§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the funding of the North sea project.
§ Mr. Colin MoynihanThe Government fund substantial programmes of research and monitoring by Government Departments and the research councils related to the North sea. The total level of such funding is of the order of £7 million annually, although because some of this work has relevance to the marine environment generally, it is difficult to give a precise figure for the North sea.
The recent second international conference on the protection of the North sea endorsed the need for the development of national and international programmes to enhance our understanding of possible threats to the North sea and to improve our ability to manage this unique resource. The conference also endorsed the need for a task force to carry forward this work, and the United Kingdom offered to host its first meeting early in 1988.
It is intended that the bulk of the United Kingdom's contribution to the scientific effort of the task force will be drawn from existing national programmes, including the NERC's North sea project. Some additional funding for the task force will, however, be necessary. My Department will shortly be bringing interested parties together to consider the setting-up of the task force.