§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any proposals to reverse the decline in the number of researchers employed by(a) the agricultural and food research council, (b) the natural environment research council and (c) other research councils; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. JacksonMy right hon. Friend has no plans to suggest to the councils how many researchers they should employ. The numbers of researchers employed by the agricultural and food research council, natural environment research council and the three other research councils are matters for the councils themselves to determine within the resources available to them.