§ 6. Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, consequential upon his answer of 1 December, Official Report, c. 130, he has reached a decision on the difficulties which arise from the present system of student union financing; and if he will make a statement.
§ 12. Mr. Eggarasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, consequential upon his answer of 1 December, Official Report, c. 130, he has any further statement to make on the present system of student union financing.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. William Waldegrave)A change in the method by which student unions are financed is not one of the issues we are currently considering. That would be premature. The current arrangements came into effect only in the current academic year.
§ Mr. WintertonDoes my hon. Friend agree that compulsory membership of student unions is alien to Conservative philosophy? Does not the case of Paul Soden epitomise the current unsatisfactory position? Will he give sympathetic consideration to the research being carried out by the Federation of Conservative Students into making membership of student unions voluntary?
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy hon. Friend and I have been corresponding on this matter. Since subscriptions to student unions were abolished in favour of funding from the recurrent grants for institutions, the problem does not arise in its traditional sense. However, I shall continue to consider the matter.
§ Mr. WardDoes my hon. Friend realise that his reply will be met with less than satisfaction on the Government 130 Benches? Does he agree that we should once more consider giving the same freedom to those who either wish or do not wish to join a student union as we are proposing for any other union in Britain? Does he accept that much of the trouble caused by student unions arises because they are not answerable to those who provide their funds?
§ Mr. WaldegraveI hope that my hon. Friend will agree that student unions are not comparable to industrial unions. They provide common facilities for students and, therefore, are correctly financed out of the recurrent grants for institutions. The problem does not arise in the way that my hon. Friend believes.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I must tell the hon. Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar), who has just arrived, and whose question is being answered, that any supplementary question should relate to the answer—which he did not hear.
§ Mr. SpeakerI am glad that the hon. Gentleman is courteous enough to acknowledge my point. I shall remember that.