§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of the Central Science Laboratory. [8649]
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Government have decided that, for the present, the Central Science Laboratory should remain as executive agency of MAFF. This will allow the CSL to consolidate its business following relocation to the new laboratory at Sand Hutton and to build on the links already established with the university of York and York bioscience initiative.
CSL's food science laboratory is to remain at Norwich and will continue to develop its collaboration with other institutes on the Norwich research park and with the university of East Anglia.
We must ensure that maximum value is obtained from the excellent new facilities at Sand Hutton. We will therefore be appointing specialists from the commercial sector to advise us on how best to achieve a secure future for CSL.