§ Mr. Neubertasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has of the number of persons officially engaged on the study of oil pollution; what is the annual cost of such research; and whether he is satisfied that this is sufficient, in view of the extensive developments under way in the North Sea and elsewhere.
§ Mr. Denis HowellI have been asked to reply.
Research into oil pollution by or on behalf of Government is conducted by a number of laboratories of which those most involved are the Warren Spring Laboratory of the Department of Industry, the fisheries laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, and the National Environment Research Council.
It is not possible to provide exact figures for this resarch because projects are constantly changing and many of those involved devote only part of their time to work on oil pollution. However, for the laboratories referred to, it is estimated that the equivalent of some 40 full-time staff and about £450,000 are involved.