HC Deb 27 November 1956 vol 561 c220
34. Mr. Chetwynd

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give details of the proposed increased expenditure on university building projects as it applies to each university, together with the estimated increase in the number of students.

Mr. H. Macmillan

The allocation of these sums by the University Grants Committee is not yet fully settled, and in so far as those for 1958 and 1959 are to be devoted to works costing under £50,000, will not be settled for some time. I hope, however, to make available shortly a list of the works estimated to cost over £50,000 which it is proposed to start during the years 1957, 1958 and 1959.

The buildings themselves vary greatly in kind, and range from libraries, laboratories, and other buildings for teaching and research, to halls of residence and students' amenities. It is not, therefore, practicable to relate each project to a specific increase in the number of students in the university in question.

Mr. Chetwynd

Will the Chancellor see that as far as possible there is an equitable distribution between all the universities, and that the bulk of this money does not go to the older universities, which are not necessarily the most needy or the most significant?

Mr. Macmillan

I think we can rely on the admirable advice we get from this Committee and from our other advisers to see that the object of the whole purpose is both to be equitable and to serve the real needs of the nation.