HC Deb 19 January 1982 vol 16 c122W
31. Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what calculations have been made by his Department of the effect of cuts in grants to universities on teaching and research in clinical medicine.

Mr. Waldegrave

The University Grants Committee's letter to all universities of 1 July 1981 said that the committee was no longer able to include in grants to universities funds to enable universities to offer to clinical medicine the protection it had hitherto enjoyed in relation to the general decline in resources. In general universities are still preparing to their new levels of funding. No assessment of the effect of these adjustments their detailed plans for adjusting in research and teaching in clinical medicine is therefore possible. All schools should, however, be able to maintain their 1980 intakes, which implies a small increase in medical student numbers.