HC Deb 25 February 2003 vol 400 c467W
Mr. Boswell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual cost will be of the forthcoming uplift of National Insurance Contributions for(a) higher and (b) further education institutions. [98672]

Mr. Charles Clarke

The additional cost in employers'national insurance contributions in 2003–04 for all Higher Education institutions in England is estimated to be around £60 million and for all Further Education institutions in England the estimate is £25 million. Higher and Further Education institutions receive funding for staff costs from a variety of sources, both public and private, so the element of the increase to be covered from public sources will be only a proportion of this. The actual cost in National Insurance contributions will depend on the number of staff employed and their pay level. These are matters for the institutions to determine.

In the 2002 Spending Review, Higher and Further Education received generous increases in total funding, averaging 6 per cent. in real terms in each of the three years to 2005–06. As a result of these increases, publicly planned funding per full-time equivalent student will rise by 7 per cent. in real terms between 2002–03 and 2005–06 in both Higher and Further Education. This will put Further and Higher Education institutions in a good position to meet these costs.