§ Earl Howeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their policy on supporting horticultural research in the United Kingdom. [HL189]
§ Lord WhittyThe Government support horticultural research through the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and through government departments. Research of immediate relevance to the horticulture industry is also funded by the Horticultural Development Council, a levy-funded statutory body.
The goal of the BBSRC is to support science of international quality that is relevant to the council's mission and to the needs of its users and beneficiaries. Funding is allocated to universities and research institutes by a number of mechanisms, mainly through open competition. The agriculture industry, including the horticulture sector, is one of the main beneficiaries of the council's research.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) funds strategic research in support of its published aims and objectives. Individual horticultural research projects are commissioned by 60WA Defra from a number of research providers. A proportion of the available funding is allocated to open competitions in which research proposals are invited from universities, research institutes and other providers.
§ Earl Howeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any research programmes currently being carried out at Horticulture Research International are to be terminated next year; and, if so, why. [HL190]
§ Lord WhittyThe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Horticulture and Potatoes Programme consists of fixed-term projects with specified deliverables which are either commissioned individually from research contractors or chosen from among proposals put forward in response to open competitions. A number of such projects will terminate next year in the usual way. The programmes of work identified by Horticulture Research International (HRI) in its annual reports are not directly commissioned by Defra, but encompass work commissioned from a number of customers. The organisation of these programmes is a matter for the management of HRI.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) currently funds HRI on a similar basis to its own sponsored institutes, mainly through a four-year core strategic grant (CSG) that started in April 2002, and will be reviewed in 2005 prior to its potential renewal. The particular programmes of research supported from the CSG and their start and end dates are determined largely by HRI's chief executive, subject to the general direction of BBSRC based on scientific advice obtained in its four-yearly institute assessment exercise. In addition, HRI is able to apply to the council, in competition with other institutions and up to a defined limit, for supplementary grants for specific fixed-term (usually year) projects. There is ongoing turnover of such projects, some of which will come to their scheduled end in 2003.
§ Earl Howeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What public money has been allocated to Horticulture Research International during the financial years 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 respectively; and what funds are due to be allocated in 2003–04. [HL191]
§ Lord WhittyA summary of total public funds provided to Horticulture Research International during the financial years 1997–98 to 2001–02 and an estimated outturn for the years 2002–03 and 2003–04 are set out in the table below.
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PUBLIC FUNDS1 ALLOCATED TO HORTICULTURE RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL DURING THE PERIOD 1997–2004 Year R&D payments2 CMP3 Grants for restructuring and pensions by Defra Capital & other payments by Defra Total (£m) 1997–98 17.1 — — 1.7 18.8 1998–99 17.0 — 5.9 0.4 23.3 1999–2000 16.2 — — 0.4 16.6 2000–01 15.6 0.3 4.2 1.0 21.1 2001–02 15.5 1.5 1.6 0.2 18.8 2002–03 15.2 3.0 0.1 1.1 19.4 2003–04 13.7 — 0.1 0.2 14.0 1 Public funds means income from Defra, other government departments, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the EU. 2 Figures provided on an accruals basis as shown in HRI's accounts. 3 Treasury's Capital Modernisation Fund.