Spring 2007 SCIENCE in PARLIAMENT
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Spring 2007 SCIENCE IN PARLIAMENT Research Councils’ support for knowledge transfer UK Science Prospect Marine Environment Satellites Patient Safety Materials The Journal of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee http://www.scienceinparliament.org.uk SCIENCE IN Science in Parliament has two main objectives: a) to inform the scientific and industrial communities PARLIAMENT of activities within Parliament of a scientific nature The Journal of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. and of the progress of relevant legislation; The Committee is an Associate Parliamentary Group b) to keep Members of Parliament abreast of members of both Houses of Parliament and British members of the European Parliament, representatives of scientific affairs. of scientific and technical institutions, industrial organisations and universities. Since 1997, this Government has doubled the amount of money invested in science and engineering, yet significant tensions remain. It seems that there is a recognition at last that university science and engineering departments Contents are underfunded, with a one-off extra investment Spring 2007 Volume 64 Number 1 to them of £60 million during 2006/07, and a promise of a further £75 million to support Conservative Party Science, Technology, applied research during 2007/08. Engineering and Mathematics Task-Force 1 Sir David Cooksey’s Opinion by Ian Taylor MP report has resulted in Sir Ian Lloyd 2 a jointly held health A tribute by Sir John Osborn research fund of at The European Research Council 3 least £1 billion, to Opinion by Professor Fotis C Kafatos ensure that medical research is translated Nuclear Energy 4 into health and Opinion by Giles Chichester MEP economic benefits. Maintaining a World Class Higher Education System 6 The pressure to move Professor David Eastwood medical research Strategic Influence: my vision for the RSC 8 closer to the clinic is Dr Richard A Pike being felt acutely by the National Institute of Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer 10 Medical Research, which is at the centre of a Professor Philip Esler controversial proposal to move it into central State of Science UK 12 London. PPARC is merging with the CCLRC, and the How can Science help to save the Marine Environment? 14 NERC is reorganising the CEH, with four of its Addresses to the P&SC by Prof Edward Hill, Dr Carol Turley and Mark Farrar centres closing. According to the public sector Satellites for Science, Engineering, Technology and Business 20 union Prospect, “more than 4 in 10 working Addresses to the P&SC by Prof John Zarnecki, Colin Paynter scientists are either unsure they will be able to and Sir Martin Sweeting stay in science or certain that they will have to Are Patients Safe with the NHS? 24 leave”. No wonder, with all these changes afoot. Addresses to the P&SC by Bill Murray, Prof Tom Treasure and Prof Peter Buckle 2006 was a significant year for the Royal Society. Materials, Minerals and Mining – innovation, As part of the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations, conservation and wealth creation 30 they organised a special science exhibition at Addresses to the P&SC by Prof RJ Pine, Dr Stuart Lyon Buckingham Palace, the fourth of the Prime and Prof Colin J Humphreys Minister’s “Our Nation’s Future” series of lectures “SIP” gives Science a taste of Public Opinion 36 in Oxford, and Sir Nicholas Stern was present at the Royal Society’s HQ, along with the Prime Maximising the Benefit from Scientific Innovation 37 Minister, the Chancellor and the Secretary of State Dr David Dent at DEFRA, to launch the “Stern Review on the Riding the wave of the latest Asian Tiger 39 Economics of Climate Change”, which will be Dr Rob Daniel, British High Commission, New Delhi hard to ignore. Visit to Imperial College 40 After more than eight years in the job, Lord Visit to NPL 41 Sainsbury announced his retirement as Science Minister in November last year, although he is Discarded Science – Ideas that seemed a good idea at the time 43 Book Review by Reg Sell now carrying out a review of the Government’s policies on science and innovation. His successor, House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology 44 Malcolm Wicks MP, will find him a hard act to House of Commons Library Research Papers 45 follow. House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee 46 2007 will see the launch of “International Polar Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 47 Year”. Therefore, it seems appropriate that the House of Commons Science and Technology Letters to the Editor 48 Select Committee has launched an inquiry into Parliamentary and Scientific Committee News 49 “Investigating the Oceans”. Debates and Selected Parliamentary Questions and Answers 50 Euro-News 54 Dr Brian Iddon MP Chairman, Editorial Board Science Directory 55 Science in Parliament Science Diary 64 Cover image supplied by