asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will reconsider the amalgamation of the Appleton and Rutherford laboratories in the light of conflicting views of the balance of advantage financial and scientific and the effect on the staff of the Appleton laboratory.

No. After careful consideration of all the views received the Science Research Council is satisfied that the combination on one site of the skills of the scientists in the two laboratories is necessary for the development of its research programmes in the 1980s and in the long-term interests of the staff. Financial savings are a secondary aspect.