HC Deb 13 January 2003 vol 397 cc426-7W
Mr. Boswell

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on participation in higher education by students with parental homes in Northern Ireland, broken down by socio-economic class in each year since 1990. [88329]

Jane Kennedy

The data, obtained from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), do not include all institutions in Northern Ireland. As a consequence, approximately 20 per cent. of NI-domiciled students are not captured.

The information for NI-domiciled accepted applicants to degree courses in the UK since 1993 is detailed in the table. Prior to the creation of UCAS in 1993, information on this basis was not available.

I II III IIIM IV V
Social class Professional Intermediate Skilled: non-manual Skilled: manual Partly skilled Unskilled Not known Total
2000–01
Number 964 3,871 1,676 1,939 725 242 955 10.372
Percentage 10.2 41.1 17.8 20.6 7.7 2.6
2001–02
Number 1,034 4,108 1,709 2,099 734 253 1,171 11,108
Percentage 10.4 41.3 17.2 21.1 7.4 2.5

While the overall number of NI-domiciled students has increased, the percentage of students from each socio-economic group has remained relatively constant. Over 30 per cent. of NI-domiciled students come from social class groups III, IV and V.