Totally Textures (www.totallytextures.com), a spin-out company from Heriot-Watt University and a finalist in the 2006 RCUK Business Plan Competition ISSN 0263-6271 OPINION Conservative Party Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Task-force Ian Taylor MP Chairman of the Conservative Party STEM task-force s global competition especially if an important part of the needs driven and tolerant of risk, intensifies, the UK has to prospective market lies in the public working with staff recruited from Acapture and stimulate public sector where the risks and rewards industry and higher education. and private sector R&D and are stacked in favour of the second Projects would be time limited, goal innovation more effectively. Without customer, not the brave first one. orientated and selected through a the ability to create and retain high- One way of using procurement to competitive process. This process quality, knowledge-intensive jobs and drive innovation is to offer challenge would both provide opportunities for the innovative businesses that funds to stimulate industry and funding beyond established research develop and apply new technology, universities to come up with communities and companies and our economy and well-being will innovative solutions to important attract public attention. Establishing suffer. national problems. The Longitude Act the IPA would raise the profile of So when David Cameron invited me 1714 famously offered a reward to STEM in society and show how it can to chair a Conservative policy task- anyone who could come up with an contribute to a better quality of life force to examine future policy on accurate method of determining for all. science, technology, engineering and longitude. Such an approach could It is important to understand that we mathematics (STEM), I was delighted be used today to develop, for are not proposing a diminution of the to accept. With the help of a group of example, viable wave power schemes importance or resources of “blue distinguished colleagues from across or affordable desalination. skies” research. What we want to do business, the universities and politics A second bridge between invention is to raise the status of those who we have published two reports so far. and innovation can be built by better find viable applications for ideas It has long been recognised that there focusing some of the resources arising from research or who can turn is a gap between invention and Government devotes to research and such ideas into products valued by innovation; that is, between the time development. The best way to do that customers. In many cases, this when a new idea is shown to be would be to take the Labour should enhance the esteem of possible and the time when it has Government’s Technology Strategy engineers in this country. been shown to be viable. Research Board (TSB) and transform it into Having examined how the UK funds, from Government or industry, something bolder and more effective. Government can better stimulate support invention; venture capital We believe that there should be an innovation, my group is now turning supports applied innovation. There is Innovative Projects Agency (IPA) that its attention to the anti-science little in the middle. Those inventions uses targeted resources on specific culture in Britain. Many of the that make it might rely on years of projects. The budget of £1 billion passionate unfunded work. We would come not just from the TSB problems with science education believe that Government can tackle but also from the DTI’s innovation derive from cultural barriers that the gap between invention and programmes, the science aspects of discourage young people from innovation in two ways. the regional development agencies studying STEM subjects. Distrust of science is a major problem at a time The first thing Government can do is and some re-allocated from the existing Research Councils. Such an when science has never been more to make better use of the £150 crucial to our economy and society. billion a year it spends on goods and agency would ensure that when the market could not respond quickly to The international dimension and how services. The concept that we are science policy should be made in developing is to shift the emphasis of scientific and technological change, governmental support for innovation there was an effective mechanism for Whitehall and Westminster are the from input (subsidising embryonic the state to ensure that someone did. two remaining areas of our work. ideas) to output (procuring effective All IPA projects would bring together This is an exciting time to be looking solutions to society’s needs). Instead those who have ideas with those who at future science and technology of offering capital, the Government can see a use for a product (or policy. I am confident that the group could offer the much more effective service) that will come from I am privileged to lead will continue incentive of revenue – what developing the original discovery.