HL Deb 27 January 2004 vol 656 cc36-7WA
Baroness Sharp of Guildford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What projections they have made of the numbers of full-time and part-time students in England for the years 2005–10; and on what assumptions these estimates are based. [HL856]

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

The latest published projections of full-time and part-time headcount student numbers in English institutions, as set out on the department annual report (DAR) 2003, are as follows:

  1. (iii) The application of wastage rates consistent with the latest year of outturn data.

The planned number of student places is set during spending reviews in the light of the Government's target of increasing participation in higher education towards 50 per cent of those aged 17–30 by the end of the decade. Planned student numbers for 2005–06

to 2007–08 will be set as part of the current spending review, which will conclude next summer.