EDITORIAL

Vol.3 No.8 August 2007 www.nature.com/naturephysics

What’s in a name?

Britain has a new leader, and with him a new science minister in a new department: would you guess that the ‘Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills’ now holds the remit for science?

On 28 June, Gordon Brown replaced development assistance’. Frustratingly, Tony Blair as UK Prime Minister. In the all budgetary increases in the game are days that followed, a wholesale reshuffle capped at 100% — but then that would of the Cabinet was announced, as be too much to expect, even in the most Prime Minister Brown set his mark on a optimistic of times. new ‘New Labour’ government. Change At the top of the list detailing the role3 is in the air across the administration, as of the new DIUS is “sustain and develop a Blairism makes way for Brownism. world-class research base”. That, of course, Change has also been decreed in the requires investment, and it is to be hoped governmental handling of science research. that the outcome of the Comprehensive Ian Pearson is the new Science Minister, Spending Review will set the UK on that under Secretary of State John Denham, course. At the bottom of the list is “increase who heads the newly created Department the supply of people in science, technology, of Innovation, Universities and Skills engineering and mathematics”. And there (DIUS). The DIUS comprises chunks of the declining profile of science in the UK what was the Department of Education hits home. and what was the Department of Trade A growing number of pupils in and Industry (DTI). The DTI itself became secondary education are taught physics home to the science remit only in 1995, by a teacher who has no degree-level when the Office of Science and Technology qualification in the subject. In recent (OST, created in 1992) was shuffled into its years, the number of university science brief. In February 2006, within the DTI, the courses offered across the UK has declined. OST merged with the Innovation Group to Several university physics and chemistry form the Office of Science and Innovation. departments have closed, as a consequence Following that somewhat tortuous of funding constrictions in the new ‘market’ history, science now resides in a that sees students as ‘customers’. In this department that identifies itself by the to 2000, comments2 in a recent article month’s ‘Futures’ essay by Craig DeLancey three pillars of innovation, universities and in Nature — that increase has not kept (page 580), a desperate department skills. Organizations such as Universities pace with the demands of the research head has a cunning plan to entice more UK (a university and higher-education that would maintain that bedrock of customers with a degree in ‘fictional body) profess satisfaction with the new economic performance. Researchers rightly physics’ — it’s, sadly, a not-too-far-fetched system. Others, however, have expressed feel squeezed. extrapolation of the worrying situation in some reservation over the lack of explicit This coming autumn, the outcome of the UK (and elsewhere in the world). mention of ‘science’: Martin Rees, President the latest Comprehensive Spending Review While UK science, and physics in of the Royal Society, has said that he “would is expected, and as yet cannot be guessed. particular, continues to face such a shortfall have preferred the word ‘science’ to have But in the meantime, at the HM Treasury in people and opportunities, inventing new appeared in the new department’s title.” website, you can play the ‘spending review government departments and acronyms is This is not nit-picking, the profile of game’ (http://csr07.treasury.gov.uk): surely akin to rearranging the deckchairs science in the UK is cause for concern. adjust the levels of spending in diverse on the Titanic. If the DIUS can really tackle In 1998, Tony Blair wrote1 that “the areas — health, housing, transport, and so this issue with the priority it needs and science base is the absolute bedrock of our on — and see how well you could manage deserves, that might be some compensation economic performance”. Indeed, during the public purse. It’s fun, but it’s sobering for the lack of ‘science’ in its title. the ten years of the Blair government the to see in the 2007–8 budgetary starting References science budget increased in real terms, levels that ‘science and technology’ ranks 1. Blair, T. Science 281, 1141 (1998). but — as Robert May, Chief Scientific bottom of the pile in the amount of cash 2. May, R. Nature 447, 1053 (2007). Adviser to the UK government from 1995 allocated, some way behind ‘international 3. www.dius.gov.uk/role.htm nature physics | VOL 3 | AUGUST 2007 | www.nature.com/naturephysics 507 © 2007 Nature Publishing Group