§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomleyasked the Prime Minister whether she will publish the factual material assembled for the 1985 annual review of Government funded research and development.
§ The Prime MinisterThe annual review of Government funded R & D, announced in the Government's response (Cmnd. 8591) to the House of Lords Select Committee report "Science and Government", has now completed its third cycle. As in previous years, Departments' R & D plans were submitted for review by Government under the guidance of the Interdepartmental Committee of Chief Scientists, and for comment by the Advisory Council on Applied Research and Development (ACARD), which provides independent advice.
The factual material assembled for the 1985 review, with some commentary, will again be published by the Government in order to inform the debate on this important topic. It will be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office on Monday 16 December, and I am arranging to have copies placed in the Library of the House of Commons.