§ 34. Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the recent White Paper on public expenditure plans will affect research grants available to the Medical Research Council.
§ Mr. BrookeThe White Paper on the Government's expenditure plans 1985–86 to 1987–88 (Cmnd. 9428) allow for a net increase in the funding of science through the Department's science budget, above previous projections, of £11 million in 1985–86 and £8 million in each of the two subsequent years. On 10 January my right hon. Friend announced, in the light of advice from the Advisory Board for Research Councils (ABRC), that in 1985–86 the Medical Research Council (MRC) is to receive a grant-in-aid from the science budget of £122.3 million, which represents an increase of £2.1 million over the previously published planning figure for that year. The MRC's grant-in-aid in 1986–87 will be decided by my right hon. Friend in the light of further advice from the ABRC in late 1985, and that for 1987–88 a year later. It is, however, for the 419W MRC to decide on the distribution of its resources among the various modes of supporting research, of which research grants is one.