Higher Education: Essex

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of 18 to 25-year-olds resident in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point was in higher education (i) in 1997 and (ii) on the latest date for which information is available. (280456)

The Government do not collect data on the number of adults resident in a particular area who are not in higher education, so it is not possible to calculate the proportion of 18 to 25-year-olds from Essex local authority and Castle Point constituency who were in higher education in 1997 and the latest date for which information is available.

The numbers of 18 to 25-year-old students from Essex and Castle Point who were enrolled in higher education are shown as an alternative in the table. Figures for the 2008-09 academic year will be available in January 2010.

*18-25 year old Enrolments*¹ *from Essex* *local authority*²*and Castle Point* *parliamentary constituency*²^:*UK higher education institutions academic years 1997-98 and 2007-08*
	1997-98	2007-08
Essex	16,040	21,290
Castle Point	840	1,100
¹ Covers undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled on full-time and part-time courses. ² Local authority and parliamentary constituency are defined by full and valid home postcodes recorded on the HESA student record. Notes: Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Volume 494: debated on Monday 22 June 2009