HC Deb 25 June 1963 vol 679 cc1109-10
7. Mr. Sydney Irving

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to encourage courses and training in business administration.

Mr. Maudling

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer which my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras, South (Mr. G. Johnson Smith) on 23rd May.

Mr. Irving

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it has been said recently that out of 450,000 managers in British industry today not more than possibly 1 per cent. have had management training? Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that either the University Grants Committee or the universities themselves are giving enough attention to this matter, and will he urge them to review future plns to include more courses on business administration as are provided, for example, at Harvard in its education service, for the future?

Mr. Maudling

I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says. A great deal is going on on this front, but I accept the importance of doing even more if possible.

Mr. Gresham Cooke

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that there is a good deal of work being done by univer- sities and by the Administrative Staff College at Henley in connection with business administration, and that probably the most effective course would be to expand that sort of work all over the country rather than to set up a big new organisation?

Mr. Maudling

It may well be the most practical way of doing it, but I think that we should examine all the possibilities.