HC Deb 23 October 1967 vol 751 cc386-7W
Sir Knox Cunningham

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the reason for the lack of available places in medical schools in Great Britain; and if he is aware that owing to lack of space in medical schools in Great Britain Mrs. Diana Pearce has gone to Czechoslovakia to qualify as a doctor.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

In 1957 a Committee appointed to consider the future numbers of medical practitioners and the appropriate intake of medical students advised that the existing medical schools were more than adequate to meet expected needs, and available resources for university expansion were therefore concentrated on other faculties. It became apparent in the early 1960s that the need had been underestimated, and since then the medical schools have steadily increased their intake and the University Grants Committee have allocated capital for further expansion. My attention was drawn to press reports that Miss Pearce had gone overseas to study.