§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a breakdown detailing the value of grants made to higher education establishments for the purchase of new research equipment in the current financial year, individually and in total; what funds have already been earmarked(a) in total and (b) by project where already allocated for the next three financial years; and what percentage will be under the control of the Scottish Parliament. [65798]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 18 January 1999]: The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) makes research grants to institutions to support a basic research capability in Scottish higher education institutions. These grants enable institutions to maintain and develop their research infrastructure. All SHEFC funding will come under the control of the Scottish Parliament.
The total value of SHEFC research grants in 1998–99 is £118.2 million. Most of this will be allocated to individual institutions selectively on the basis of the quality of research in institutions, as determined by the findings of the UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise. The allocation of this formula research grant (including an element for equipment) to each individual institution is set out in the table.
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For 1998–99 RAE-based University of Aberdeen 8,462,434 University of Abertay Dundee 306,746 University of Dundee 9,959,103 Edinburgh College of Art 500,649 University of Edinburgh 33,489,881 Glasgow Caledonian University 937,913 Glasgow School of Art 330,912 University of Glasgow 21,255,359 Heriot-Watt University 4,975,575 Moray House Institute of Education 516,478
For 1998–99 RAE-based Napier University 808,208 Northern College of Education 0 University of Paisley 238,220 Queen Margaret College 439,136 Robert Gordon University 931,987 Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 0 St. Andrew's College of Education 0 University of St. Andrews 7,175,199 Scottish College of Textiles 101,416 University of Stirling 4,453,386 University of Strathclyde 13,622,399 Total 108,505,001 Note:
This includes higher education institutions which have now merged
The SHEFC research allocations include a contribution to the UK-wide Joint Research Equipment Initiative, conducted jointly by the Higher Education Funding Councils and the Research Councils. The Council allocated £2.85 million to higher education institutions under this scheme in 1998–99 with joint funders providing a further £3.68 million. (Investments by the Research Councils and joint funders allocated a further £2 million to Scottish higher education institutions in 1998–99 under the JREI.) The Council allocations to higher education institutions are detailed in the table.
For 1998–99 JREI University of Aberdeen 641,000 University of Abertay Dundee 36,000 University of Dundee 81,000 Edinburgh College of Art 0 University of Edinburgh 375,000 Glasgow Caledonian University 0 Glasgow School of Art 0 University of Glasgow 0 Heriot-Watt University 0 Moray House Institute of Education 0 Napier University 0 Northern College of Education 0 University of Paisley 155,000 Queen Margaret College 0 Robert Gordon University 0 Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 0 St. Andrew's College of Education 0 University of St. Andrews 947,000 Scottish College of Textiles 0 University of Stirling 0 University of Strathclyde 615,000 Total 2,850,000 The total sums earmarked for SHEFC funding for the next three years are £588 million, £607 million and £640 million. The Council is currently working on final allocations for 1999–2000, including the split between teaching and research, and will publish details in March. However, included within that total is a new £23 million (£3/5/15 million) component which has been specifically earmarked to improve infrastructure in areas of research excellence aligned to the needs of the Scottish economy.
The only other major public investment in new research equipment is the Joint Infrastructure Fund, which will invest £600 million over the next two years. This collaborative UK-wide competition is being funded 138W jointly by the UK Research Councils and the Wellcome Trust. The UK Research Councils are reserved under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1999.