§ 45. Mr. van Straubenzeeasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the Conference of European Ministers of Education held in Vienna in November.
§ Mr. Gordon WalkerYes. The Conference, on the subject of access to higher education, was convened by U.N.E.S.C.O. and attended by ministerial and other representatives of 28 European Member States and many observers from other countries and from international organisations. My hon. Friend the Minister of State (Mrs. Shirley Williams) had the honour to lead the U.K. delegation.
Discussion centred on the means of making higher education more widely available to young people from all sections of the community, and on meeting the needs of society without interfering with the freedom of choice of studies. There was a most valuable and friendly exchange of information and of ideas on these topics, and the Conference invited U.N.E.S.C.O. to arrange for further studies to be undertaken.