HC Deb 30 January 1967 vol 740 cc2-3
2. Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress has been made by him in organising the proposed Construction Industry Research and Information Association based on the Civil Engineering Research Association; how much public money will be provided in a full year; and how much has been promised by the National Federation of Building Trades Employers, and by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Mr. Prentice

Proposals for the new Association have been accepted by the Council of the Civil Engineering Research Association and will shortly be put to the full membership for ratification. The new Association would receive a grant from public funds of around £200,000 in its first full year, depending on the amount which the industry subscribes. Neither the National Federation nor the Royal Institute, as such, has promised a monetary contribution, but assurances of financial support have been given by individual firms in the industry.

Mrs. Short

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the building employers have apparently offered only £16,000? As they and the British architects are apparently not very enthusiastic about this idea, does he not think that this, again, is an unnecessary duplication of what is being done much better by the Building Research Station, for example, which is rightly under the Minister of Technology and which has all the resources of that Department?

Mr. Prentice

No, Sir. Whatever is done by Government Departments or Government research associations, the industry ought to do more for itself and should have had an association of this kind years ago. As to the amounts of money promised, we are hoping that for the first year it will have a budget of £400,000, of which about three-quarters has been promised already. I hope that more will be promised when the full meeting of C.E.R.A. ratifies the decision of its Council. This will not be enough for what most of us would like, but it will have a growth potential and I hope that it will grow over the years to come.