Oral Answers to Questions

Valerie Vaz Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

Alongside helping with things such as bank lending and the new equity schemes, I would point most obviously to the business angel co-investment fund, which is crucial to plug that equity gap for micro-businesses—not the larger equity businesses but the ones looking for funding of between £200,000 and £2 million. It is a £50 million package, and I commend it to my hon. Friend.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

T3. Recent evidence has shown that those from a lower socio-economic background make up only 14% of those applying for medicine and dentistry, whereas the figure is 29% to 30% across other courses. Will the Minister say what steps he is taking to ensure that those from a lower socio-economic background are not priced out of the courses where, as Professor Sir Les Ebdon has said, they are needed most?

[Mr Willetts]

It is important that we have true meritocracy in access to our universities, including to medical courses. I am a great admirer, for example, of a programme run at King’s College London, linked to Guy’s and St Thomas’, that provides an extra foundation year for young people who have an aptitude for medicine but not the necessary A-levels. That is a good example of how access funding can be used to improve social mobility.