§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether there has been any recent reduction in the proportion of postgraduate funding in arts subjects which goes to taught masters of arts courses, rather than research degrees; and whether it is his policy to bring about such a reduction.
§ Dr. BoysonNo. My right hon. and learned Friend does not have a policy of reducing awards in this field. There has been no reduction in the number of studentships available in the humanities and the proportion of these allocated to taught courses rather than research degrees has remained at about 40 per cent. The number of studentships awarded specifically for study in arts subjects depends upon how many candidates of sufficient standard wish to study in this field.