§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what proportion of his Department's total budget is 633W planned to be spent on research into alternative energy sources over the next five years; and how this compares with the figure for the past five years;
(2) what proportion of his Department's total budget is planned to be spent on the development of nuclear power over the next five years; and how this compares with the figure for the past five years.
£ million 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 Renewables 8.2 11.2 17.3 14.2 11.3 Nuclear R&D 146 188 205 216 206 These represented the following percentages of the Department's voted expenditure.
1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 Renewables 4 4 5 3 2 Nuclear R&D 75 66 60 56 44 The current forecasts for expenditure on these forms of energy over the period 1984–85 to 1986–87 are as follows:
£ million 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Renewables 14 14.4 14.7 Nuclear R&D 198 200 200 On the basis of the present estimate of total departmental voted expenditure for 1984–85, these figures represent respectively 0.9 per cent. and 12.3 per cent. of the total. The major determinant of the total is support for the coal industry, which is presently estimated at £1,304 million or 80.3 per cent. of the total.
Useful proportionate figures for 1985–86 and 1986–87 cannot be given. The Government have not yet published expenditure plans for 1987–88 and 1988–89.