[holding answer 6 October 2008]: HEFCE does not allocate funding for student bursary schemes. Instead, each higher education provider which wishes to charge variable tuition fees for regulated courses has to agree an access agreement with the Office of Fair Access (OFFA) under which it commits to recycle some of the extra income from variable fees to support some of its students. Information on the 2007/08 academic year will become available in the spring. The following table sets out the position for 2006/07—the first year of the new arrangements.
Amount budgeted for bursary schemes Amount spent Leeds University 2,500,000 1,500,000 Leeds Metropolitan University n/a 42,000 Trinity and All Saints College 115,000 83,000 England 115,000,000 96,000,000 n/a = Not applicable Notes: 1. Many HEIs overestimated the number of students who were eligible for bursaries in the first year of the new arrangements. Where “underspends” have occurred some HEIs have chosen to redeploy the resources towards additional outreach activities designed to attract students from non-traditional backgrounds. 2. Leeds Metropolitan University does not charge fees at a level which requires bursaries to be recycled within the terms of their approved access agreement. Source: 2006/07 returns to OFFA