§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the 1991–92 annual budget for the Patent Office; and what is the percentage allocated to staff costs.
§ Mr. LeighThe Patent Office budget for 1991–92 was published on 12 March 1991 and the gross total is £47.085 million. Of this sum the proportion allocated to staff costs, defined as salary, ERNIC, superannuation and overtime costs for both permanent and casual staff, is around 55 per cent. The Patent Office has, since 1 April 1991, been funded on a net running cost basis and the final expenditure outturn will thus depend on income generated during the year; this in turn may slightly affect the proportion of total expenditure accounted for by staff costs.