§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many(a) research clubs and (b) research club members there have been in each of the past five years; what has been the extent of Government support to research clubs; and how many (a) clubs and (b) members there are in each standard region.
§ Mr. ForthThe information is not available in the form requested.
My Department supports a wide variety of research clubs. Some of these are managed by DTI's own research establishments. Currently 44 clubs, with 1,981 members, are associated with DTI research establishments. Of these 15 are run by the national engineering laboratory in Scotland and 29 by laboratories in the south-east region. The members are firms and research organisations from all parts of the United Kingdom and some from overseas.
Last year my Department published an evaluation report covering 104 clubs current in October 1987 which at that time had 2,430 members (including multiple memberships). The report is available from my Department's library. I will send the hon. Member a copy.