§ Mr. DoddsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the level of central Government funding for university research was for the current year in Wales, per head of population. [86465]
§ Mr. TouhigFunding for university research in Wales is delivered largely by research councils and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).
205WResearch councils are sponsored by the Office of Science and Technology (OST) on a UK-wide basis. Figures are not yet available for the academic year 2002–03. The latest available figures are for 2000–01 when the total amount provided by the research councils to Welsh higher education institutes was £23,007,000.
HEFCW's budget is provided by the National Assembly for Wales out of the Welsh block voted by Parliament, but it is a matter for the National Assembly how much funding it allocates to HEFCW. HEFCW contributed £54.6 million in 2000–01 towards university research.
Using the latest population estimates for Wales provided by the Office for National Statistics of around 2,903,200 people, Central Government funding can be estimated at approximately £93 per head of population for 2000–01. If both central Government (research councils) and HEFCW funding are taken into account, this rises to £26.76.
In addition, Government Departments fund individual research projects. However, a total figure is not available.