To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of first year undergraduates he expects to receive grants of (a) £50 or less, (b) £524 or less, (c) £998 or less and (d) £2,002 or less in September 2008. (210438)

The July 2007 announcement increases the means-testing threshold below which full-time students are entitled to a full maintenance grant up from £17,910 for entrants in 2007/08 to £25,000 for entrants in 2008/09. The threshold for a partial grant will increase from £38,330 for entrants in 2007/08 to £60,005 for entrants in 2008/09. These thresholds relate to household income.

This will mean that around one third of all eligible students in England entering higher education in the academic year 2008/09 are expected to be entitled to a full non-repayable grant worth £2,835 and around another one third are expected to be entitled to a partial grant of between £50 and £2,835. Until students apply for support for 2008/09 we do not know the number of students within each of the specified bands. However, a third of new eligible students in 2008/09 is equivalent to around 100,000 students meaning we expect this number to be entitled to a full grant and the same number entitled to a partial grant.