§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many commissions her Department had with the Agriculture and Food Research350W Council for each year since 1979; how many such commissions she expects to make this year; and what is the value of those commissions in (a) cash and (b) constant prices.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardMy Department has issued a single commission for its research and development programme with the Agriculture and Food Research Council covering all its institutes each year. Details of the amounts spent in cash and constant prices are as follows:
Year Cash £ million Constant Prices1 £ million 1979–80 30.4 72.4 1980–81 37.4 75.2 1981–82 44.3 81.3 1982–83 48.6 83.2 1983–84 51.3 84.0 1984–85 52.8 82.3 1985–86 51.8 76.5 1986–87 47.9 68.7 1987–88 44.2 60.2 1988–89 46.4 59.2 1989–90 46.0 54.9 1990–91 45.6 50.3 1991–92 34.5 35.8 1992–93 34.8 34.8 1993–94 36.0 34.8 To date, the value of the MAFF Commission with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council for 1994–95 in cash and constant prices is 32.7 30.4 1 using the GDP deflator (1992–93=100)