§ Sir Trevor Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to how many of the leading industrial states have progressively increased expenditure on civil research over the past five years; and what is the comparative position of the United Kingdom expressed in real terms.
§ Mr. PattieI have been asked to reply.
The available information from international sources relates to gross expenditure, civil and defence, on research and development and is given in the table below.
Gross R and D expenditure at 1983 purchasing power parties ($ billion) Percentage increase in gross R and D expenditure in real terms 1979 to 1983 United States 88.3 18 Japan 33.5 44 Germany 18.1 10 France 13.1 17 United Kingdom 12.6 3 Italy 5.9 45 Canada 4.7 32 Source: OECD