§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students were on courses leading to(a) ordinary national diplomas, (b) higher national diplomas and (c) foundation degrees in each of the last three years. [133426]
§ Alan JohnsonThe latest figures collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are given in the table; comparable figures for 2002/03 will be available from HESA in January 2004, and from the LSC in spring 2004.
Early data for 2002/03, collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) covering both HE and FE sector institutions, show that there were 57,700 students on HNDs and 12,400 on Foundation Degrees. The HEFCE data does not separately identify OND or equivalent courses.
§ Alan JohnsonAfter taking into account the effect of inflation, the total cost to DfES of providing for loan subsidies can vary from year to year, resulting in a different cost per pound loaned. In 2001–02 the cost per pound was 41 p.
The factors affecting the total costs are the Treasury discount rate, which is used to calculate the costs in the DfES Accounts rather than the actual cost of 1487W borrowing; the retail price index; and the forecast repayment of loans, which affects the amount set aside in the provision for future subsidy costs. The 2001–02 costs were based on the 6 per cent. Treasury cost of capital rate. From 2003–04 the cost will be calculated using the revised 3.5 per cent. rate.
§ Paul FarrellyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what recent reports he has received into student attitudes towards debt if they are from family backgrounds with(a) lower incomes, (b) middle incomes and (c) upper incomes. [139637]
§ Alan JohnsonI am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Paul FarrellyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, (1) what information he has collated on the percentage of students from(a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income backgrounds that (i) hold a part-time job during term-time, (ii) live with their parents during term-time and (iii) attend a university close to their home; and what changes have taken place in these statistics since 1997; [139479]
(2) what information he has collated on the percentage of students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income households who leave university (i) debt free and (ii) with debts of over £11,715; [139480]
(3) what estimate he has made of the percentages of the income of students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income backgrounds that are derived from (i) student loans, (ii) bank loans and overdrafts, (iii) credit cards, (iv) grants, (v) parental contributions and (vi) work during university; [139630]
(4) what reports he has received on how much students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income backgrounds borrow by the time they leave university from (i) the Student Loans Company, (ii) parents, (iii) bank loans and overdrafts and (iv) credit cards; [139631]
(5) what recent reports he has received regarding the relationship between students' family incomes and their level of debt after leaving university; [139632]
(6) what is the average level of debt held after leaving university by a student from (a) a lower, (b) a middle and (c) an upper income background was in 2002–03. [139633]
§ Alan JohnsonI am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the waiver for part-time students on income support will be available for those reading post-graduate courses who have not previously taken a first degree. [139929]
1488W
§ Alan JohnsonThe fee grant that is being introduced in 2004/05 will be available for part-time students on undergraduate courses. Although part-time postgraduate students will not qualify for the fee grant, they may be able to apply for a career development loan or a research council bursary to support their study. If they are disabled, they may also qualify for a disabled students' allowance.