§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what account is taken of the income of(a) resident step-parents or (b) non-resident parents in applying means tests to students in higher education. [59710]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 10 June 2002]The means test for students in higher education takes account of the income of resident step-parents only where the step-parent has legally adopted the student. Where parents are separated or divorced it is for the LEA to decide which parent's income should be assessed. Where the resident parent's income is assessed, payments made by the non-resident parent to support the student or the household are included as part of the income assessment.
§ Ms. Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effect of the reduction in the availability of maintenance grants on the participation in higher education of students from poorer social classes. [60251]
§ Margaret HodgeThe proportion of young people from the three lowest socio-economic groups participating in higher education rose from 10 per cent. when loans were introduced in 1990 to 17 per cent. in 1998 when the new student support arrangements were introduced. The proportion had risen to 18 per cent. in 2000, the latest year for which data are available.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the average level of debt faced by students on leaving higher education in the last 12 months. [60253]
§ Margaret HodgeMy Department has not commissioned a survey which includes estimates of student debt since the Student Income and Expenditure Survey of 1998–99. The next Survey is planned for 2002–03. Recent data on anticipated debt are available from the UNITE/MORI poll conducted in late 2001, which suggest today's students expect average debt on graduation of £8,133. Indicative figures in the 2002 Nat West Money Matters Survey suggest graduates in 2002 will leave with average debts of £10,000.
1415WA significant part of the debt arises from borrowing through the Student Loan Company. Repayment relates directly to earnings and the interest charged only reflects inflation. However, some debt is incurred in commercial borrowing to support a higher level of expenditure. These figures have to be considered in the context of graduates currently earning around 35 per cent. more than the national average and potentially £400,000 more over their working lives.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she collects on the social composition of entrants to undergraduate courses in higher education. [60255]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 10 June 2002]The most comprehensive information on the social composition of entrants to undergraduate courses in higher education is taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Although it is accepted that not all entrants or undergraduate courses use the UCAS route. UCAS assigns social class to applicants based upon the occupation of the parent with the highest income in the applicants household, as reported by the potential student. For applicants aged 21 or over, the occupation of the person contributing the highest income to the household is used.
The latest UCAS data are shown in the table.
Accepted applicants for full-time undergraduate courses, 2001 entry Social class Numbers Percentage of known Professional 39,748 14 Intermediate 120,831 44 Skilled non-manual 38,774 14 Skilled manual 48,412 18 Partly skilled 23,114 8 Unskilled 5,604 2 Total known 276,483 100 Unknown 48,989 Grand total 325,472 Other information on the social composition of higher education entrants is also available from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS), a series of longitudinal surveys of young people that track their activities in the years immediately after they have completed compulsory education. The YCS is a sample survey of young people that employs a socio-economic group (SEG) classification that differs from the social class breakdown used by UCAS. Therefore, the two sources of information are not directly comparable.