HC Deb 29 July 1997 vol 299 cc222-3W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much money in current prices the science budget received in each year since 1979. [11343]

Mr. Battle

Details of the science budget since 1979–80 are set out below.

£ million
1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98
Cash 814.4 902.0 935.6 1,056.4 1,163.1 1,220.5 1,295.1 1,319.1 1,330.4
1997–98 prices 1,104.9 1,133.1 1,104.7 1,197.2 1,280.9 1,324.1 1,367.5 1,355.4 1,330.4

1. Data are taken from appropriation accounts and supply estimates.

2. Expenditure has been repriced to 1997–98 prices using the GDP deflator.

3. Between 1992–93 and 1994–95 there was a phased transfer of funds from the higher education funding councils to the research councils amounting to £154 million in 1994–95, which was associated with the transfer of responsibility to research council project grants of any remaining direct costs except academic staff salaries and the cost of premises and central computing and an overhead contribution assessed at 40 per cent. of total direct staff costs.

4. Between 1988–89 and 1994–95 certain expenditure of the Agriculture and Food Research Council and its successor council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, totalling some £53 million was met from the receipts from the sale of the Plant Breeding Institute and the National Seed Development Organisation.