§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans his Department has to transfer the MAFF-funded food research work programme to other scientific institutions in Norwich in the event of closure of the Norwich site of the Central Science Laboratory. [35963]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: There are no plans to transfer ongoing MAFF funded work to other research institutes in the event of closure of the Norwich laboratory. MAFF funding for food research is available via open competition; scientific institutions at Norwich may continue to bid for such funding in the usual way.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what detailed studies(a) his Department and (b) the Central Science Laboratory have made of options for setting the Sand Hutton Laboratory, York on a sound financial footing; and if he will publish them. [35961]
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§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: I have asked officials to undertake studies on measures to improve the financial footing of the Central Science Laboratory, and am considering their analyses with Ministerial colleagues.
Such studies necessarily include commercially sensitive information and therefore it would not be appropriate to publish them.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what redundancy costs his Department is assuming, and for how many staff, for(a) scientists and (b) non-scientists if the Central Science Laboratory site at Colney Lane, Norwich is closed; and by which body such costs would be born. [35956]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) would seek to retain as many staff as possible if a decision is taken to move the work of the Norwich laboratory to York. CSL would endeavour to avoid compulsory redundancies by seeking to re-deploy non-mobile staff.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the current and projected capital charges for the Central Science Laboratory at Sand Hutton, York, for each of the years 1996–97 to 2001–02, indicating which are payable by(a) his Department, (b) the Central Science Laboratory and (c) other public bodies. [35953]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: Capital charging is being introduced across the Government estate from 1 April 1998. Information is therefore only available from that date. The annual cost for Sand Hutton is anticipated to be £7.2 million until the year 2001–02. The Department will bear the full cost of the capital charge as the Agency forms part of the MAFF estate. However, the Central Science Laboratory must recover the full accommodation costs of both sites through charges to customers.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates his Department has made of(a) the number and (b) the total value of the contracts which would be lost by the Central Science Laboratory in the event of closure of the Norwich laboratory of the CSL. [35964]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: In relocating to York in 1996, the Central Science Laboratory closed three large sites and five smaller sites. Experience from this exercise indicates that there would be minimal long-term loss of work or customers as a result of relocating work from Norwich to York.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the possibility of moving other MAFF and MAFF Agency laboratories to the Central Science Laboratory at Sand Hutton, York. [35960]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: The Prior Options review of Government Research Establishments explored all avenues in relation to science programmes and the location of work. MAFF laboratory agencies were considered as part of this review.
There are no laboratories within the core Department.
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§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if(a) his Department and (b) the Central Science Laboratory have taken legal advice on the possible redundancy costs of closure of the Central Science Laboratory at Norwich.[35958]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food operate the rules laid down in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme for the administration of early retirement and redundancy. Legal advice would be sought, as appropriate, should it be decided to re-locate staff currently based at Norwich.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the capital cost of closing the Central Science Laboratory facility at Colney Lane, Norwich; and where this cost would be funded from. [35954]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: Closure of the Central Science Laboratory at Norwich would result in costs of £2.8 million being incurred. These costs would be borne by the Department.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates his Department has made of the revenue savings resulting from the closure of the Central Science Laboratory facility at Colney Lane, Norwich; and to which body such planned savings would accrue. [35952]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 24 March 1998]: Projected revenue savings of £1.5 million per annum would result from the closure of the Norwich site. These savings would accrue to the Department in terms of a reduction in running costs for the Central Science Laboratory.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 5 March 1998,Official Report, column 728, what reasons underlie the difference between the £133,832,000 cost to his Department of constructing the new Central Science Laboratory at Sand Hutton, York, and its assessed value at 31 March 1997.[35546]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 20 March 1998]: The estimate of value as at 31 March 1997 has been prepared for capital charging purposes, on the basis of ongoing operational use, in readiness for the move to resource accounting. The valuation was made on a depreciated replacement cost basis to reflect the building's specialist use, in accordance with HM Treasury's publication "Capital Charging for Property—Accounting Guidance". This requires that, in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' Appraisal and Valuation Manual, valuations are based on the estimate of the existing use value of the land and an estimate of the gross replacement cost of the buildings, from which deductions are made to allow for age, condition and functional obsolescence.
There are a number of reasons why a difference can be expected between the estimate of value based on the depreciated replacement cost basis and the realised building cost. The depreciated replacement cost approach assumes that the design is fixed at the beginning of the contract and is built without variation or delay, for example as a result of inclement weather, construction 188W difficulties or design changes in what is a sophisticated and complex building. This impacts on the building costs, the fees and the various overhead items incorporated in the valuation. In accordance with normal practice, VAT has been included with all the cost items but has been reduced in proportion to the extent to which the Central Science Laboratory is able to recover VAT in the services provided to clients. The property valuation also specifically excluded all equipment not of a fixed nature. Off site service provision including electricity, water and drainage is not included in the cost but was reflected indirectly in the land value.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 11 March 1998,Official Report, column 255, if he will make a statement on the distinction between fee earning and other scientists. [35545]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 20 March 1998]: The majority of Central Science Laboratory staff are fee-earning in that they work on funded scientific contracts. A number of other scientists are employed in management roles and support functions.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the projected non-scientific pay bill in the year 1997–98 at the Central Science Laboratory site at Sand Hutton, York. [35406]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 25 February 1998]: The projected non-scientific pay bill for the Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton in 1997–198 is £2.2 million.
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much income is projected to be received by the Central Science Laboratory in the 1997–98 financial year from research contracts based primarily at Colney Lane, Norwich from (i) his Department, (ii) other public sector agencies and (iii) private companies.[35405]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 20 March 1998]: Projected income for 1997–98 from research contracts primarily based at Colney Lane, Norwich is as follows:
£ million MAFF 5.0 Other public agencies 0.5 Private sector 0.9 Total 6.4
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons overheads per employee in the Central Science Laboratory average £7,248 at Colney Lane, Norwich, and £17,378 at Sand Hutton, York.[35402]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 20 March 1998]: The figures that my hon. Friend has quoted appear to have been based on the number of scientists at each of the Central Science Laboratory sites. Equivalent figures based on the total number of employees at each site would be £5,766 and £12,723.
The Sand Hutton site has a high proportion of specialist R&D facilities and this contributes to the higher cost per employee.
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