Higher Education: Admissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people from (a) Cornwall, (b) the south west and (c) England applied to a higher education establishment in each year since 1997. (148612)

The latest available information is shown in the table. The figures are taken from data collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which are limited to students who apply to full-time undergraduate courses via the UCAS application system. The figures do not therefore cover part-time students, nor those full-time students who apply directly to higher education institutions.

Details of applicants by local authority are not held by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), therefore applicants from Cornwall are not available.

*Number of applicants from the south west and England UK higher education institutions: year of entry 1997 to 2006*
Year of entry	Number of applicants from
	South West	England¹
1997	33,081	329,413
1998	32,190	322,579
1999	31,716	323,141
2000	32,286	321,343
2001	33,004	330,856
2002	33,340	331,350
2003	33,198	337,187
2004	34,081	339,600
2005	37,351	367,741
2006	34,743	357,431
¹ Includes applicants from the south west. Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

The latest figures released by UCAS show that by 30 June, the number of students applying to enter higher education in 2007 was up by 6.3 per cent. on the same point in 2006, and was also up on the bumper year of 2005. This means that applicants are the highest ever at this point in the application cycle.

Volume 463: debated on Monday 3 September 2007