§ Lord Lyellasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have for the future status of the Natural Resources Institute.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)The Government have decided that a study of options for the future ownership of the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) should be carried out. Consultants will provide advice to Ministers on a range of possibilities for transferring NRI to the private sector. These will be considered against the option of retaining NRI within the public sector.
This work will be undertaken against the background of Government policy explained in the 1993 Next Steps Review (Cm 2430). The results of the study will be taken into account in the wider scrutiny of public sector research establishments which is being undertaken by the Office of Public Service and Science (OPSS).