HC Deb 24 January 1991 vol 184 cc284-5W
Mr. Gill

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the distribution of the science budget for 1991–92.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

I have considered the recommendations of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils on the distribution of the science budget, and have decided to accept the board's advice that the £920.8 million for 1991–92 should, subject to approval by Parliament of the estimates in due course, be allocated as follows:

Allocations for 1991–92 £ million
Agricultural and Food Research Council 93.47
Economic and Social Research Council 35.51
Medical Research Council 200.42
Natural Environment Research Council 122.56
Science and Engineering Research Council 451.30
The Royal Society 15.74
The Fellowship of Engineering 1.39
ABRC (Secretariat and Science Policy Studies) 0.36
Centre for Exploitation of Science and Technology 0.08
TOTAL 920.83

I have also accepted the board's recommendation that for planning purposes the following indicative allocations should be adopted for the years 1992–93 and 1993–94:

Planned figures for 1992–93 and 1993–94
£ million
1992–93 1993–94
Agricultural and Food Research Council 90.53 91.58
Economic and Social Research Council 37.24 37.71
Medical Research Council 206.35 208.80
Natural Environment Research Council 119.99 121.28
Science and Engineering Research Council 462.96 469.16
The Royal Society 15.77 15.97
The Fellowship of Engineering 1.44 1.46
Unallocated1 88.94 160.40
1 Including £50 million (1992–93) and £100 million (1993–94) consequent on new arrangements for funding of scientific work in higher education institutions.

In making these allocations I have accepted the board's advice that additional provision of £4.1 million, £6 million and £6 million in each of the three years 1991–92 to 1993–94 should be made available to the Medical Research Council for the restructuring of clinical research through its clinical research initiative.

The indicative planning figures above contain an unallocated £39 million in 1992–93 and £60 million in 1993–94 on which I expect to receive further advice from the ABRC in the spring. The allocations to funded bodies also exclude the increases in the science budget of £50 million in 1992–93 and £100 million in 1993–94 to take account of the new arrangements for funding scientific research in higher education announced on 8 November, Official Report, columns 27–28.