Vol. 445 No. 9
239 Mr. Hilliard asked the Minister for Education if she will carry out a review of the payment system of third level educational grants to local authorities in view of the fact that these grants are liable for interest charges due to late refund payments by her department. [1358/94]
The arrangement which has obtained since the higher education grants were introduced in 1968 is that a local authority's expenditure on grants in a particular financial year is recouped at the beginning of the following year.
My Department ensures that claims submitted by local authorities in respect of expenditure in the previous year are paid promptly.
I will review the position in relation to these changes in the context of the 1995 Estimates provision for my Department.
