§ 23. Mr. Malcolm MacPhersonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent he takes into consideration the advice of the University Grants Committee when deciding his policies for university development.
§ Sir E. BoyleVery fully.
§ Mr. MacPhersonIn that case, will the hon. Gentleman consider making public the considerations which were taken into account by the Committee? Does he realise that university development is now a major matter of national policy and that it is not suitable that the public should know only via Government spokesmen what conclusions the Committee reached? Is it not desirable that we should know the grounds which led to those conclusions?
§ Sir E. BoyleI will consider what the hon. Gentleman has said, but we ought to think very hard before saying that the advice and reasons for the advice given by the Committee to the Government should always be made available in detail to this House. It is essential that the relationship between the Government and the Committee should be easy and informal, and the interests of all hon. Members are bound up in this.
§ Mr. RankinSurely the hon. Gentleman recognises another aspect of the problem. Although the Chancellor of the Exchequer made a quite detailed statement about future university provision on 18th May, practically all of it referred to England. Scotland was dismissed almost in a single sentence. Cannot the hon. Gentleman tell us a 626 little more than we were told on that occasion?
§ Sir E. BoyleI do not propose at Question Time to say any more about the advice which the Government received from the University Grants Committee, except that I think that the Chancellor would rightly hesitate very seriously before departing from any view which the Committee expressed.
§ Mr. MitchisonCould we have a White Paper on the subject?
§ Sir E. BoyleMy right hon. and learned Friend will consider any suggestions.
§ 24. Mr. Malcolm MacPhersonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent his policies for university development are influenced by the concept of an optimum size.
§ Sir E. BoyleOptimum size is a matter on which opinions are bound to differ and is primarily for each university to decide for itself.
§ Mr. MacPhersonIs it not the case that a decision not to locate an additional university in Scotland prejudges the whole matter? Does the hon. Gentleman realise that the two larger universities in Scotland are already unitary institutions, bigger than any unitary university in England, and that the present decision means that they appear to be likely to go up to 10,000 or 12,000 students? Is this desirable in view of the question of a possible optimum?
§ Sir E. BoyleIt would be very undesirable to take up a rigid attitude on this matter. No pressure has been brought to bear either by my right hon. and learned Friend or by the University Grants Committee upon any university to expand beyond what it considers desirable.