§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Filkin)My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Charles Clarke) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have today asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England to advise me about higher education subjects or courses of national strategic importance, where intervention might be appropriate to strengthen or secure them. I have asked for the council's views on the circumstances when such intervention might be right, and the types of intervention which it believes could be considered.
I have asked the council to consider the following subject areas:
Arabic and Turkish language studies and other Middle Eastern area studies, former Soviet Union Caucasus and central Asian area studies—this is mainly for strategic security and intercultural awareness reasons, as highlighted by the recent BRISMES report.
Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin and other far eastern languages and area studies—for business and trade purposes, as highlighted by, among others, the UK-Japan 21st Century Group.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics—chiefly for maintaining the UK's excellent science base and ensuring our national productivity.
Vocationally oriented courses of particular interest to employers in industries that are of growing importance to the UK economy; for example, the cultural and creative industries, and e-skills.
Courses relating to recent EU accession countries, especially those in eastern Europe and the Baltic.