§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the membership of the Open university visiting committee.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI have appointed Mr. Kenneth Dixon, the chairman of Rowntree plc, to be chairman-designate of the committee. He will take over as chairman on 1 January 1990.
I am most grateful to Sir Austin Bide, who has been chairman of the visiting committee since it was set up in 1982. My predecessor and I have benefited greatly from the committee's advice and from its thorough analysis of the problems and opportunities which the Open university has faced over the years. I take this opportunity to thank Sir Austin for his enormous contribution in establishing the committee so successfully.
I have also appointed Professor Michael Hart, professor of physics at Manchester university and Mr. Chris Tipple, director of education for Northumberland, to be members of the committee for three years, until December 1991.