§ Lord McCluskeyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware of the unique and internationally recognised character and quality of the language training hitherto provided in the Heriot-Watt University Department of Languages and whether, to preserve that character and quality, they will consider providing special assistance to avoid the serious damage likely to result from the cuts in university grant, notably the discontinuation of the teaching of Russian.
§ Baroness YoungBy convention, the allocation of grant to individual universities by the University Grants Committee is not subject to ministerial intervention.