HL Deb 17 July 1996 vol 574 cc61-2WA
Baroness David

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made in providing a replacement for the Educational Low-Priced Books Scheme, which will cease operating in March 1997.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

ODA's Education Division has had extensive discussions with various interested parties in the UK, including publishers, booksellers, the BBC and the British Council; consultations have also been initiated with relevant officials in Ministries of Education in three countries in Central Africa with a view to starting pilot book projects in this current year.

In order to develop these projects further we have commissioned a bibliography of key publishers' low-priced textbooks for developing countries.

We shall continue to examine various methods of getting books to needy students, which will enable us to target books and information provision more effectively than under the former Educational Low-Priced Books Scheme.

We shall consult further with publishers and other interested parties through the ODA-convened Books Working Group.