§ 14. Mr. Skeffingtonasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, why only £578,000 is included in the Civil Estimates for the Directorate of Scientific and Industrial Research when a figure of £900,000 was officially forecast by a spokesman of his Ministry on 8th December, 1953.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works (Mr. J. R. Bevins)This is a misunderstanding here. In my reply of 8th December 1953, I stated that the annual net Vote would be increased by £900,000 over a period of five years. I have every reason to suppose this will happen. In the present financial year the published estimate for the Department is £6¼ million, an increase of £578,000 over last year of which £230,000 is part of the projected expansion.
§ Mr. SkeffingtonIs not a great deal of the figure to which I have referred in the Question already being spent on European nuclear physics and, therefore, does not come within this particular expenditure forecast at all, which was supposed to be for research projects in this country? Is not the sum totally inadequate?
§ Mr. BevinsNo, Sir. The figure of £578,000 of course includes certain grants-in-aid such as the hon. Member refers to, but there has, in fact been a substantial net increase quite apart from these.