HL Deb 09 December 1996 vol 576 cc870-1

2.57 p.m.

Lord Haskel asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are their plans for the future of the Royal Observatories.

Baroness Miller of Hendon

My Lords, the Government announced that they accepted the recommendations of the prior options review of the Royal Observatories on 25th April 1996. The central recommendation was that the management of the telescopes and the delivery of the instrumentation programme currently provided by the Royal Observatories should be subject to competitive tendering by all competent suppliers.

Lord Haskel

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Is she aware that on 29th November, in another place, Mr. Ian Taylor gave a reply which virtually said that the attempt to privatise the Royal Observatories has been cancelled? Is the Minister aware also that for this exercise some £0.5 million of the science budget was spent on lawyers and consultants? Will the Minister tell the House whether that expenditure from the science budget has contributed to the advancement of science and will the Royal Observatories be reimbursed?

Baroness Miller of Hendon

My Lords, the noble Lord is correct that the Government announced recently that the current tendering exercise has been formally terminated, although they did not announce that privatisation was not on the bill. They said that the current tendering exercise has been formally terminated due to a series of difficult issues with significant financial and legal implications.

The noble Lord also said that nearly £500,000 had been spent from the science budget. Whatever has been spent in order to prepare for privatisation—of course, with such complex issues there must be costs but I believe that the prior options review accepted that there would be those costs—the DTI has made it absolutely clear that that will not be allowed to damage the science programme.

Lord Phillips of Ellesmere

My Lords, can the Minister tell the House what progress, or otherwise, is being made with the privatisation of other institutes, particularly those on the Norwich Science Park?

Baroness Miller of Hendon

My Lords, the noble Lord's question certainly goes beyond the scope of the Question on the Order Paper. However, I believe it is right to tell the House that certain other reviews are taking place, some of which have already been announced and some will be announced in the near future.