HC Deb 03 December 2001 vol 376 cc68-9W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the public service agreement targets for a 1 per cent. reduction in unit spending per full-time equivalent(a) higher and (b) further education student in 1999–2000 over 1998–99. [14052]

Margaret Hodge

Between 1989 and 1997, publicly planned funding per full-time equivalent higher education student fell by over 36 per cent. from just under £7,600 to just over £4,800. Lord Dearing' s national committee of inquiry into higher education concluded in 1997 that higher education institutions could not absorb the reduction planned by the previous Government of over 6 per cent. He proposed that higher education institutions should be asked to deliver no more than a 1 per cent. reduction in costs and the Government accepted his recommendations.

In practice, the actual reduction in unit of funding per student in 1999–2000 was 0.3 per cent.

Last November, the Government announced cash increases in publicly planned funding of £412 million, £268 million and £298 million over the three years to 2003–04. This means that for the first time in over a decade there will be a real-terms increase in the unit of funding per full-time equivalent student of 0.7 per cent. in 2001–02, with fully funded increases in student numbers over the following two years.

The current PSA target for higher education is that while maintaining standards we will increase participation towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30 by the end of the decade.

It is too early to comment on the achievement of the PSA target for further education. Data for 1999–2000 are not yet available. However, while there was a real-terms per capita funding cut of 5.8 per cent. between 1995–96 and 1998–99, under the current Government's spending plans funding to the sector has increased overall. The Government have announced year-on-year increases of £527 million and £237 million in 2001–02 and 2002–03 in publicly planned further education funding allocated to the Learning and Skills Council.