SIR JOHN CHISHOLM

20 JUNE 2007

  Q100  Dr Turner: I appreciate that, Sir John, but the Council has been pretty specific in saying that, if that cannot be achieved, the Mill Hill site will close anyway and, by implication, the scientists and departments currently at Mill Hill would be distributed amongst universities, presumably.

  Sir John Chisholm: The Council has not come to any view in my hearing of what would happen in those circumstances, which we do not envisage. What the Council intends to do is to make a major investment in the NIMR. It is planned around a location in London at the current time.

  Q101  Chairman: Could I finally say to you, Sir John, that there was an existing business plan, and I presume that you will need a new business plan to put before the Treasury in order to make the British Library site come to fruition. Is that correct?

  Sir John Chisholm: We are working on the new vision, yes.

  Q102  Chairman: The new vision, once it is complete, will then require a business plan to put before the Treasury, in order to get the funding to buy the site. Is that right?

  Sir John Chisholm: Yes. I am not going to go through the exact timing.

  Q103  Chairman: No, I am not asking you to do that.

  Sir John Chisholm: But in principle you are right.

  Q104  Chairman: It is really picking up on Dr Turner's point about the existing proposal. Is that scrapped now? The last time you were before the Committee we were told that there was a business case which was being put to the Treasury on the Temperance Hospital site, and that there was a zero default option with the existing NIMR site at Mill Hill. What has happened to those? Are they just shelved now? Are they scrapped, or what?

  Sir John Chisholm: A case was built up for the investment at the NTH.

  Q105  Chairman: Yes, and that had gone to the Treasury.

  Sir John Chisholm: No.

  Q106  Chairman: It never went to the Treasury?

  Sir John Chisholm: It had not reached that stage, but it had been passed through the Council, who were prepared to support it.

  Q107  Chairman: I understand that, and it had gone to the Office of Science and Innovation, on its way to the Treasury. What has happened to it?

  Sir John Chisholm: It is in abeyance at the moment; because, after that, the larger vision emerged.

  Chairman: I understand that. I just wanted to know whether it is dead.

  Chris Mole: In limbo.

  Q108  Chairman: You will never really resurrect that, will you?

  Sir John Chisholm: I never say "never". We reached a certain stage with it. Then a new and more interesting opportunity arose and we are pursuing that. We have not gone back to rake over the NTH proposal. It reached the stage it reached, and that is where it is.

  Chairman: On that note, we thank you very much indeed, Sir John, for giving us your time this morning.