§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much was spent by his Department on research and development during the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion was spent in Wales.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonDuring the financial year 1985–86 my Department spent £124.1 million on research and development. Of this amount, £68.6 million was spent externally, mainly with the Agricultural and Food Research Council, of which approximately £2.7 million was spent in Wales with the council's Welsh plant breeding station and with other contractors. The balance of £55.5 million was spent on in-house research and development mainly by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service. A good deal of ADAS' research and development is of relevance to farming conditions in Wales and approximately £2.2 million of this work was carried out in the Principality for the benefit of farming in Wales and the west of Britain. The in-house figure also includes nearly £0.5 million spent on research and development in the fisheries experiment station at Conwy.