HC Deb 18 January 1971 vol 809 cc512-3
33. Mr. Carter

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the Aldermaston Project for the Application of Computers to Engineering.

Mr. Ridley

The need to continue the project at the previous level of Government support is not now apparent and its future must increasingly depend on the extent of its financial support from industry.

Mr. Carter

That Answer will cause great concern at Aldermaston. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that his reply to Question No. 17, in which he said that activities carried on by public bodies which could be carried on by private enterprise should be hived off, will give extreme cause for concern to the members of the staff at Aldermaston working on this project?

Mr. Ridley

The project has done valuable work in the past, but there are increasingly more commercial concerns now doing the same sort of work. There is no reason why industry should not pay for this work, whether it is carried on in the private or in the public sector.