§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to reduce or withdraw direct funding to the British geological survey in relation to its core programme of long-term projects; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. JacksonFunding of the British geological survey is the responsibility of the Natural Environment Research Council from the council's allocation from the science budget. In my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham) on 7 November 1988 at columns2–3, he announced that he had made available in 1989–90 an additional £3 million for the NERC for the BGS core programme, with planning additions of £4 million and £5 million for the following two years. He also said that further work was needed to define the survey's core programme, having regard to the priority needs of users and to examine the financial funding arrangements, including the charges for goods and services. This further work will be taken into account in this year's public expenditure survey.