§ Vera BairdTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if the Higher Education Funding Council for England will collect and publish statistics for the number of students with dependent children attending higher educational institutions, broken down by(a)institution and (b)region; [159858]
(2) whether the Higher Education Funding Council for England collects statistics for the number of students with dependent children attending higher education institutions; and whether such statistics are publicly available. [159881]
§ Alan Johnson[holding answer 9 March 2004]:The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Data on the number of students with dependent children are not currently collected by HESA and there are no plans for their future collection or publication.