§ Mr. John Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department will institute a system of research grant which will enable a member of a university's staff engaged in research to use part of the grant to buy back time from his employing institution so that he could be freed from administrative duties.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy right hon. Friend believes that existing arrangements for the financing of research are already sufficiently flexible. The funding of universities through recurrent grant and tuition fees assumes that a proportion of academic staff time will be available for research. What that proportion is will vary in the light of individual and institutional circumstances and is subject to local agreement. Beyond that, funds in support of research into specific topics in the natural and social sciences are channelled through the research councils, which have considerable discretion as to the way they apply them.