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Scientific Research

Volume 195: debated on Tuesday 23 July 1991

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3.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to increase Government funding of scientific research.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science
(Mr. Alan Howarth)

The size of the science budget for 1992–93 will be considered in the forthcoming public expenditure survey.

Does the Minister accept that the level of funding for the science budget this year, including the additional funds that the Government announced last month, is wholly inadequate? For example, even with that money, the Science and Engineering Research Council is still unable to avoid closing the nuclear structure facility at Daresbury. It will have to cut its staff by 300 by 1993. When will Government give British science the money that it needs?

The Government have increased the science budget by no less than 23 per cent. in real terms and that increase has matched the growth of GDP. It is well known that the Government's economic strategy has been to reduce public expenditure as a proportion of GDP, but we have made an exception for basic science because we recognise the Government's inescapable and important responsibility in that regard. We also believe that it is right that judgments on scientific priorities should be taken by scientists and we believe that the arm's-length principle is important. It would not be appropriate for me as a politician or for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State to take a decision as to the priority that should be given to the nuclear structure facility at Daresbury among the range of candidates for funding through the science budget. It is entirely right that the Science and Engineering Research Council is reviewing its priorities and is seeking to improve efficiency. I recognise that these are worrying and difficult times for scientists and others who are working at Daresbury, but these choices and this prioritisation cannot be avoided.

My hon. Friend will understand that the Opposition always choose foreign comparisons. He will also know that my constituency needs a large number of well-qualified young engineers. Do we produce more engineers than, for example, the Germans or the Americans?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to a fact that is too little known and too little appreciated. It is indeed the case that the number of young people in this country who are qualified in engineering and in scientifically based disciplines exceeds the number in France and Germany.

Does the Minister accept that Scotland produces proportionately a larger number of scientists and engineers than the rest of the United Kingdom? Does he also accept that there is a crisis in the funding of science in the universities, and in particular in fundamental physics and mathematics research? What does he intend to do about that?

We have increased the funding available for scientific work in universities. Indeed, the research councils have increased their expenditure within the universities by 78 per cent. in real terms during the Government's period in office. That is a reflection of the first-rate quality of the science that takes place in our universities, and it is enormously important to recognise that. I know that the hon. Gentleman has at heart the interests and well-being of science in the United Kingdom. It is extremely important for scientists and for those who speak on their behalf to present science in this country as the winner that it undoubtedly is.