§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the level of funding for higher education in the current financial year; and what the level was in each of the last five years at constant prices. [143910]
§ Mr. WicksThe following table shows the publicly planned funding for higher education institutions in England in each of the last five years and to 2003–04. Figures include capital and are in real terms at 1999–2000 prices.
£ million 1995–96 5,285 1996–97 5,022 1997–98 4,945 1998–99 4,957 1999–2000 5,154 2000–01 5,308 2001–02 5,554 2002–03 5,667 2003–04 5,820 Expenditure on higher education is planned to rise by around 18 per cent. in real terms over the period 1998–99 to 2003–04.
Student support funding is not included in the figures in the table. In addition to institutional funding, universities and higher education colleges receive funding from private sources and from other Government Departments, for example, the extra £1 billion for science infrastructure in 2002–03 and 2003–04 from OST and the Wellcome Trust, and the extra £250 million Research Council funding announced in July.