§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the total cost to his Department of providing financial support to students in higher education after 2006–07. [152517]
§ Alan JohnsonInformation on the costs and benefits associated with the proposal in the Higher Education Bill to allow universities to set their own tuition fees is contained in the Regulatory Impact Assessment published on 8 January alongside the Bill. Because of the nature of a variable scheme, the costs vary greatly according to the decisions that both students and higher education institutions take, and they cannot be estimated precisely at this stage. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment were placed in the Library of the House; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.
The Department's future spending plans on both new and continuing elements of student support will be considered as part of Spending Review 2004.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial assistance is available for students paying maximum tuition fees under(a) present arrangements and (b) proposed student support from 2006–07; and if he will give a breakdown of such help for students from families with joint family incomes below (i) £15,970, (ii) £22,270 and (iii) £33.533. [152534]
§ Alan JohnsonThe following two tables summarise the financial assistance available to students by income under(a) the present arrangements and (b) the proposed student support arrangements from 2006–07:
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(a) Students paying standard £1,125 fee in 2003–04 £ Residual income Fee remission Maintenance loan1 Less than: £20,970 1,125 4,000 of: £31,230 — 4,000 1 Maintenance loan values shown for students living away from home and studying outside London
(b) Students paying maximum £3,000 fee in 2006–07 £ Residual income Combined grant Maintenance loan1,2 Fee loan Bursary Less than: £15,970 2,700 3,550 3,000 Min £3003 of £22,270 1,250 3,550 3,000 Min £3003 of £33,533 — 4,440 3,000 Min £3003 1 Maintenance loan values shown for students living away from home and studying outside London. 2 Under the proposals for a single combined grant of £2,700 in 2006–07, there is a necessary reduction of £850 in the maintenance loan available to offset the potential cost of additional fee loans. Further modelling will be required to confirm this figure and it is possible the amount required to offset costs might rise. 3 Universities will be expected to offer a bursary of at least £300 for students from poorer backgrounds. 4 Projected income thresholds and maintenance loan rates for 2006–07 assume inflation of 2.5 per cent. per annum. Note:
Projected income thresholds and maintenance loan rates for 2006–07 assume inflation on 2.5 per cent. per annum.
These figures are based on the model for a combined grant as set out in the published discussion paper "Moving toward a single combined grant for higher education". Further details on combining the two grants will be announced later.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average tuition fee paid by a student at a further education college in 2003 is in 2003–04. [152574]
§ Alan JohnsonData for 2003–04 are not yet available. In 2001–02, the most recent year for which data have been analysed, the average tuition fee for those adults in further education who did pay a fee is around £135.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the additional funding required to meet the additional support measures for students announced by the Government will come from(a) existing education budgets and (b) additional funding provided by the Treasury. [152665]
§ Alan JohnsonThe enhancements to the student package announced by the Secretary of State on 8 January—increasing the Higher Education grant to £1,500, increasing maintenance loans to the average of basic living costs and writing outstanding loans off after 25 years—will, as set out in the Secretary of State's statement, be met from a reprioritisation within the Department for Education and Skills' budget. The remaining costs of the student support package, including the costs of deferring fees, will be dealt with in the spending review.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much additional funding his Department will require as part of the comprehensive spending review(a) to maintain existing funding levels in real terms and (b) to meet the cost of the measures (i) announced in the Higher Education Bill and (ii) for the improvement of student support. [152666]
§ Alan JohnsonFull details of the costs of the Government's proposals announced in the Higher Education Bill, and the associated package of improvements in student support, are set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment published on 8 January alongside the Bill. Copies of the Regulatory Impact1032W Assessment were placed in the Library of the House; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) under what circumstances his Department will ignore parental income in deciding eligibility for a student grant; [152734]
(2) at what age his Department will cease to take into account family income when assessing a student's right to receive a student grant under his new proposals for student support. [152735]
§ Alan JohnsonThe income of a student's parents is not taken into account when assessing entitlement to student support in a number of circumstances. The most commonly applied are: the student is aged 25 or over; is currently or has been married; parents are deceased or cannot be found; the student is irreconcilably estranged from their parents; has been self-supporting either through earnings, benefits or training allowances for three years before the start of the course. These arrangements have been in place throughout the existing student support package which was introduced in 1999.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who is entitled to receive education maintenance allowances. [152788]
§ Alan JohnsonIn the first year of the national scheme, all young people aged 16 who are planning to continue their education from September 2004 in a school, sixth form college or a College of Further Education, can apply for an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). In the existing EMA pilot areas young people who plan to continue their education into Years 13 and 14 from September 2004, can apply for an EMA. Entitlement to an EMA is dependant on an assessment of household income. Any young person who lives in a household with an income of £30,000 or less is eligible to apply for an EMA.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what he estimates the total cost to the Government will be of fee deferral in each of the three years following the introduction of top-up fees: and how much he estimates universities will receive in fee income in each of those three years. [152789]
§ Alan JohnsonInformation on the costs associated with the proposal in the Higher Education Bill to allow universities to set their own tuition fees is contained in the Regulatory Impact Assessment published on 8 January alongside the Bill. Because of the nature of a variable scheme, the costs vary greatly according to the decisions that higher education institutions take, and they cannot be estimated precisely at this stage. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment were placed in the Library of the House; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.