§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons he has indicated that he wishes to terminate the subsidy to the English Language Book Society. [19891]
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 25 April 1995]: The subsidy to British publishers under the educational low-priced books scheme—ELBS—is being phased out over two years because it is not fully meeting ODA's developmental priorities. A review carried out in 1994 revealed that about a third of books sold under ELBS went to prosperous countries, including Hong Kong, Malaysia and Turkey, although our aim for the scheme was to reach poorer students in poorer countries who cannot afford to buy books. The review concluded that the money could be spent more effectively if targeted at specific countries and institutions to which poorer students have access. Over the coming months we will be developing new strategies to achieve improved targeting of and access to key text books and other essential learning materials for students in the poorer countries, in pursuit of our developmental objectives.