§ Mr. IngramTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total number of companies with research and development operations in each United Kingdom region. [19356]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorInformation is not available centrally in the form requested. The head offices of the 5,135 companies with research and development operation in the UK identified by the Office for National StatisticsONS in 1995 annual research and development business survey were distributed across the regions as follows:
Region Number of companies North-East 188 North-West 459 Merseyside 60 Yorkshire and Humberside 406 East Midlands 394 West Midlands 572 South-West 397 Eastern 554 London 451 South East 958 Wales 230 Scotland 286 Northern Ireland 180 Total UK 5,135 For some firms, the research and development operation may be conducted in one or more regions other than that containing the headquarters. The ONS therefore asks companies to provide regional apportionments of research and development expenditure and employment, and the 1995 figures for these are given in table 17 of "Research and Development in UK Business: Business Monitor MA14 1995" (HMSO, 27 January 1997), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.