§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the total expenditure on research and development within the United Kingdom is financed by the Government; and what was the cost of this in 1977–78.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettIn 1975–6, the latest year for which information is available, about 52 per cent. of total expenditure on research and development, excluding the social sciences and humanities, was financed by the Government at a cost of about £1,100 million, according to the records of the sectors carrying out the work. The Government's own records indicate a higher figure, of about £1,250 million. This difference is a reflection of the difficulty of defining and measuring accurately expenditure on research and development.