To ask the Minister for the Economy whether her Department has made any assessment of the impact the current funding model for higher education has had on the availability of places for students from Northern Ireland.

Due to the significant level of public funding provided to the universities, the Department has to control spending to ensure it stays within annual budget allocations. Like all Departments, the Department for the Economy’s finances are extremely challenging.

The MaSN limits the Department’s financial exposure and plays a role in balancing the regional growth of educational institutions with the available public funding.