§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been made available to higher education through the Joint Infrastructure Fund; what proportion of bids have been successful to date; and what estimate he has made of the overall cost of preparing bids on the part of the institutions involved. [130088]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 12 July 2000]: The Joint Infrastructure Fund (JIF) has made 109 awards worth just under £600 million to 39 universities. The final two rounds of awards, with a total value of £150 million, will be decided in November 2000 and March 2001.
So far, in Rounds 1 to 3 of JIF, the Wellcome Trust and the Research Councils have received around 550 applications totalling approximately £3.2 billion. The success rate is in the region of 20 per cent. by number of bids and amount bid for.
I have not made an estimate of the overall cost of preparing bids on the part of the institutions involved. This information can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.