HC Deb 20 October 1988 vol 138 cc998-1000W
13. Mr. Haynes

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will summarise the results of his Department's review of funding for agricultural research and development.

19. Mr. Darling

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will summarise the results of his Department's review of funding for agricultural research and development.

Mr. MacGregor

The Barnes review of the agriculture departments' R and D programmes is part of a wider review of priorities for all Government-funded R and D against our belief that industry should bear the responsibility for funding work which is close to commercial application and thus of direct benetit to it. Consultations are proceeding on the funding of near market R and D with all sectors of industry involved. My noble Friend has asked for considered responses from each sector by the end of this month. Further discussions will then take place.

22. Mr. Buckley

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current annual financial commitment by the agriculture industry to agricultural research and development.

63. Mr. Allen McKay

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current annual financial commitment by the agriculture industry to agricultural research and development.

Mr. MacGregor

The agricultural and horticultural industries fund about £20 million of R and D annually, about half of which is raised directly from producers through levies and similar arrangements and the remainder through contributions or contracts from producer organisations. The industries supplying agriculture also undertake substantial investment in R and D, estimated to be in the order of £200 million a year.

28. Mr. Maxton

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by how much he expects the financial commitment of the industry towards agricultural research and development to rise over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

59. Mr. Home Robertson

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by how much he expects the financial commitment of the industry towards agricultural research and development to rise over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson

I cannot yet say. We have asked industry to provide considered first responses by the end of October to our proposals for withdrawal of Government funding for near market R and D.

31. Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for modifying research and development programmes in agriculture and fisheries; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Donald Thompson

Advice from the Priorities Board for R and D in agriculture and food, together with the regular review cycle of all the agriculture and fisheries research programmes, provides a strategic view of the national research needs of these industries. In addition, we have recently undertaken an internal review of expenditure by the agricultural departments on R and D to identify near market work. It remains our policy that the Government should be responsible for funding basic and strategic research as well as work in support of policy and statute; but we believe that near market work which offers the prospect of commercial application within a short enough time scale to justify investment by industry should be funded by industry. Detailed information about our near market programmes has been made available to industry and meetings have been held with the sectors concerned but final decisions have not yet been taken.

38. Mr. Doran

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest estimated total level of spending by his Department on agricultural research and development in 1988–89.

Mr. Donald Thompson

The latest available estimate of spending by my Department on agricultural research and development in 1988–89 is £87.3 million on a full economic cost basis out of an estimated total Government spend on R and D on agriculture, fisheries and food for 1988–89 somewhat in excess of £225 million. Further information on R and D funded by my Department is given in the "Annual Review of Government Funded R and D 1988".

42. Mr. Boyes

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average total amount of public spending on agricultural research and development in each of the last five years.

Mr. Donald Thompson

Public spending on agricultural research and development in the last five years, on a full economic cost basis, was as follows:

£ million
1983–84 166.1
1984–85 170.0
1985–86 165.0
1986–87 165.7
11987–88 162.3
Average 165.8

1 Provisional

Details of spending by each Department and by the research councils are published in the "Annual Review of Government Funded R and D."