§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what funds he has provided for marine science research vessels and instrumentation.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsFunds allocated by the Natural Environment Research Council for the current year in respect of marine science research vessels, their support, and instrumentation, total approximately £1,536,000.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent the availability of scientists rather than finance is the limiting factor in the development of the British marine science programme.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe growth of the marine science programme has been as fast as is consistent with thorough planning, but the Natural Environment Research Council has noted some difficulty in recruiting high class physicists and mathematicians, and a greater difficulty in recruiting supporting technicians.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to expand the work on marine science being undertaken by the Natural Environment Research Council; and in what ways this is increasingly orientated towards economic objectives.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsBy providing the Natural Environment Research Council with additional funds. The Council's allocation of funds for marine research from 1967 is as follows:
1967–68 £1,930,000 1968–69 £2,410,000 1969–70 £3,230,000 Examples of increased economic orientation are the geological survey of the United Kingdom continental shelf with a view to locating areas of potential minerals significance; research on tides, waves, and sea-bed sediments that bear on the efficiency and safety of shipping; 271W and research on biological processes affecting the productivity of fisheries, both natural and cultivated.