§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards encouraging the growth of the biotechnology industry in Scotland; and if he will consider designating certain areas as centres of growth in this field.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe Government's policy on biotechnology is set out in the White paper that was published in March of last year, Cmnd. 8177. The industrial potential of biotechnology for Scotland is being investigated in a detailed study being undertaken, at my request, by the Scottish Development Agency. The first part of the study is now complete and the agency will be going on to investigate a number of industrial projects built upon research work done in the Scottish universities.