To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total expenditure in education in the years 1978–79 and in 1988–89; and if he will give the relevant figures for higher education.

Total DES expenditure on education and science (covering schools, further education, polytechnics and colleges of higher education in England, universities in Great Britain, and the science budget for the United Kingdom) in the years in question was as follows:

£ million
1978–79	1988–89
(outturn)	(estimate)
7,754	18,412

Within these totals, DES expenditure on higher education (covering grants to universities in Great Britain, funding for local authority higher education in England, expenditure on mandatory awards for undergraduates in England and Wales and postgraduate awards) in the years in question was as follows:

£ million
1978–79	1988–89
(outturn)	(estimate)
1,668	3,891