§ Mrs. Anne CampbellTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the current expenditure for each of the research councils on past redundancies.
Mr. Robert G. HughesIn the financial year 1993–94 the research councils then in existence incurred the following costs associated with redundancies (including early retirements and restructuring):
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£ million Agricultural and Food Research Council 5.76 Economic and Social Research Council 0.02
£ million Medical Research Council 4.00 Natural Environment Research Council 2.60 Science and Engineering Research Council 2.30 Total £14.68 These figures include both payments in respect of departures in 1993–94 and ongoing payments in respect of earlier departures.
On 1 April 1994 the research council system was reorganised. The Agricultural and Food Research Council and the Science and Engineering Research Council ceased to exist and three new research councils came into being—the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. The total expenditure by the research councils in 1994–95 on redundancies, as defined herein is currently estimated at around £16 million.