§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the total value of research projects he has commissioned with bodies in(a) London, (b) South-East England, (c) England, (d) Scotland,(e) Wales, (f) Northern Ireland and (g) the UK. [30101]
§ Mr. RookerI regret that the information sought is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Decisions on the placing of research contracts are based on the scientific quality and value for money of research proposals and not on the geographical location of contractors. The Department does not keep a detailed record of the location of each project within the research programme because of the complexity of the contractual arrangements, which can involve subcontractors and consortia, and because of the size and constantly changing nature of the research programme and the number of contractors involved. In the current year alone, the Department's R&D expenditure is likely to exceed £127 million, involving over 100 different contractors in around 2,000 individual projects.