asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the salaries of university teachers have kept pace with the retail price index and with average earnings since 1979.

Between April 1979 and April 1984 (the date of the last pay increase) pay settlements for university non-clinical academic and related staff have out-stripped the retail prices index by 9·8 per cent. and fallen behind the Average Earnings Index by 1·6 per cent.