HC Deb 14 February 2003 vol 400 cc157-9W
Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his plans to raise the proportion of young people in higher education to 50 per cent.; and by when he estimates this target will have been achieved. [93749]

Margaret Hodge

[holding answer 29 January 2003]: Our long-term vision for strengthening universities and increasing access to higher education was recently announced in our White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education".

The case for expanding higher education is strong, both to meet the economy's need for higher level skills and to realise the potential of individuals. The measures set out in the White Paper will enable us to deliver our Public Service Agreement target of increasing participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18 to 30 by 2010. This will be mainly achieved through expansion of the work focused foundation degree, which is designed to attract many people who do not currently enter higher education.

Progress towards the participation rate is measured by the Initial Entry Rate which sums the percentage of the age group who enter higher education for the first time in each year of age between 18 and 30. Participation is currently 43 per cent.

Our programmes to raise achievement levels in schools and to improve studying on rates in full-time education has and the age of 16 coupled with our programmes to encourage ambition and higher aspirations among more young people will contribute towards meeting our target.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of the Government's proposals for higher education on(a) women, (b) ethnic minorities, (c) single parents, (d) mature students and (e) underrepresented groups. [96278]

Margaret Hodge

All the policies set out in the White Paper "The Future of Higher Education" were given careful consideration to ensure that they would create the best higher education system possible, while ensuring equality of opportunity for all groups within society.

We will of course continue to consider the potential impact on the groups that the hon. Gentleman mentioned as we plan the detailed implementation of these policies, and in the light of responses received during the period for comment on the White Paper proposals, which runs until 30 April.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's expenditure plans are for higher education in(a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04, (c) 20042013;05 and (d) 2005–06, (i)in cash terms and (ii) on a full resource budgeting basis. [96279]

Margaret Hodge

The Government's expenditure plans for higher education in England are shown in the table.

£million
2002–03 7,596
2003–04 8,309
2004–05 9,057
2005–06 9,918

These figures are taken from the table on page 19 of the White Paper, "The Future of Higher Education" (Cm 5735), and include estimates of funding from the Office of Science and Technology.

The amount of cash that the Department will require to support this resource expenditure is set on a year-by-year basis. The main differences between the resource-based figures above and the in-year cash requirement will relate to the cost of capital and depreciation charges on the administrative capital of the Student Loans Company and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and to the treatment of student loans. Under resource accounting and budgeting, the costs of issuing such loans takes account of the economic value of all future loan repayments, whereas the cash total will be the payments issued in year (which in 2002–03 amounted to just over £2 billion) without any reflection of the repayments to be received in the future.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the differences between the Summary of the Spending Review Settlement for Higher Education Funding grand total, as announced in the Higher Education White Paper (Command Paper 5735,p19), and total `publicly planned funding for higher education in England' as stated in his letter to HEFCE detailing Higher Education funding and delivery to 2005–06, dated 22 January 2003. [96285]

Margaret Hodge

The table on page 19 of the White Paper 'The Future of Higher Education' shows the total expenditure on higher education in England. The total publicly planned funding shown in the grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is the expenditure that is paid by the HEFCE to higher education institutions in England and the estimated fee income for home and EU students that those institutions will receive from public and private sources. The main differences between the two totals relate to student support expenditure; funding for research and knowledge transfer from the Office of Science and Technology, estimates of which are included in the totals in the White Paper; and the private contributions towards the costs of tuition which are included in the publicly planned funding total but not in the expenditure table in the White Paper.

Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has conducted on the proportion of appropriately qualified students who proceed to higher education by social class; and if he will place the results in the Library. [97110]

Margaret Hodge

The Youth Cohort Study (YCS) shows that young people from higher socio-economic groups (SEGs) are twice as likely as those from lower SEGs to enter HE at 18. Participation rates of higher and lower SEGs are not significantly different after A-level attainment is taken into account (see following table).

Percentage
Participation rates in higher education at 18
Higher SEGs Lower SEGs
A-level point score
1-12 36 32
13-24 63 60
25+ 74 76
All 35 15

source:

Youth Cohort Survey—cohort 9 2000

Attainment at A-level is affected by people's aspirations. Aspirations are often formed at a young age and are shaped by a range of cultural, social, institutional and education influences.

In 2001 the Department published "Social Class and Higher Education: Issues Affecting Participation by Lower Social Class groups" by Connor, H. and Dewson, S. with Tyers, C. Eccles, J. Regan, J. and Aston, J. (DfEE Research Report No. 246). This found that for a small sample of qualified non-entrants from lower social classes the main reasons for not entering HE were:

  • they wanted to get a job and earn some money;
  • cost issues;
  • they wanted to take a break from studying; and
  • uncertainties about their ability or commitment to complete a degree course.

In 2002 the Department published "Potential mature student recruitment to HE" by Ross, A. Archer, L. Hutchings, M. Gilchrist, and R. Thomson, D. with John, C. and Akantziliotou, K. (DfES Research Report 385). This found that, among a sample of 16–30 year olds from lower middle and working class backgrounds the propensity to enter HE depends upon qualifications, but is independent of their social class.

Both of the above reports are held on the Department's research publications website, www.dfes.gov.uk/research.

It is important to note that people without A-levels or other formal qualifications may be appropriately qualified to enter higher education on the basis of other experience and abilities that they demonstrate.