To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department’s budget for scientific advice and research is in 2008-09; for what purposes the equivalent budget for 2007-08 was used; and how many people employed in his Department have a science or engineering degree. (260769)

The Department for International Development’s (DFID) budget for scientific advice and research in 2008-09 was £135.8 million.

In 2007-08, the budget for scientific advice and research was £124.7 million. This was used to fund our priority research in human development (£50.8 million), growth and livelihoods (£42.7 million), and social, political and environmental change (£22.1 million) and £9 million was used to fund knowledge and communications programmes that ensured that the results of our research were disseminated and put into use.

DFID has above 665 members of staff with science or engineering degrees. This has been defined as those holding a B.Eng, B.Sc, Bsc.Econ, B.Soc Sc, M.Eng, MSc, or any other degree (such as BA etc.) where the qualification subject refers to science or engineering. Many of these staff have more than one degree.