HC Deb 07 December 1977 vol 940 cc705-7W
Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what response she proposes to make to the statement of the Science Research Council that the lower budgets envisaged over the next few years will not enable it to discharge its responsibilities adequately.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

The Government have recently announced that the science budget, of which the Science Research Council is one of the recipient bodies, should be increased by £4 million in 1978–79 and that in addition there should be a special allocation of £4 million for capital work.

Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the cut in real terms in the expenditure of the Science Research Council in 1977–78 as compared with 1976–77.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

If a special addition in 1977–78 to cover the cost of higher tuition fees for postgraduate students is ignored, the Science Research Council's allocation from the science budget was approximately 3.4 per cent. lower in real terms in 1977–78 than in 1976–77.

Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she is taking to ensure that subscriptions to international research organisations by the Science Research Council do not, in the light of the fluctuating value of the £ sterling, impair the ability of the Science Research Council to fund scientific research in the United Kingdom, bearing in mind that international subscriptions pre-empt 30 per cent. of the Science Research Council's expenditure.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

It is intended that provision in 1978–79 Estimates for subscriptions to international research organisations paid by the Science Research Council should reflect exchange rates prevailing in October 1977. Should this prove inadequate in the course of the year because of an adverse change in the rates, I would consider a case for supplementation to be considered within the ceiling of the cash limit for the science block.

Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the planned reduction in real terms in the expenditure of the Science Research Council up to 1981–82.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

The guideline for the Science Research Council up to 1981–82 recommended by the Advisory Board for the Research Councils, which I accepted, was for a decline in real terms of 1.7 per cent. per annum on the basis of the forecasts for the science budget in Cmnd. 6721. This was before the Government's decision to increase the science budget by a total of £8 million in 1978–79, and the figure of 1.7 per cent. may need to be revised when the Government provide new forecasts for the science budget in the succeeding years.

Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect the increase in student fees has had upon the cost to the Science Research Council of financing postgraduate students.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

When informing the House in November last year of the higher tuition fees recommended, I said that additional funds would be made available through the science budget to enable the research councils to meet the higher fees in respect of the students they support.—[Vol. 921, c. 188] The allocation to the Science Research Council for 1977–78 accordingly included an addition of about £3.9 million to cover the estimated cost of the increase.