asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will be making a specific pay offer through committee B of the universities academic staff negotiating machinery in respect of a pay settlement due for university teachers on 1 October 1979.

Committee A of the negotiating machinery, representing jointly the university teachers and university authorities, has asked in principle for a study by the Standing Commission on pay comparability. Its proposals involve an unquantified payment from 1 October 1979, and also raise other important questions. Careful consideration is being given to a response to committee A and to the level of grants to universities in the context of the Government's public expenditure policy. I hope that a meeting of committee B can be held soon. In the meantime, university teachers re-received an increase of some 6 per cent. with effect from 1 October 1979 as the second stage of the rectification of a pay anomaly resulting from previous pay policies.