§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the sources of the funds for the parallel processor research programme and, in the case of contributions from the Government, from which budget head in the Department's annual plan the funds are drawn; over how many years the research programme is expected to run; and how many institutions of higher education in the north of England sought to participate in the programme.
§ Mr. LeighThe parallel applications programme is a four-year collaborative research and development programme with a total value of £34 million. £13 million of Government support will be offered, of which £9 million will come from my Department and £4 million from the Science and Engineering Research Council. My Department's contribution will be drawn from funds allocated to support industrial innovation.
Seventeen academic institutions, or consortia of academic institutions, submitted outline proposals for the programme, of which five were from the north of England. Of nine institutions or consortia shortlisted, there was one from the north of England, although this was not one of the four centres finally selected.