asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why, in Command Paper 6679, it was decided to pay Senior Government Scientists at a lower rate than Senior Administrative Civil Servants and Government Scientists working at Oxford, Cambridge and other provincial centres at a lower rate than those working in the London area.

I do not think my hon. Friend's suggestion is well founded. At some points in the scale scientists are paid more than administrators. The cost of living in London is notoriously higher than that in Oxford, Cambridge and other provincial centres.