§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if he will list in the last five years, universities which have closed science departments, broken down by subject; and if he will make a statement; [165526]
(2) how many chemistry departments have been closed in UK universities since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [169936]
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§ Alan JohnsonInformation on the closure of particular university departments is not collected by either the Department for Education and Skills or the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Higher Education Institutions are autonomous bodies and any decisions on closures of departments are made by the institutions themselves and not Government or the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
However, I am aware of two recent chemistry course closures; one at Kings College London and one at Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London). These closures were largely due to lack of demand for the undergraduate Chemistry courses. Sir Gareth Robert's Review into the supply of people with Science Technology Engineering and Maths Skills made a number of recommendations concerning this issue and we are making good progress in their implementation.