§ Mr. Warrenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which laboratories within his Department, or within bodies for which he is responsible, 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 the laboratories for which he is responsible are being considered for privatisation.
§ Mr. Jopling[pursuant to his reply, 18 June 1985, c. 60]: The following reductions were made in the research budgets of my Department's laboratories as part of a reallocation of resources to make more funds available for research on food:
£'000 Agricultural science laboratories 250 Central veterinary laboratory 130 Fisheries laboratories 160 These sums represent in each case approximately 1 per cent. of the total cost of the laboratories. There are no proposals to privatise any of my Department's laboratories.