§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether operational budgets and targets have been agreed for(a) AEA Technology, (b) the national environmental technology centre, (c) the national physical laboratory, (d) the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and (e) the national engineering laboratory for 1994–95; and how those budgets and targets have changed from those for 1993–94.
§ Mr. HeseltineAEA Technology and the national environmental technology centre are part of the United346W Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority: they are not set separate budgets and targets by my Department. The UKAEA has been set a negative external financing limit of £8.8 million for 1994–95. Other financial targets have yet to be set. In 1993–94, the UKAEA was set a negative external financing limit of £2.1 million; it was also set a 12.1 per cent. average annual return on net assets employed. Its internal budgets are commercially sensitive and are not published.
In the light of the restructuring of the national physical laboratory, the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and the national engineering laboratory to match the downturn in forecast work load, the laboratories' budgets and targets for 1994–95 are still being finalised. A comparison with the budgets and targets that were set for 1993–94 cannot therefore be provided.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he proposes to implement his consultants' recommendation that an overall steering committee and project manager should be appointed for the DTI laboratories.
§ Mr. HeseltineYes.