§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to her answer of 27 January 1998,Official Report, column 162, on research and development, what research her Department is assisting in Lancashire; and if she will list the assisted projects in Chorley. [28453]
§ Mr. BattleWe are assisting several projects in Lancashire through SPUR (Support for products under research) and SMART—feasibility projects for companies with up to 50 employees. SPUR ended in April 1997 and became incorporated in the new SMART scheme. Grants for the last year are listed. No projects have been funded in the constituency of Chorley.
The Office of Science and Technology also provides funding through its LINK programme. Support is also provided for basic and strategic research undertaken in Higher Education Institutes. Information on expenditure by County is not held centrally.
under Article 1(a) of the UK/Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement (INFCIRC/263) of October 1978. Although the plutonium guidelines themselves do not deal with safeguards, in its Note Verbal associated with the guidelines, the United Kingdom reaffirms it commitment to submit to safeguards by the IAEA on a voluntary basis under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA and Euratom, or by the Commission of the European Community under the Euratom Treaty, all plutonium in peaceful nuclear activities, including any plutonium transferred from military activities to peaceful nuclear activities.