National Engineering Laboratory

HC Deb 03 May 1988 vol 132 cc372-3W

Mr. Ingram

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the capital programmes for the national engineering laboratory at East Kilbride, for each year since 1979 in actual and real terms and the projected capital programmes.

Mr. Butcher

[holding answer 29 April 1988]: A detailed breakdown of the full economic cost of the programmes since 1979 is attached at table 1. They were funded partly by industry but mainly by Government.

Table 2 gives the same figures converted to 1987 values using the index of manufacturing costs, which seems the most appropriate conversion. (Table 3 gives the index used, taken from the wholesale price indices for manufactured products excluding food, drink and tobacco.)

Table 4 gives the projected spends on research programmes for the years 1988–92 according to the corporate plan approved by the laboratory's supervisory board. The figures are grouped into the five major headings of flow measurement, fluids and heat (including biotechnology), structures, materials and engineering systems. The corporate plan may be changed in the light of the forthcoming departmental review of all the DTI research establishments announced in the White Paper "DTI the department for Enterprise (Cm. 278)" of January 1988.

Table 1—Full economic costs of programmes since 1979
£ million
	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
Flow measurement	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.20	1.4	1.7	1.8	1.9
Fluids-turbomachinery	0.8	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.6	2.3	2.3	2.2
Heat transfer	0.9	1.1	1.3	1.53	1.5	1.5	2.0	2.3
IC engines	0.4	0.45	0.41	0.42	0.45	0.5	0.6	0.7
Structural testing and analysis	1.8	2.2	2.6	2.20	2.7	3.3	3.5	3.6
Materials engineering	1.2	1.2	1.4	1.52	1.57	1.6	1.9	1.7
Computer aided engineering	0.9	0.85	1.11	1.25	2.0	2.8	2.9	4.6
Fluid power	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.44	1.6	1.8	2.1	—
Metrology	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.80	0.7	0.4	0.1	—
Wavepower-alternative energy	0.4	0.45	0.55	0.16	—	—	—	0.3
Energy conservation	0.45	0.55	0.56	0.62	0.3	—	—	—
Technology transfer-advisory work (not included above)	2.95	3.5	3.47	4.06	2.78	2.2	2.3	2.0
Laboratory FEC	12.5	14.3	15.2	16.2	16.6	18.1	19.5	19.3

Table 2—Full economic costs of programmes since 1979 converted to 1987 values
£ million
1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
21.5	21.6	21.0	20.8	20.2	20.7	21.2	20.0

Table 3
Wholesale price indices for manufacturing products (excluding food, drink and tobacco)
1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
1.720	1.513	1.381	1.282	1.216	1.145	1.085	1.038

Table 4
NEL corporate plan—planned resource deployment by centre of expertise
(£'000)
	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
Flow measurement	2,385	2,637	2,541	2,591	2,653
Fluids and heat	5,049	5,475	5,878	5,913	6,136
Materials	1,765	1,940	2,275	2,536	2,848
Structures	4,285	4,488	4,292	4,492	4,640
Engineering systems	4,813	5,130	5,256	5,255	5,030