§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what evidence of the influence of Soviet propaganda in high schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities he received prior to his speech on 3 March.
§ Mr. DunnWe have received a number of letters about the distribution of Soviet literature to schools.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will issue guidance to local education authorities about the sanctions to be taken against teachers who persist in teaching peace studies separately from other relevant subjects in schools.
§ Mr. DunnMy right hon. Friend made our views on peace studies clear in his recent speech, a copy of which is in the Library. It is for the schools themselves to decide exactly how to approach the issues involved.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has about the volume of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' literature' being received in schools in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much British literature is being sent to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for distribution in schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities.
§ Mr. RifkindI have been asked to reply.
Approximately 78,500 items of printed material and films, of which some 72,000 items are scientific literature are sent to Soviet academic institutions annually by the British embassy in Moscow.
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§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements there are between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the distribution of political literature amongst the school population at all levels.
§ Mr. RifkindI have been asked to reply.
No formal agreements exist between ourselves and the Soviet Government for the distribution of Soviet and British political literature to schools in the United Kingdom and the USSR respectively. Material is sent on an ad hoc basis by the British embassy in Moscow and the Soviet Embassy in London in response to requests. A reciprocal agreement concluded in 1961 provides for the sale and circulation in the Soviet Union of a British quarterly magazine Anglia and the circulation in this country of the Soviet publication Soviet Weekly.