§ Sir Trevor SkeetTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for improvement in the quality of higher education; and to what extent they involve computer-based learning and video teaching.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Government's plans for maintaining and improving the quality of higher education were set out in the higher education White Paper, "Higher Education: A New Framework", (Cm. 1541). They are provided for in the Further and Higher Education Bill now before Parliament. The information systems committee of the Universities Funding Council has launched a number of initiatives on computer-based learning which are contributing to the development of more flexible and effective provision on the lines envisaged in the White Paper. Capital funding for the Universities Funding Council in 1992–93 will he £9 million higher than in 1991–92; this should enable a start to be made on SuperJANET, the upgraded academic computer network proposed by the ISC.