HC Deb 10 December 1993 vol 234 cc422-3W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many whole-time equivalent staff are currently employed at(a) the Warren Spring Laboratory, (b) the National Engineering Laboratory and (c) the National Physical Laboratory; how many were employed at each laboratory on 31 March 1992 and 31 March 1993; and how many he plans to employ on 31 March 1994.

Mr. Heseltine

The numbers for 31 March 1992 and 1993 and currently are:

31 March 1992 31 March 1993 Current
Warren Spring Laboratory 321.0 278.0 224.5
National Engineering Laboratory 388.5 363.5 338.0
National Physical Laboratory 807.5 770.0 748.0

Warren Spring Laboratory will be closing on 31 March to be replaced by the new National Environmental Technology Centre, to which a substantial number of its staff will be transferring.

I am currently considering future plans for the other laboratories.

Mr. Cousins

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many staff at Warren Spring he presently proposes to transfer to AEA Technology; and which sections, teams or project groups have been named for closure since 1 April.

Mr. McLoughlin

The House is aware that the National Environmental Technology Centre is being created in south Oxfordshire by the bringing together of Warren Spring Laboratory with the environmental technology services of the Atomic Energy Authority. This merger of the country's two major environmental research laboratories will form a single powerful centre of excellence in this field. The merger will take place on 1 April 1994. The turnover of the NETC will be about £20 million to £25 million, compared with £13.5 million at Warren Spring in 1992–93.

The merger will take place in most of the business centres of Warren Spring, accounting for 87 per cent. of the laboratory's work in 1992–93. All the scientific staff working in those business centres have been offered the opportunity to transfer. The numbers finally deciding to transfer from Warren Spring will depend on individual choice, but about 100 are expected to do so.

The business centres which the AEA has decided not to transfer, and which will therefore close on or before 1 April 1994, are:

  • Heavy Gas Dispersion,
  • Environmental Advisory Unit
  • Thermal Processing
  • Chemical Analysis—quality assurance, inorganic analysis, dispersant evaluation
  • Effluent treatment—mineral processing
  • Information systems
  • Ship Safety
  • Process Technology—solid/liquid separation

These account for 38 scientific staff. Support activities which will also close are:

  • Directorate and senior management team
  • Central services
  • Finance
  • Personnel
  • Technical services
  • Publications, photography and library.