Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people in Warrington North constituency (a) applied for and (b) started a degree course in each year since 2010.

The latest available information on applicants is shown in Table 1. UCAS have not released any data on applications from individual constituencies for the 2014 application cycle, but the latest figures for total applicants to all UK institutions (published on May 30^th) show that they have risen by 4%, compared to the same point in 2013.

Table 1

UCAS applicants to full-time undergraduate courses from Warrington North constituency

Source: UCAS

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The number of entrants to UK HEIs who were domiciled in Warrington North constituency prior to starting their course is shown in Table 2. HESA figures for 2013/14 will be available in January 2015. There are differences in the coverage of UCAS and HESA: the UCAS figures cover applicants to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Further Education Colleges (FECs), and Alternative Providers (APs) of HE in the UK; the HESA figures cover HEIs only, plus the University of Buckinghamshire. Not all applicants apply via UCAS: some apply directly to institutions. In addition, some applicants who obtain a place via UCAS opt to defer entry until the following year.

Table 2

Entrants ⁽¹⁾ domiciled ⁽²⁾ in Warrington North constituency

UK Higher Education Institutions

Academic years 2009/10 to 2012/13

Source: HESA Student Record

Notes:

(1) Entrants refers to students in their first year of study, on full-time and part-time courses, at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

(2) Domicile refers to a students' home or permanent address prior to starting their course