§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland's contracts with the University of Aberdeen, and with the Marine Resources Assessment Group of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, covering research projects being carried out on seals and their interaction with commercial fisheries.
§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Glenarthur)It is not government practice to place in the Library of the House copies of contracts, as these are regarded as commercially confidential.
§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the Natural Environment Research Council's special committee on seals has not been allowed to review the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland's research programme on seals and fisheries while it is in progress; and whether they will confirm that this is the first publicly-funded research programme on seals which has not while in progress been subject to a review by the Natural Research Council's Committee in recent years.
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§ Lord GlenarthurDetails of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland's research programme on seals to which I referred in my earlier reply on 26th February 1987 were given last year to the Natural Environment Research Council's special committee on seals, set up in March 1986. That committee's terms of reference provide for review of the direction and progress of research on seals by the Sea Mammal Research Unit only and consideration of its relationships with other national and international studies. In this latter context the committee earlier this month invited DAFS to continue to provide brief details of relevant research supported by the department, and these will be provided.