Catalogue description Records of the Universities Branch

In December 1963, financial and policy responsibilities for the administration of grants and awards to university students was transferred from the Treasury to the Lord President of the Council. However, the universities management team remained part of the Treasury Social Services Division until 1 April 1964 when the Office of the Minister for Science and the Ministry of Education were merged to form the Department of Education and Science. At that date, a Universities (Finance and General) Branch was formed, having two teams separately concerned with finance and with other policy matters.

The financial team was directly responsible to the Treasury for the universities and colleges vote, although payments to the universities were made by DES Finance Branch on the advice of the University Grants Committee. The team also acquired the functions of the Ministry of Education's awards section, the functions of which included advising local authorities on grants for higher education, administering the issue of post-graduate awards in the humanities and, until 1969, handling the residual administration of the state scholarship scheme. Post-graduate awards in science and technology were administered through the research councils.

The policy team's responsibilities included the new universities, colleges of advanced technology, the Open University, research at universities and the National Union of Students.

In 1969, the branch was re-titled the Universities Branch.