§ Mr. Craigenasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the future of the Social Science Research Council and its funding.
§ Mr. William SheltonAs my right hon. Friend said in answer to a question by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence) on 22 December 1981, he has asked Lord Rothschild to conduct an independent review of the work of the Social Science Research Council. That review is now in progress. The report of the review will be published later this year and my right hon. Friend intends to consider its findings and recommendations in the light of such public comments as may then emerge. The council's allocation from the science budget for 1982–83 is £20.9 million—as already stated by my right hon. Friend in answer to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn and Hatfield (Mr. Murphy) on 23 December 1981. Decisions on public expenditure for the years beyond 1982–83 have not yet been made.