§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the criteria under which he funds research projects under the open contracting and strategic fund 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe open contracting and strategic fund 1990–91 was used, as in previous years, to meet urgent needs for research and development in line with MAFF's policy requirements. In doing this, we have sought also to widen the range of contractors beyond MAFF's own in-house laboratories and those of the research councils. Proposals made far exceed the sums of money available and decisions are made in favour of those proposals which best meet MAFF's needs, give good balance to wider programmes, have the best scientific and technical quality and represent value for money.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the projects he is funding on bovine spongiform encephalopathy under the open contracting and strategic fund 1990–91, giving the name of the relevant body and amount of money to be paid for each project.
§ Mr. GummerA £6.1 million programme of research on BSE being funded by my Department was announced on 9 January in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns),Official Report, column 572.
In addition, under the open contracting and strategic fund 1990–91, one project on BSE was approved which will be funded subject to contract:
Title Duration Total cost £000 Population genetics of BSE: evidence for the inheritance of susceptibility to BSE 3 years 155 It would be inappropriate to provide more detailed contractual information at this stage.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about his reasons for refusing grant aid under the open contracting and strategic fund 1990–91 for a project for the development of a routine diagnostic test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy as an alternative to histopathology.
§ Mr. GummerResearch to find a diagnostic test in the live animal was considered a high priority by the Tyrrell committee and funds have already been made available for this work. A proposal was made under the open contracting and strategy fund for a post-mortem test. A technique for post-mortem confirmation of bovine spongiform encephalopathy already exists and, while the project was examined carefully, when compared with other project applications under the fund, it was not considered to be of sufficient merit to warrant funding on this occasion.