§ Sir Paul BeresfordTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what expenditure will be incurred by the Office of Public Service and Science in the period 1994–95 to 1996–97.
§ Mr. WaldegraveSpending on the areas covered by the Office of Public Service and Science—OPSS—HMSO and Central Office of Information will be £1,318 million in 1994–95, £1,354 million in 1995–96 and £1,359 million in 1996–97.
Planned expenditure on public service tasks—OPSS, COI, HMSO—is £76 million in 1994–95, £70.9 million in 1995–96 and £70.2 million in 1996–97.
Provision for science is £1,242 million in 1994–95, £1,283.1 million in 1995–96 and £1,288.8 million in 1996–97. These figures include £154 million, £157 million and £157 million respectively to cover the additional responsibilities of the research councils for projects which they support in higher education institutions, which under previous arrangements would have been the responsibility of the higher education funding councils. After adjusting for this transfer, the science provision will be 4.2 per cent., 7.9 per cent. and 8.4 per cent. higher in cash terms than the estimated outturn in 1993–94.
I shall be announcing the allocation of the 1994–95 science budget in due course.