§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the figures for United Kingdom Government support for civil research and development in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986; how this compares with Government support for civil research and development in other European Economic Community countries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ButcherThe available information relates to central Government expenditure on research and development for civil objectives and is given in the table below. It is shown at current prices and exchange rates using purchasing power parities which gives more meaningful comparisons than market exchange rates.
34W
Central Government expenditure on R & D for civil objectives £ million 1983 1984 1985 1986 United Kingdom 2,011 2,093 12,203 12,259 Belgium 342 359 n/a n/a Denmark 165 186 1197 1211 France 3,171 3,435 13,604 n/a Germany 3,994 4,136 14,217 n/a Greece 58 72 189 n/a Republic of Ireland 52 53 155 n/a Italy 1,801 2,031 11,923 n/a Netherlands 823 814 864 1914 Spain 376 430 441 n/a 1 provisional estimate. n/a not yet available. Sources:
Original expenditure data — OECD, recent results September 1986.
Exchange rates — 1983 and 1984, OECD purchasing power parities.
—1985 and 1986, CSo purchasing power parities
R & D is defined as in OECD 'Frascati' manual.