HC Deb 07 July 1987 vol 119 cc179-80
4. Mr. Wigley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received concerning the future of the University of Wales or of its constituent colleges.

Mr. Jackson

Since the autumn Ministers have held three meetings with deputations from the university and its colleges. My predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Walden), visited University college, Swansea, on 30 April. Letters have been received in the Department from individuals and groups in each of the colleges.

Mr. Wigley

Is the Minister aware that considerable damage has been done to the University of Wales over uncertainty about its future, so much so that students who want to do clinical medicine in Cardiff may be farmed out to other colleges or even other universities and that those who want to do education in Bangor have a big question mark over them? Will he ensure that in future the University of Wales is treated as one unit for classification purposes, thereby enabling it to get a class 1 status? Will he also ensure that there are adequate resources to enable colleges to link up so that a wide spectrum of courses can be offered throughout the Univesity of Wales as a whole?

Mr. Jackson

Rationalisation between courses and between colleges is for the colleges to make proposals about. There is a national university system, with a national policy of allocation of resources between institutions, which is handled by the University Grants Committee. I am sure that it will have noted the points made by the hon. Gentleman.

Mr. Morgan

Will the Secretary of State undertake to speak to Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, the chairman of the University Grants Committee, before the committee next meets on Thursday of this week and ask him to withdraw the unprecedented threat that he made two months ago to discourage students from undertaking courses at University college, Cardiff? I ask him to do this in the light of the acceptance last week by the council of University college, Cardiff, and of the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology to agree to the merger proposals in the new plan.

Mr. Jackson

The negotiations that are taking place surrounding the future of University college, Cardiff, and UWIST are at a delicate stage. The hon. Gentleman referred to the meeting that is to take place on Thursday. and I think that it would be unwise of me to anticipate the course of that meeting.