§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of his Department's 1994–95 transport research budget was devoted to transport by(a) rail and (b) road. [7559]
§ Mr. WattsMy Department commissions research in support of the Secretary of State's policy, statutory, operational, regulatory and procurement responsibilities. It is primarily for the rail industry to commission research particular to its needs. In 1994–95, British Rail's budget for research amounted to £18.4 million. Of my Department's total expenditure on research in 1994–95 of £38.7 million—reported in the 1995 forward look of Government-funded science, engineering and technology—under half of 1 per cent. is devoted specifically to rail transport issues. Some 88 per cent. is attributable to road transport.