§ Mr. Bossomasked the Minister of Education what action he proposes to take on the recommendation contained in the report on transport education in the region of the London and Home Counties Regional Advisory Council for Technological Education, details of which have been sent to him, that more courses should be provided in traffic engineering at the University of London and Technical College and more full-time staff should be appointed and provided with opportunities for research and the writing of text books.
§ Sir D. EcclesI understand that at London University traffic engineering is available as an option in some of the civil engineering courses and that there is a post-graduate course in the subject at Imperial College. Among the institutions with which the London and Home Counties Regional Advisory Council for Technological Education is directly concerned, specialised courses in traffic engineering are available at seven colleges and an eighth intends to provide a course in the near future. The Brighton Technical College has appointed a full-time lecturer in the subject.
As the universities, the colleges of advanced technology and a number of leading technical colleges draw their students from the country as a whole, my hon. Friend may care to know that traffic engineering is available as an optional subject in civil engineering courses in some universities outside London and it is open to colleges of advanced technology and technical colleges to propose similar provision in both full-time and part-time courses. I understand that there are post-graduate courses at King's College, Newcastle, and in the graduate School of Highway Engineering at Birmingham University, and that at Oxford research is being conducted in traffic engineering with the support of the Institute of Transport.
As regards the colleges which come within the purview of my Department the provision of opportunities for research and similar work is a matter for the colleges and local education authorities concerned. As they are aware, I am anxious to encourage work of this kind.