Supplementary evidence from the Medical
Research Council following the oral evidence session on 17 December
2007
1. Whether alternative sites outside
London have been considered by the MRC since the purchase of the
former National Temperance Hospital Site and if so, what form
this consideration took.
Alternative sites outside London have been considered
since the purchase of the NTH site. The consideration was part
of a formal options appraisal, which fed into the Outline Business
Case for the UKCMRI initiative, conducted under the terms of the
Treasury Green Book. The Panel selected Manchester and Cambridge
as the best comparators with the BL site. The options were assessed
by a Panel including an expert, external member and a member from
the independent consultants (Deloittes), a process which was later
approved by PA Consulting who were appointed by the MRC to carry
out an independent review of the Outline Business Case.
2. What is the detailed breakdown of
the cost to the MRC and how is this cost to be met.
The current position is that the MRC has agreed
to contribute £47m to the cost of purchasing the BL site
and in addition we are planning on the basis that our contribution
to the building will be of the order of £250m taking account
of current estimates of inflation.
We are planning that the MRC's contribution
to the resource costs of UKCMRI will be at the current level of
expenditure of NIMR in real terms—c. £38 million pa
at 06-07 values.
The above figures are of course provisional
and may well change as a consequence for example of the conclusions
of Paul Nurse's Scientific Planning Committee.
The cost will be met from the Large Facilities
Capital Fund (LFCF), from the sale of the NTH site, and in due
course from the sale of the Mill Hill site. The current bid to
the LFCF is for £118m; this is awaiting final approval from
the RCUK Executive Group (RCUKEG). In the light of the changes
to the availability of monies to the MRC from its Commercial Fund,
we will be asking the LFCF for additional funds, though these
will not be needed until the next CSR period.
3. A note on the timetable for negotiations
with the Government over the application to the Large Facilities
Capital Grant, to include what stage the MRC has currently reached,
when the initial Business Plan will be agreed by the MRC Council,
when it will be presented to DIUS and to the Treasury and when
it is anticipated that the Treasury will make its decision.
The Outline Business Case was approved by MRC
Council in October. The Outline Business Case was also submitted
to RCUK in October, and formally to DIUS in November. We are currently
awaiting feedback from them. Feedback from RCUKEG consideration
of the bid to the LFCF is expected in February. A final decision
on the release of funding from the Large Facilities Capital Fund
will depend upon the completion and review of a full Business
Case to be prepared once the design work is completed.
January 2008
| 
