§ Mr. Cadburyasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) how much his Department spent on industrial research and development both directly in its own research laboratories and indirectly in supporting research projects in external organisations in 1977–78 and in 1980–81;
(2) how much the French and West German Departments of Industry spent on industrial research and development both directly in their own research laboratories and indirectly in supporting research projects in external organisations in 1977–78 and in 1980–81.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallIn 1977–78 the Department of Industry's gross expenditure on industrial research and development was £125.1 million. £44.5 million was spent in the Department's own laboratories and £80.6 million was spent with external contractors. The provisional estimates for 1980–81 are £196 million, for the total expenditure, £51 million for expenditure in the Department's laboratories and £145 million with outside contractors. The most nearly comparable Departments in France and West Germany are the Ministry of Industry in France and the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology in West Germany. Their responsibilities are wider than those of the United Kingdom Department of Industry so that comparisons are invalid.
Expenditure on industrial research and development by the French Ministry of Industry was about £500 million in 1978. The West German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology spent about £1,300 million on this topic in 1979.
Information is not available for expenditure in West Germany in 1977–78, for France or West Germany for 1980–81, nor for the breakdown between intra-mural and extra-mural expenditure in these countries for either year.