§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Cambridgeshire, North-East of 24 April, Official Report, 165W column 471, whether he will describe the mechanism used by his Department to take fluctuations in exchange rates into account in considering the payment of allowances to teachers on exchange in the United States of America.
§ Sir Keith JosephTo ensure full and effectively planned use of the cash-limited Government resources available generally for teacher exchange programmes in any one year, which are designed to cover both the teacher's return air fare and a settlement allowance, a rate of assistance is set for the forthcoming academic year, in consultation with those concerned in the joint advisory committee in respect of each exchange country. In the case of the United States of America, this takes account of long-term forecasts of fluctuations expected in the dollar-pound exchange rate over the year in question and of anticipated movements in air travel rates compared to those affecting exchanges to other countries in the schemes.