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Nicholson, David (Taunton)

Nicholson, Emma (Devon West)

Norris, Steve

Onslow, Rt Hon Cranley

Oppenheim, Phillip

Page, Richard

Paice, James

Patnick, Irvine

Patten, Rt Hon Chris (Bath)

Pawsey, James

Peacock, Mrs Elizabeth

Porter, David (Waveney)

Powell, William (Corby)

Price, Sir David

Raffan, Keith

Raison, Rt Hon Sir Timothy

Redwood, John

Rhodes James, Sir Robert

Riddick, Graham

Ridsdale, Sir Julian

Rifkind, Rt Hon Malcolm

Roberts, Rt Hon Sir Wyn

Rost, Peter

Rumbold, Rt Hon Mrs Angela

Sackville, Hon Tom

Sainsbury, Rt Hon Tim

Sayeed, Jonathan

Scott, Rt Hon Nicholas

Shaw, David (Dover)

Shaw, Sir Giles (Pudsey)

Shelton, Sir William

Shepherd, Colin (Hereford)

Sims, Roger

Skeet, Sir Trevor

Smith, Tim (Beaconsfield)

Speller, Tony

Spicer, Sir Jim (Dorset W)

Spicer, Michael (S Worcs)

Squire, Robin

Stanbrook, Ivor

Stanley, Rt Hon Sir John

Steen, Anthony

Stern, Michael

Stevens, Lewis

Stewart, Andy (Sherwood)

Stewart, Rt Hon Sir Ian

Sumberg, David

Summerson, Hugo

Tapsell, Sir Peter

Taylor, Ian (Esher)

Taylor, John M (Solihull)

Taylor, Sir Teddy

Temple-Morris, Peter

Thompson, Patrick (Norwich N)

Thorne, Neil

Thornton, Malcolm

Thurnham, Peter

Townend, John (Bridlington)

Townsend, Cyril D. (B'heath)

Tracey, Richard

Tredinnick, David

Trotter, Neville

Vaughan, Sir Gerard

Viggers, Peter

Waldegrave, Rt Hon William

Walden, George

Walker, Bill (T'side North)

Walters, Sir Dennis

Wardle, Charles (Bexhill)

Watts, John

Wells, Bowen

Wheeler, Sir John

Whitney, Ray

Widdecombe, Ann

Wiggin, Jerry

Wilshire, David

Winterton, Mrs Ann

Winterton, Nicholas

Wolfson, Mark

Woodcock, Dr. Mike

Yeo, Tim

Young, Sir George (Acton)

Tellers for the Noes :

Mr. Tim Boswell and

Mr. Timothy Wood.

Question accordingly negatived.

New clause 3

Reports on the welfare of students

--.(1) The Secretary of State, following consultations with the boards of management of further education colleges, shall publish an annual report on the welfare of students in further education. (2) The Secretary of State shall require the Higher Education Funding Council to publish an annual report on the welfare of students in higher education.

(3) The Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament both reports published as a result of this Section, together with a statement of any conclusions he may have drawn as a result of the reports.'.-- [Mr. Stephen.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Stephen : I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Madam Deputy Speaker (Miss Betty Boothroyd) : With this it will be convenient to consider Government amendment No. 61 and amendment No. 64, in clause 1, page 2, line 4, at end add--

(6) the Secretary of State shall lay annually before Parliament a report giving such information as may be prescribed as to how he has implemented his duty under subsection (1) above, and in particular what provision has been made for persons over school age who have learning difficulties.'.

Mr. Stephen : If the Minister were in his place, I would make no apology to him for returning to the issue of

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student welfare, not least because in Committee he showed that he did not understand the poverty and the pressures that face most students in Scotland.

The new clause requires the Secretary of State for Scotland to ensure the provision of an annual report on the welfare of students in further education. We should be very happy if that report were to be submitted by the further education funding council, but as the Minister appears to be reluctant to set up that body the report would have to come from the Secretary of State. The new clause also requires the Higher Education Funding Council to publish an annual report on the welfare of students in higher education.

