§ Mr. Ian Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish an estimate of the total expenditure likely to be incurred in the current financial year by his Department, county and local education authorities and other public bodies such as the British Council which derive all or part 166W of their support from public funds, on the provision of scholarships at British academic institutions for citizens of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Trucial Oman States.
§ Miss Joan LestorI have been asked to reply.
I understand that there are no funds allocated by the Department of Education and Science and county and local education authorities for the provision of scholarships for citizens of these countries.
The British Council estimates that it will have spent the following amounts on scholarships, excluding short-term visits, in the financial year 1974–75:
Kuwait £4,095 Iraq £7,215 Iran £8,190 Saudi Arabia nil Separate figures are not available for the former Trucial Oman States—now the United Arab Emirates—but the estimated total for Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is £18,170.
The corresponding expenditure for technical assistance trainees funded by the Ministry of Overseas Development is estimated to be:
Kuwait nil Iraq £46,000 Iran £130,000 Saudi Arabia £1,500 United Arab Emirates: (l)Abu Dhabi £4,894 (2) Dubai £4,468
§ Mr. Ian Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will invite the Governments of all OPEC States to undertake the direct financial support of their students at British universities and other academic institutions.
§ Miss Joan LestorI have been asked to reply.
No. It is not our policy to discriminate in the support we provide for students from any foreign country.