asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much has been disbursed by the Science and Engineering Research Council teaching in companies scheme in each year since the scheme was introduced; how much has been disbursed to (a) individuals and (b) companies in Yorkshire and Humberside in each year since this scheme was introduced; how much is to be disbursed to individuals and companies in Yorkshire and Humberside under the council's latest allocation; what representations about this allocation he has received; and if he will make a statement.

The following table shows the information requested in the first part of the question:

Amount disbursed by SERC on teaching company scheme
£K
Financial Year	Net Expenditure3
1976–77	24·5
1977–78	81·5
1978–79	177·5
1979–80	231·5
1980–81	606·0
1981–82	663·5
1982–83	1,006·0
1983–84	1,600·0
1984–85	2,027·0
1985–86	2,452·5
1986–87	12,760·0
1987–88	2 3,585·0
1 Provisional outturn
2 Estimates
3 The teaching company scheme is jointly funded. Up to 1984–85, it was funded on a 50–50 basis by the SERC and the Department of Trade and Industry. Since 1985–86, the Economic and Social Research Council has contributed an additional £80,000 a year matched by the DTI. The Northern Ireland Department of Economic Development joined the scheme in 1986–87 when it contributed £20,000. Its estimated contribution in 1987–88 is £150,000.

Because of the way in which TCS records are held, disproportionate cost would be involved in extracting figures for a particular region such as Yorkshire and Humberside. No representations about regional allocations have been received.TCS grants are made to education institutes and not to individuals or companies.