§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is his policy on172W increasing the unit of resource for a public sector college to match that of the university with which it is merging as a result of the Education Reform Bill;
(2) what is his policy, in the wake of the Education Reform Bill, on mergers between universities and public sector colleges;
(3) what is his policy on mergers between universities and small public sector colleges.
Mr. JacksonThere is no new policy on inter-sectoral mergers. Any case proposed by the institutions concerned would be considered on its merits. The Government would not apply any additional public funds in respect of such a merged institution which should, in any case, yield efficiency gains.