§ Mr. Temple-MorrisTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what was the total cost of the alpha-rated research projects which were refused by each research council in the financial year 1991–92; and how much money was spent by each research council on alpha-rated projects in that financial year;
Council 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 AFRC N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 53 27 16 22 45 27 ESRC N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 22 46 40 56 56 MRC 1 N/A N/A N/A N/A 17 36 19 45 53 51 57 NERC 49 25 61 48 63 47 48 13 37 39 43 SERC 25 22 22 19 21 40 35 38 46 59 52 1 Figures for the MRC are for Project Grants only. Figures which show the proportion of rejected alpha-rated research projects which involved expenditure of less than £250,000 in 1991–92 are as follows: 100 per cent. of the AFRC's, ESRC's, MRC's and NERC's awards in 1991–92 were less than £250,000. 87 per cent. of rejected alpha-rated grant applications to SERC involved expenditure of less than £250,000.