HC Deb 22 July 1988 vol 137 c869W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the annual budget of the safety directorate with the petroleum engineering division of his Department in each year from 1979 to date, detailing expenditure on safety engineering inspection and operations, pipelines inspectorate, diving inspectorate, research and development and the safety policy unit.

Mr. Peter Morrison

The safety directorate's staff costs are not separately identifiable. The directorate's budget for reseach and development on offshore safety in 1988–89 is some £6.6 million. Expenditure in previous years is as follows:

July 1988 March 1987 October 1985 March 1982 July 1981 June 1980
Operations and Safety 22 23 16 20 19 14
Pipelines inspectorate 9 8 7 7 7 6
Diving inspectorate 6 5 4 5 5 5
Research and Development 7 5 5 4 5 3

The safety policy unit is staffed by three administrative staff. Figures are available only for the dates shown.