§ 18. Dr. Strossasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether he will make a statement in the near future on the abolition or modification of the parental means' test, which applies to grants and awards made to university entrants; and whether he will give an assurance that any modifications will operate from the academic year beginning this autumn.
§ Sir E. BoyleThis would require amending legislation and there is no present prospect of this.
§ Dr. StrossDoes that mean that the Parliamentary Secretary and his right hon. Friend the noble Lord are unaware of the tremendous burden placed upon parents who are on salary scales, such as civil servants, particularly if they have more than one child at one of the older 1322 universities, which is something that can and does happen?
§ Sir E. BoyleMy noble Friend dealt with this matter exhaustively in a debate in another place on 22nd May. He has arranged for a working party, consisting of officers of his Department and representatives of the local authority associations, in consultation with representatives of the universities, to examine the arrangements for assessing university awards.
§ Dr. StrossMay we have at least an assurance on the second part of the Question, namely, that if a decision is reached, the decision will become active, as it were, from this autumn?
§ Sir E. BoyleI would not ask the hon. Gentleman for a moment to expect any legislative changes by this autumn, but the working party will hold its first meeting on 25th July. It will confine its attention to adjustments within the framework of the existing arrangements, and will not deal with more fundamental issues, such as the abolition of the means test. Any detailed changes in the existing arrangements will come into effect in the autumn of 1958.