§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to decide on the United Kingdom's future contribution to CERN; what estimates he has made as to how much it will be; what will be the cost for the other countries involved; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robert G. HughesThe United Kingdom's contribution to CERN is fixed by an agreed formula based on member states' GNP. The United Kingdom contribution for the 1994 is about £60.5 million. The contributions of all member states for 1994 are shown in the following table. The budgetary process for 1995 is underway and in the current CERN draft budget the United Kingdom's contribution is estimated to be of the order of £64 million.
Membership of CERN remains a high priority for the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, which pays the United Kingdom's contribution. The full programme of work at CERN complements domestic particle physics research in the United Kingdom.