§ Mr. McCuskerasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) whether he envisages any problems in connection with the charter of the New University of Ulster in pursuance of his proposals to merge the university and the Ulster polytechnic;
(2) whether he is still prepared to consider any of the other alternatives proposed in the Chilver report for the New University of Ulster apart from amalgamation with the Ulster polytechnic; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what arrangements he intends to make to deal with any staff contracts and redundancies when the merger of the New University of Ulster and Ulster polytechnic takes place.
§ Mr. ScottAs the Government statement on the future structure of higher education indicated, there will be many administrative and other issues to be resolved before the new institution comes into existence, and the treatment of the New University of Ulster's charter is one of these. I have no reason to suppose that any of these issues will present insoluble problems. The statement pointed out that the Government had considered the options for the New University of Ulster in the Chilver report and had concluded that merger with the Ulster polytechnic was the only realistic alternative to closure. The Government's view remains unchanged. Every consideration will be given to the position of existing staff in effecting the merger. Any redundancies can be determined only when the staffing implications have been fully quantified.