welcome the report and congratulate Sir George and the other members of the committee on their thorough examination of all the relevant issues. The Government accept the recommendations addressed to them set out in the report. The Scottish Executive has accepted that it should meet the net costs of the tuition fees of students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in their fourth year in Scottish universities.
77WAThe Government will discuss with the executive the precise mechanism for paying those fees and the impact on student support. We expect this to come into effect for students who enter the first year of their courses in September 2001.