§ 21. Mr. Woodnuttasked the Minister of Technology what was the operating cost of the National Physical Laboratory at Hythe for each of the years 1966 and 1967; what is the budgeted cost for the years 1968 and 1969; and what part the National Physical Laboratory is playing in the national hovercraft research programme.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuThe Hovercraft Unit at Hythe was taken over by the National Physical Laboratory in 1967. Its cost in 1967/68 was £406,000 (including £106,000 for the purchase of experimental craft and equipment). The estimated cost for 1968/69 is £364,000 and for 1969/70 £450,000.
15 The N.P.L. provides technical support to hovercraft manufacturers by means of a programme of research and experiment to produce basic information on the performance and behaviour of sea-going hovercraft.
§ Mr. WoodnuttDoes not the Minister think that these figures are rather pathetic if they have stayed at this level for three years? We have a dynamic new industry into which we should be putting more money into research and development. From a casual view of Hythe it appears that nothing much is happening there.
§ Mr. MallalieuA great deal of money is going into the hovercraft industry, and the amount spent on research and development is fairly high.
§ Sir H. Legge-BourkeDoes the Minister appreciate that the accounts of the N.R.D.C. in respect of the hovercraft work are becoming increasingly difficult to unravel every year, not least because the old H.D.L. is still responsible for the licensing side of patents of hovercraft? May we have an assurance that a better breakdown will be provided as soon as possible?
§ Mr. MallalieuI agree with the hon. Gentleman. I, too, find the accounts almost impossible to unravel, and I am trying to do what I can about them.