§ 49. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that the salaries paid to university teachers compare unfavourably with those paid in industry and in comparable professions, including the Civil Service; that, in consequence, there is dissatisfaction among university teachers with the level of their salaries; and what steps he is taking to improve the relevant salary rates and when these improvements will begin to take effect.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. R. A. Butler)Though I do not necessarily accept the generalisation contained in the first part of the Question, I am aware of the importance which the academic staffs of the Universities attach to the revision of their salaries, and I hope before long to be in a position to make a statement.
§ Mr. HughesDoes the Chancellor of the Exchequer realise that the propositions stated in the first part of the Question are accurate, that the situation is ethically wrong and economically unsound, and will he take steps to rectify it in the interests of education?
§ Mr. ButlerIt would be a bold person who generalised about all university salaries in the way in which the hon. and learned Gentleman does, but I understand the complexities.
§ Mr. FollickDoes not the right hon. Gentleman think it is a scandal that a comic actor can in one week be paid three times the amount of money that the average university professor could earn in an entire year?
§ Mr. ButlerIt is quite a scandal that some of us are not paid a little more too.