§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when grants were first made to the Zoological Society of London in connection with scientific research; what has been the total grant paid to date; and what is the proposed grant for the current financial year.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Department of the Environment first provided funds specifically for the society's Institute of Zoology of £.1.3 million in 1988–89. Responsibility for public funding of the institute was transferred to my Department through the Universities Funding Council and the university of London in April 1989. The transfer was accompanied by an increase in public funding through the UFC in respect of the university of London of £1.3 million in the 1989–90 financial year and £1.4 million in the subsequent two financial years. The actual level of funding for the institute is strictly a matter for the university of London. In addition, the institute received grants from the research councils and the Royal Society of £0.5 million in 1989–90.