Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Maddock (Liberal Democrat). It was answered by Lord Adonis (Labour) on Thursday, 2 March 2006.

Universities: Admissions

Question: How far the reported drop of 4.5 per cent in Universities and Colleges Admissions Service applications from English students to English universities for the next academic year is uniform across socio-economic and ethnic groupings.

Answer: My Lords, the application process is not yet complete, and the interim analysis conducted by UCAS covers English applicants to all UK institutions. The analysis shows that the proportions of applicants from high and low socio-economic backgrounds are unchanged from 2005. Sixty-nine per cent of applicants to UK institutions come from socio-economic classifications 1 to 3, and 31 per cent from classifications 4 to 7, which is the same as last year. There is no data available as yet by ethnic grouping.

Secondary information