§ Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the expenditure incurred on civil and defence research and development, respectively, and in total by Her Majesty's Government during 1970; if she will indicate how this compared with previous years; what is the provisional estimate for the current year; and if she will tabulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amount incurred by each Ministry or spending agency indicating how it has been spent, and by whom, whether a university, association, institute or industry.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe estimate of Government expenditure net of appropriations in aid on research and development in 1970–71 was £350 million for civil and £230 million for defence. The corresponding provisional expenditures in 1969–70 were £350 million and £233 million. Detailed figures for these years are not available; those for 1968–69 were published in Economic Trends, November, 1970.
§ Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her latest assessment of the total annual expenditure by Government, and by industry and the private sector, on civil and defence research and development, respectively, and in total; and if she will express this as a percentage of the gross national product, indicating how this percentage and total compares with that of the previous five years and that incurred by major industrial countries, including the United States of America, Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France and Germany, from information available to her from international sources.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe information is as follows:
Central Government expenditure on scientific research and development net of appropriations in aid mounted to:
95W
1967–68 1968–69 £ million £ million Defence … … 241 236 Civil … … 275 309 Total … … 516 545 Work carried out in the United Kingdom in 1967–68 amounted to £962 million; sources of funds for this work were Central and Local Government £493 million, industry £405 million, other £64 million.
For the years for which research and development figures have been collected, the percentages of gross national product (at factor cost) which this expenditure represented were
1964–65 … … 2.59 per cent. 1966–67 … … 2.77 per cent. 1967–68 … … 2.73 per cent. International information is given in Table 2 of "The Overall Level and Structure of R. & D. Efforts" in O.E.C.D. Member Countries published by O.E.C.D. and Table 3 of "National Science Policies in Europe" published by U.N.E.S.C.O.
§ Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science of the funds allocated by the Ministries with responsibilities for financing research and development, how much each year is contract research; and of this how much is spent in the laboratories of independent research organisations, the laboratories of the private sector of industry and the public sector, respectively, and in total.
§ Mrs. ThatcherI regret that this information is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.