I thank my hon. Friend. Certainly, the 23 per cent. increase in real terms in the science budget that the Government have achieved is evidence of the high priority that we give to basic and strategic science. I also agree that it is important not to concentrate exclusively on inputs. We are just as concerned with output, where our scientists excel. For example, if one considers papers published in the main scientific journals one sees that, between 1981 and 1986, the United Kingdom share of world output remained constant at 8·3 per cent., while that of Germany declined from 6·3 to 5·9 per cent. and France's output fell from 5·1 to 4·8 per cent. By that measure, the United Kingdom remains second only to the United States of America.