PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Students: Grants (25 January 2016)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many higher education students from England were in receipt of maintenance grants for each of the last five years in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

Asked by:
Dame Angela Eagle (Labour)

Statistics showing the number of English applicants awarded Maintenance Grants are published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’.

http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx

The number of English applicants awarded Maintenance Grants for each of the last five academic years in: (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland, and (c) Wales, can be found in the table.

Maintenance Grants ⁽¹⁾ awarded ⁽²⁾ to English applicants by country of provider

Academic years 2010/11 to 2014/15

Academic year	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales
2010/11	200	5,400	14,100
2011/12	200	5,600	15,500
2012/13	200	5,000	14,100
2013/14	300	4,800	13,700
2014/15	900	4,800	12,900

Source: Student Loans Company

Notes:

(1) Figures include Special Support Grants

(2) Awards do not necessarily translate into payments. An awarded applicant will only receive payments once SLC have received confirmation that the student has been registered on the course

The step increase in the number of Maintenance Grants awarded to English applicants at Northern Ireland providers in 2014/15 is a result of the University of Ulster running business programmes at its London and Birmingham campuses.

Answered by:
Lord Johnson of Marylebone (Conservative)
16 February 2016