One can have the very best of universities, with excellent teaching, excellent courses and excellent facilities, but they will be next to useless if the students are hungry, homeless, cold and debt ridden. That assumes that students are there in the first place. I return to the point that many students are deterred from going to university if they know that they will be under severe financial pressure and that their parents will put pressure on them not to go to university or into further education but to try to take up work--in many cases at much too early a stage.

During the last decade or so, the financing of students has undergone enormous changes. The loans system, which is opposed by an overwhelming number of students in Scotland, has been introduced. Student entitlement to benefit has been removed. Moreover, student grants have been frozen. At a time of general economic recession, another factor causes immense hardship : the shortage of employment for students during vacation periods. Employment has in the past provided an important source of income for them. Many parents now talk about saving to send their children to university, but some parents cannot do that. The gate cannot, therefore, be opened to children from those families. That bias against poorer families is a great source of worry.

In real terms, student grants have declined dramatically over the last decade. The mandatory grant would have to be increased by over 24 per cent. if it were to be brought back to its 1978-79 level and by 31.6 per cent. if it were to reflect the equivalent increases in the cost of living over the same period. Many students were caused immense additional hardship by the introduction of the poll tax and the still existing requirement--whose abolition should be announced as soon as possible, but no later than the next Budget--to pay 20 per cent. of the poll tax.

A recent National Union of Students survey shows how many students find themselves in debt. In the case of those sampled, more than 50 per cent. had significant debt problems. That was even before the introduction of student loans. The problem may be that the Government take the same view of student unions and their surveys as they take of other trade unions. Although they appear to be disinterested, dismissive and hostile towards the NUS and other unions, I ask them to care about the plight of students. It is a very real problem. We believe that the colleges and funding councils should provide independent, authoritative reports on the welfare of our students so that Ministers will be forced to listen. The areas of concern, where effective independent

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monitoring is required, include housing costs, the availability of accommodation--a real problem--and general financial support. Students are faced with particularly high prices in places such as Aberdeen and Edinburgh. In recent months and years, prices in Aberdeen have markedly increased. The costs of student accommodation there are quite prohibitive. Demand is high but accommodation is not available. Students are competing on the market with not only other students but oil workers in a very buoyant Aberdeen economy. 7.30 pm

A similar situation now exists in Edinburgh where house prices are generally high compared with those in other parts of Scotland. For example, at Aberdeen university only first year students from outside the area are guaranteed accommodation. The situation is even worse at the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology which at present can provide only 16 per cent. of its students with accommodation. In Scotland as a whole, only 44 per cent. of university students are provided with accommodation. Students in my constituency have been forced to be accommodated in local hotels. Others in the Aberdeen area have been living in tented accommodation. In some areas they have had to live in senior common rooms and university halls, provided with only a bed, a locker and a screen.

Inevitably the council tax will also hit some students severely. Certainly it is a property tax, but it still has some elements of the poll tax, a hangover from the poll tax system. I am convinced that in certain circumstances the cost of the new council tax will be passed on to students. Even if the Minister does not realise this from our deliberations in Committee, it still seems likely that many landlords and landladies will pass on to students in student accommodation the personal element of the new council tax.

In addition to covering housing needs, I hope that the annual reports will pay particular attention to the students most in need. Many mature students face extra financial burdens. Some students have parents on low incomes, some students are ill, have disabilities or have responsibilities for caring.

Despite what the Minister said, there remains concern about the level of and uncertainty over the future management of the access funds which the current Universities Funding Council distributes to each institution. While the future of access funds remains undecided and while the lessons from the high cost of distributing them remain unlearnt, the Minister cannot state that there are no problems of hardship merely because of the existence of the funds. Great hardship exists.

New clause 3 would allow the Government to assess the welfare of students on an annual basis. If the Minister were to argue that student welfare is adequate at present--I find it very difficult to believe that he could argue that on an objective assessment--the report from the Higher Education Funding Council could substantiate his argument. We are seeking independent objective advice that would, I believe, be of considerable assistance to the Minister and to the Scottish Office in the fulfilment of their responsibilities to our students. That is the purpose of the new clause.

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