§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will introduce legislation to provide that the Secretary of State shall have greater powers to intervene in the allocation of the annual grants paid to universities by the University Grants Committee;
(2) if, in view of their importance to the economy, he will take steps to protect the universities from the effects of the cuts proposed by the University Grants Committee.
§ Dr. BoysonMy right hon. and learned Friend does not intend to depart from the well-established convention that, while the Government decide how much they can afford in grant to the universities as a whole, the University Grants Committee decides how that money is best divided among individual universities.