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26 May 2004 : Column 1679W—continued

Regional Development Agencies

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which of the regional development agencies have established a science council; and what the annual budget for 2004–05 is of each. [174696]

Jacqui Smith: Regional Science Councils—or equivalent bodies—have been established in the North West, the North East, the South East and London. All of the RDAs have agreed to have a council in place by the end of 2004. Although subject to local variations, the Science Councils are generally tasked with exerting influence through the strategic direction of SET funding within their region, rather than holding specific budgets.

Research and Development

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the research and development spending per capita in each UK region in each of the last six years. [174695]

 
26 May 2004 : Column 1680W
 

Jacqui Smith: Spending on research and development is tracked regionally through a series of ONS surveys of private business, central Government and higher education establishments. Figures on research and development spending per capita in each UK region in each of the last six years is on the following table.
£s spent on research and development per head of resident population⁽⁶⁾

Region	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
North East	118	110	112	110	115	105
North West	218	218	224	266	267	281
Yorkshire and the Humber	112	109	113	126	129	134
East Midlands	225	225	239	259	287	297
West Midlands	184	188	201	208	183	177
Eastern	496	540	534	573	622	659
London	245	231	233	255	277	268
South East	425	440	463	509	516	548
South West	229	237	282	274	272	295
England	267	273	285	309	319	331
Wales	85	89	100	134	120	117
Scotland	160	160	184	204	213	246
Northern Ireland	97	87	89	105	133	141

⁽⁶⁾ Population as at mid-year 2002.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money (a) the Government, (b) the private sector and (c) higher education establishments has spent on research and development in each region of the UK in each of the last six years. [174699]

Jacqui Smith: Spending on research and development is tracked regionally through a series of ONS surveys of private business, central government and higher education establishments. Figures available for the last six years are provided in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
Table 1: Estimated Government Office Region breakdown of expenditure on Intramural R&D performed within Government establishments 1997 to 2002 £ million

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
United Kingdom	2,018	2,079	2,072	2,134	1,829	1,750
North East	17	3	2	2	4	6
North West and Merseyside	88	58	56	57	66	67
Yorkshire and the Humber	55	31	46	48	50	63
East Midlands	69	51	56	56	68	65
West Midlands	185	182	191	196	65	50
Eastern	250	256	247	259	277	286
London	205	203	230	258	238	234
South East	685	700	645	635	515	459
South West	257	330	300	307	254	225
England	1,811	1,814	1,771	1,816	1,537	1,455
Wales	33	51	55	65	49	42
Scotland	163	201	232	238	226	238
Northern Ireland	12	12	14	15	16	15

Table 2: Estimated Government Office Region breakdown of expenditure on Intramural R&D in the business sector1997 to 2002 £ million

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
United Kingdom	9,556	10,133	11,302	11,510	12,336	13,110
North East	162	178	164	164	119	128
North West and Merseyside	1,157	1,216	1,476	1,451	1,512	1,661
Yorkshire and the Humber	255	287	309	304	298	357
East Midlands	708	775	838	933	951	1,063
West Midlands	647	708	724	576	662	695
Eastern	2,381	2,367	2,559	2,758	2,916	2,741
London	667	643	735	810	738	950
South East	2,335	2,497	2,916	2,964	3,317	3,268
South West	758	898	887	867	1,025	1,274
England	9,071	9,569	10,607	10,827	11,538	12,138
Wales	113	125	203	144	136	182
Scotland	291	358	393	400	512	640
Northern Ireland	81	81	99	139	150	149

 
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Table 3: Estimated Government Office Region breakdown of expenditure on Intramural R&D performed within higher education institutes 1996 to 2001 £ million

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
United Kingdom	2,792	2,893	3,040	3,324	3,648	4,034
North East	95	101	105	112	123	142
North West and Merseyside	227	228	238	259	289	322
Yorkshire and the Humber	216	229	241	269	285	317
East Midlands	146	151	159	181	205	224
West Midlands	154	156	167	179	193	207
Eastern	203	214	211	253	325	366
London	700	730	775	833	899	979
South East	416	434	460	491	518	562
South West	124	129	138	147	160	178
England	2,282	2,374	2,494	2,723	2,996	3,296
Wales	105	111	113	129	139	155
Scotland	348	357	375	408	442	510
Northern Ireland	57	52	57	64	70	73

Note:
2002 statistics are not yet available.

Research and Development Grants

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on steps she has taken to encourage small businesses to take up research and development grants in the United Kingdom. [174065]

Nigel Griffiths: Following the review of its business support the Department introduced Grant for Research and Development in England in June 2003 to build upon the success of the popular Smart scheme. For each category of grant the maximum amount available was increased in the transition to the new product. In the year April 2003 to March 2004 over 900 individuals and small and medium sized businesses were offered grants to help with the costs of researching and developing new, technologically innovative products and processes. The popularity of the grants has increased in each of the last three.

We have also made it easier for businesses to access all DTI business support. We have replaced the confusing array of schemes with a small suite of products, produced clear marketing brochures including one on succeeding through innovation, put in place the Business Support Directory to help customers identify the most appropriate forms of support and are building the Business Link brand to enhance its position as an easy to use gateway to useful information, analysis, advice and support.

The Scottish Executive, Welsh Development Agency and Invest Northern Ireland are responsible for their own Smart and Spur schemes.
 
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Aluminium

Mr. Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the energy consumption is per unit of aluminium produced from (a) raw materials and (b) scrap. [174976]

Jacqui Smith: According to the Aluminium Federation, primary production in the UK uses about 14,500 kWh/tonne to electrolyse the alumina into molten primary aluminium. Recycling requires approximately 780 kWh/tonne, including all of the energy required to pre-process the low grade scraps prior to melting.

Mr. Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the price of scrap aluminium per tonne is; and what the average price was in 1997. [174978]

Jacqui Smith: "Metal Bulletin" quotes low and high prices, representing an evaluation of the market at the time that particular issue of "Metal Bulletin" goes to press. Monthly averages are not published. UK market prices are published for many different categories of aluminium scarp and ingot foundries. Data for three examples are shown below. Prices in 1997 generally exceeded the May 2004 level, except at the very start of the year.
£ per tonne (low and high prices)

Product	8 January 1997	30 December 1997	19 May 2004
Aluminium Scrap and Foundry Ingots: United Kingdom market
Commercial cast	595–605	670–690	635–670
Group 1 Litho (baled)	785–805	875–895	800–830
Mixed alloy/Old Rolled cuttings	575–595	675–695	595–615

Mr. Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are taken to ensure that scrap aluminium exported from the UK is sent to Integrated Pollution Preventative and Control Directive Approved processing plants. [175427]

Mr. Timms: As a member of the European Community, the United Kingdom is not able to take unilateral action on trade matters. Decisions which impact on or affect the European Community's commercial policy are taken collectively by the European Commission and member states working closely together. There are no plans at present for the Commission to introduce proposals which would restrict the export of aluminium scrap to processing plants that meet certain standards of environmental performance. Any such measures would have to be compatible with WTO rules.

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