§ Mr. Macfarlaneasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what Science Research Council projects will have to be dropped as a result of the reductions in budget; and what will now happen to the Science Research Council's two accelerators not scheduled to close until the 1980s.
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§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsAs a result of the increases in the science budget for 1978–79 which have recently been announced, the Science Research Council's allocation will be larger in real terms than in 1977–78. In view of alternative facilities available through international collaboration, the Council's particle physics accelerator at Daresbury has now been closed, the accelerator at Rutherford Laboratory will be closed soon and converted to a pulsed neutron source, the Skylark rocket programme is being phased out and no further national satellite is expected after UK 6. All this has been done to make funds available for the development of research in other important spheres, particularly engineering.