asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is able to announce his decisions on local authority higher education provision in 1985–86 and on the distribution of the advanced further education pool for 1985–86; and if he will make a statement.
[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1984, c. 141–43]: I have today written to the chairman of the committee of the National Advisory Body (NAB) accepting the NAB's advice on the distribution of the sum of £2·5 million which was set aside from the advanced futher education quantum of £620 million for 1985–86 for the selective support of research in a number of major institutions as I announced in the House on 18 December.The NAB's advice is based on very careful consideration of requests from institutions for funding totalling £14 million. NAB recommends that financial allocations between £75,000 and £150,000 be made to 21 institutions (including 20 polytechnics), the funds to support scientific and technological work, as follows:
| £'000s | |
| Central London Polytechnic | 150 |
| Coventry Polytechnic | 150 |
| Hatfield Polytechnic 678 | 150 |
£'000s
| |
| Kingston Polytechnic | 150 |
| Leicester Polytechnic | 150 |
| Liverpool Polytechnic | 150 |
| Newcastle Polytechnic | 150 |
| Plymouth Polytechnic | 150 |
| Portsmouth Polytechnic | 150 |
| South Bank Polytechnic | 150 |
| Trent Polytechnic | 150 |
| Brighton Polytechnic | 100 |
| Camborne School of Mines | 100 |
| Manchester Polytechnic | 100 |
| Sheffield City Polytechnic | 100 |
| Bristol Polytechnic | 75 |
| City of London Polytechnic | 75 |
| Lancashire Polytechnic | 75 |
| Teesside Polytechnic | 75 |
| Thames Polytechnic | 75 |
| Wolverhampton Polytechnic | 75 |
| Total | 2,500 |
I welcome the selectivity which underpins these allocations, since I am convinced that, particularly when resources are limited, a selective approach towards allocations enables the funds available to be deployed with maximum effectiveness.
Letters are today being sent to local education authorities and institutions notifying them of my decisions regarding the research initiative. Copies of my letter to the NAB committee chairman have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.