§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what benefits accrue to the United Kingdom from resources committed to the European Commission's Environment Institute in Ispra.
§ Mr. YeoThe nature of the work undertaken within the various component institutes of the Commission's joint research centre, including the Environment Institute, is such that the resultant benefits are designed to accrue broadly to the European Community as a whole. As a280W consequence, the benefits that flow from Community resources committed to these activities are shared by all 12 member states, including the United Kingdom. The specific benefits of the JRC institutes' activities accruing to any one member state are, however, not easy to isolate and are not routinely assessed.