HC Deb 19 July 1988 vol 137 cc533-5W
Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will publish the amount of private sector non-defence research and development divided into terms of the major categories of energy, agriculture, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine, and so on.

Mr. Butcher

I regret that the information is not available.

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will estimate the amount of research and development funding allocated over the last four years to international research and development projects and organisations; whether he will list what projects and organisations received these funds; and what proportion of these funds is allocated to defence projects.

Mr. Butcher

The only available information relates to budgeted estimates of Government expenditure on research and development (R and D) for international projects where there is a formal agreement between Governments on joint financing. The information is published annually in the section on "The International context for R and D in the United Kingdom" in "The Annual Review of Government Funded R and D," a copy of which is in the Library. It is given in the table.

Membership
European Community (EC) France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) As EC except Ireland; plus United States of America, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Turkey
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, German Democratic Republic, Germany (Federal Republic of), Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR, United Kingdom, United States of America, Yugoslavia
European Science Foundation (ESF) As EC except Luxembourg; plus Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia
Council of Europe As EC plus Austria, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will estimate what proportion of non-defence research and development is spent on(a) pure research and (b) applied research.

Mr. Butcher

The available information relates to Government funded research and development (R and D) for civil purposes. It is published in the section on "Government funded R and D expenditure" in the "Annual Review of Government funded R and D", a copy

Budgeted estimates of United Kingdom Government contribution to international projects
£ million
Total Defence projects As a percentage of total
1986 281.1 20.6 7
1985 408.4 175.3 43
1984 367.4 156.7 43
1983 320.6 184.5 58

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will list what research and development co-operation is known by Her Majesty's Government to take place between the United Kingdom and(a) Greece, (b) Portugal, (c) Spain and (d) Turkey.

Mr. Butcher

The Government encourage United Kingdom industry and other organisations to collaborate where appropriate in research and development with their counterparts in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Because such collaboration ranges from participation in, for example, the NATO science programme and EUREKA and EC R and D projects to informal contacts, the information required to compile a complete list is not readily available and could only be assembled at disproportionate time and cost.

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what Government programmes are specifically intended to stimulate co-operation in research and development internationally and with respect to other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nations; and whether he will list the nations concerned.

Mr. Butcher

Government programmes in research and development are intended to achieve scientific and technological objectives and co-operation with partner nations often provides an effective means to achieve those objectives. A very large number of Government research programmes include elements of international cooperation, ranging from formal agreements to ad hoc arrangements between scientific groups. Any listing would be very extensive but, even so, probably incomplete.

The United Kingdom is a member of the following major international organisations which undertake collaborative research and development programmes:

of which is in the Library. For 1986–87 basic research was 36 per cent. and applied research was 53 per cent. of total Government funded civil R and D.

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will publish the amount of Government funded non-defence research and development divided into amounts allocated to the following major sectors of the community: energy, agriculture, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine, and any other categories.

Mr. Butcher

The available information relates to Government funded research and development by socio-economic objectives. It is published annually in the section on "The international content for R and D in the United Kingdom" in "The Annual Review of Government Funded R and D", a copy of which is in the Library. It is given in the table below:

Government funding of R and D in 1986 by socio economic objective
£ million
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 198
Industrial development 444
Energy 188
Transport and Communications 16
Urban and rural planning 50
Environmental planning 49
Health 190
Social development and services 62
Earth and atmosphere 80
Advancement of knowledge 917
Civil space 124

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total spent on research and development, for the last four years; and what proportion this was of the gross national product.

Mr. Butcher

The available information is given in the following table. Data are not available for 1982 and 1984 as there were no surveys of industrial research and development for those years.

Total expenditure on R and D £ billion Total as a percentage of gross domestic product
1986 9.0 2.4
1985 8.1 2.3
1983 6.8 2.3
1981 6.1 2.4

Sir Peter Emery

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, of the total of research and development funding estimated to be spent over the last four years, what proportion is provided by Her Majesty's Government, what proportion by industry, what proportion by educational establishments, and what proportion by charities.

Mr. Butcher

Over the latest years 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1986 for which the information is available the Government funded 44.9 per cent. of total expenditure on research and development performed in the United Kingdom, industry 45.0 per cent., higher education 0.7 per cent. and non-profit making bodies 1.9 per cent. The balance of 7.5 per cent. was funded from overseas.

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