Science and Engineering Research Council (Hansard, 10 November 1992)

§ Mrs. Anne Campbell
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans the Government have to separate the funding of international projects from the rest of the Science and Engineering Research Council's budget.

§ Mr. Robert Jackson
The Government have no such plans at present.
The question of the most appropriate way of funding international projects has however featured in a number of contributions to the consultation process on the forthcoming White Paper on Science and Technology which my right hon. Friend has initiated. We shall be considering carefully these and other proposals for change that have been made.

§ Mrs. Anne Campbell
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what effect the devaluation of sterling will have on the funding of projects other than CERN by the Science and Engineering Research Council.
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§ Mr. Robert Jackson
The fall in the value of sterling relative to the franc will affect the cost to the SERC of its fixed percentage contributions to the European synchrotron radiation facility (ESRF), and the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL). There will also be minor adjustments to the cost in sterling of SERC's contribution to the European incoherent scatter facility (EISCAT), paid in Swedish krona, and to the Anglo-Australian telescope facility (paid in Australian dollars). SERC's contribution to the European Space Agency's space science programme, which is paid in ecus, will also be affected, although the funding formula here also takes account of relative GDP of member states, adjusted retroactively.

§ Mrs. Anne Campbell
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what effect the devaluation of sterling will have on contributions made by the Science and Engineering Research Council to CERN.

§ Mr. Robert Jackson
Member states' contributions to CERN are based on a formula which takes account of relative GDP. The increased cost to SERC due to the devaluation of sterling relative to the Swiss franc will, over a period of time, be offset to a large degree by this self-correcting formula.
There will be no significant effect in financial year 1992–93 as the bulk of payments due to CERN for this period were made prior to the mid-September devaluation.
There will be an additional cost in financial year 1993–94 but, after that, this will reduce as the relative GDP formula takes effect.