HC Deb 03 July 1969 vol 786 cc640-1
Q4. Mr. Moonman

asked the Prime Minister whether he will accept the recommendations of the first report of the Committee on Management Education, Training and Development; and if he will make a preliminary statement.

The Prime Minister

At its meeting on 4th June the National Economic Development Council took note of the Committee's Report and endorsed its programme of current and future work. The specific recommendations of the report are being carefully studied by the Government. I have no doubt that they will receive equally close attention from the various other bodies affected, which include research councils, universities, local education authorities, the Central Training Council and industry and commerce.

Mr. Moonman

While I am grateful for that reply, will my right hon. Friend also bear in mind that two of the recommendations dealing with the expansion of post-graduate places and the need for more management and marketing teachers require Government support and approval? We should be grateful for his comments on that point.

The Prime Minister

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for a letter on the subject which he sent me last summer, and I am always glad to hear from him on his views following discussion of the matter by the N.E.D.C.

While it is difficult to identify separate Government expenditure on management training since a proportion of it goes into institutions doing other forms of training, the best estimate that can be made is that for the last available year expenditure from public funds on teaching, buildings and equipment for management education in higher education and further education establishments was about £3 million.

Mr. Heath

It appears from the report that what emerges is that the first priority is to obtain more teachers of management studies to take the increase in those qualified further. Can the Prime Minister say what the Government propose to do about the number of teachers?

The Prime Minister

This is a matter of those who can be released from industry for the purpose of teaching. This is a problem which we have in other forms of training, as the right hon. Gentleman will know. The more people that there are on industrial training at all levels, the more are taken out of productive industry. This is a matter first for the local education authorities and research councils and for those universities, including the technology universities, which have such a fine record in stimulating management education.