asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what basis or criteria he has constructed the further funding element in allocation of approved expenditure for polytechnics; and if he is satisfied that these or other calculations ensure that these institutions, where part-time students comprise a larger than normal proportion of students, are not placed at a disadvantage.
The further funding element of authorities' allocations from the 1982–83 advanced further education pool is added to the unit cost based common funding element by reference to actual spending in 1980–81, thereby providing for a realistic rate of reduction in each authority's expenditure within a framework of increasing financial pressure on those with the highest unit costs.The allowances made for part-time and other students in the common funding calculation were based on observation of their relative costs and intended to be fair to all institutions.