§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much his Department spent in 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86 on research and monitoring designed to extend Her Majesty's Government's scientific understanding of the North sea.
§ Mr. GummerIt is not possible precisely to allocate a proportion of my Department's research and monitoring effort to the North sea because many relevant projects would also apply to wider areas. It is estimated, however, that the cost to the Ministry for such work in the years in question was:
£ million 1978–79 2.5 1979–80 2.8 1980–81 3.7 1981–82 3.9 1982–83 4.2 1983–84 4.7 1984–85 4.6 1985–86 5.0