§ 14. Mr. Willeyasked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, whether he will make a statement on the merger of the British Cotton Industry Research Association and the British Rayon Research Association.
§ Sir D. Eccles:The two research associations announced last May their intentions to merge into one association, to be called the Cotton, Silk, and Man-Made Fibres Research Association, for the purpose of using more efficiently their scientific and financial resources. It is proposed that the merger will be effective from 1st April this year, and that annual expenditure will rise from about £490,000 to about £580,000 over the next five years. The main source of industrial income will be sought from processers of co'tton and man-made fibres by statutory levy under the Industrial Organisation and Development Act, 1947, together with support from producers of man-made fibres. An application has been made to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research for a grant to replace the existing grants to the separate Associations.
The membership of the new Association will be that of the present organisations and its primary responsibility will be to the processers and converters of cotton, silk and man-made fibres. The new Research Association will occupy the present site of the British Cotton Industry Research Association (The Shirley Institute) at Didsbury, Manchester, where the laboratories will be extended to provide for additional staff. The British Rayon Research Association 95W laboratories at Heald Green, Manchester will be sold, and the assets transferred to the new organisation. The research staff of the new Association will be drawn from the existing Associations with adequate provisions for redundancy including retirement pensions, compensation, and placing staff in other employment.