§ Mr. Warrenasked the Secretary of State for Transport which laboratories within his Department have had their research budgets reduced in the current financial year; what is the financial value of the reduction; what is this figure expressed as a percentage of the total work carried out in the laboratory; and which of his laboratories are being considered for privatisation.
§ Mr. RidleyMy Department has only one research laboratory, the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) at Crowthorne. Provision for TRRL has not been reduced in the current year. I am keeping the scope for increasing private sector participation in transport and road research under continuing review, but I have no plans to privatise the laboratory.