Research Expenditure (Hansard, 28 February 1969)

§ Dr. Bray

Final figures for the current financial year are not yet available. The Ministry, however, expects to spend some £2.6 million on research, development and trials in the machine tool field during the current financial year. Of this sum, £1.5 million represents part of the £6 million expenditure authorised under the Pre-production Order Schemes for advanced machine tools. In addition to this, the Science Research Council expects to make grants of some £110,000 for relevant academic research and universities also support work in this field out of general grants, but this cannot be costed.

The principal Government and other research establishments at which machine tool research and development is being carried out are, with assessed 1968–69 costs:—

	£
The National Enginering Laboratory	530,000
The Institute of Advanced Machine Tool Control and Technology	70,000
The Production Engineering Research Association	170,000^*
The Machine Tool Industry Research Association	90,000^*
The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment	35,000
^* Covers Ministry grants for the Associations' general programme and specific contracts.

The balance of Ministry research development and trial expenditure (£205,000) is for projects being undertaken in universities and industry and for work on a small scale at other Ministry Establishments and Research Associations. Expected expenditure during the current year does not, of course, represent the full cost of projects which, for the most part, extend over a number of years.

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The Ministry will also spend some £210,000 in support of the Numerical Control Advisory and Demonstration Service at the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Production Engineering Research Association.