David Lammy (Minister of State (Higher Education and Intellectual Property), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; Tottenham, Labour)

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes the 'Performance Indicators in Higher Education' which cover projected outcomes of full-time first degree starters.

The following link shows the relevant part of the HESA website to access data since 2003:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/category/2/32/l41/

Table 5 covers projected outcomes of full-time first degree starters. The completion rate covers starters who are expected to gain a degree. However, the more frequently used rate is the non completion rate (projected to neither gain an award nor transfer to another institution) which accounts for starters who obtain another award, or transfer.

The completion rate tables lag behind the widening participation indicators by one year due to the need for an extra year's data to determine which students are still in HE. Therefore, the most recent figures refer to the 2006/07 academic year. Projected outcomes for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in 2010.

The UK is maintaining very good completion rates for first degrees with the latest statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that the UK ranks 3^(rd) of the 27 countries reporting data in this area. This has been achieved and maintained during a period when higher education has been opened up to both increased numbers and a greater diversity of students.