§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his policy towards the funding of academic-only work in relation to opto-electronics.
Mr. JacksonThe policy objectives for Department of Education and Science funding of civil science were set out in the Secretary of State's speech at the first plenary meeting of the Academia Europaea in London on 26 June 1989. Copies are available in the Library.
The Government support scientific research through the science budget which funds the research councils and through the Universities Funding Council block grant to universities. Some research is also carried out by polytechnics funded through the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council. It is for the research councils and higher education institutions to determine the priority they accord to opto-electronics or any other scientific field, taking due account of the policy objectives referred to above.