Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Education and Employment – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 February 2000.
Malcolm Wicks
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Education and Employment
12:00,
17 February 2000
The fall in the number of mature students is very slight—less than 1 per cent. More are now choosing to study part-time. The number of 20-year-olds is smaller than it was some years ago, and we also have a buoyant labour market, which is enabling many people to choose to work and to study—in other words, to enter the sector part-time. We are confident that the opportunities for mature students will be buoyant in the future, not least because of the additional support that we are giving them.