asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the action, if any, he proposes to take with regard to the deficit of £1 million being experienced by the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards at present, in view of the reduction of £1.2 million in the institute's budget for next year.
Written Answers. - Institute for Industrial Research and Standards.
114.
It is estimated that, at the end of the current year, the institute will have a cumulated deficit of £900,000 approximately.
While any commercial or semi-commercial enterprise is liable to run surpluses or deficits on its current account — depending, inter alia, on the number of fee-earning projects it undertakes — the deficit position at IIRS is being closely monitored with a view to (i) ensuring that it will not increase, and (ii) eliminating it as soon as possible.