§ 24. Mr. Costainasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many inquiries have been dealt with by the Building Research Station since the setting up of its technical inquiry service in 1970; what fee income has been received by the station; and to what purpose that income has been devoted.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe B.R.S. Advisory Service dealt with nearly 17,000 inquiries in its first nine months, to the end of January last. The fee income so far has been £26,000, which has passed to the Exchequer.
§ Mr. CostainI thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Is he satisfied that this organisation is a commercially viable entity and that the work it is doing is benefiting the building industry?
§ Mr. WalkerIt is certainly benefiting the building industry. As yet it is not a commercial concern since it has only just started operations and has had all the initial expenditure of being set up. The matter is under review and I have appointed a new director-general of research who will investigate all the research facilities of the Department.