{"id":66938,"date":"2016-01-27T21:00:11","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T21:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=065043374c0a2ff4d23dd5394657bed6"},"modified":"2016-01-27T21:00:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T21:00:11","slug":"speech-making-britain-the-best-place-in-the-world-for-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=66938","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Making Britain the best place in the world for science"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s a pleasure to be speaking to the Campaign for Science and Engineering<\/a> in this, your thirtieth year. That\u2019s 30 years since Save British Science was formed. Three decades of campaigning on behalf of Britain\u2019s science and engineering community. And 3 decades holding ministers like me to account!<\/p>\n

You, like others, told us that science was vital. And we didn\u2019t disagree on that point. We have a Chancellor who lives in lab coats and high vis jackets and the Spending Review<\/a> was the clearest signal yet that science and innovation sit at the very heart of this government\u2019s economic plan. This evening, I want to start by setting out in a bit more detail what that science settlement means.<\/p>\n

A world-leader in science and engineering<\/h2>\n

First though I want to throw your minds back to December 15 last year. I know where I was. Counting Tim Peake down to blast off at the Science Museum, along with 3,000 schoolchildren waving Union Flags, their young minds fired by the magic of space and the power of science.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a phenomenon I\u2019ve seen time and again, as I\u2019ve travelled the country, learning about our extraordinary research base. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a privilege to break ground at brand new facilities, to open new labs, and to meet the Nobel prize winners and the research teams keeping British science on the map.<\/p>\n

In Manchester, I held a jar of liquid graphene, a substance which promises to revolutionise materials and how we use them.<\/p>\n

In Wales, I saw the 5 millionth Raspberry Pi roll off the production line. These tiny computers, made in a technology park west of Cardiff, are spreading the benefits of the digital revolution to the furthest parts of the globe.<\/p>\n

And on board the Royal Research Ship Discovery, I announced<\/a> the winning bidder for our brand new \u00a3200 million polar research ship. Tonne-for-tonne, the UK will soon have the most advanced floating research fleet of any country in the world.<\/p>\n

Our global scientific impact far exceeds our size as a nation. With just 3.2% of the world\u2019s R&D<\/abbr> spend, the UK accounts for 16% of the most highly-cited research articles.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve overtaken the US to rank first among comparable research nations for field weighted citations impact.<\/p>\n

Last night, over supper in Amsterdam at the Competitveness Council, I asked Bill Gates what his assessment was of the UK science base. We were sitting around a table, along with the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and the science ministers of a number of other EU countries. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Chatham House rules of the dinner prevent me from repeating his answer, but I can tell you this: it made me unbelievably proud of all the work you do. <\/p>\n

Our scientists and engineers truly stand tall on the world\u2019s stage. And this government wants the next generation – all the young people across the country who were watching Tim Peake leave Baikonur that day – to be in a position to build on your legacy.<\/p>\n

A decade of protection for science<\/h2>\n

Because of the difficult decisions we have taken elsewhere in government spending, we have been able to prioritise investment in science and research.<\/p>\n

The commitments from the Chancellor in the Spending Review could not have been clearer. We are protecting science resource funding in real terms, at its current level of \u00a34.7 billion, for the rest of the Parliament. At the same time, we are investing in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – delivering on the \u00a36.9 billion science capital commitment in our manifesto. <\/p>\n

That means total investment \u00a330.4 billion to 2020, building on the protections for the science budget in the last Parliament. That\u2019s a decade of protection, and a decade of sustained investment by this government. And all this in the context of significant savings in other areas of expenditure, a clear sign of the place of science in our decision-making.<\/p>\n

Best place to innovate<\/h2>\n

A stable funding environment is a start, but it\u2019s not the end of the process. I\u2019m not the first Science Minister to urge closer partnerships between the research base and industry, or to call for greater efforts on collaboration.<\/p>\n

Our universities are already extending their work with charities and industry. In 2013 to 2014, they earned nearly \u00a34 billion from working with businesses and others, up 20% on 2010. And in last year\u2019s productivity plan<\/a>, we set out our ambition to increase this income to \u00a35 billion per year by 2025.<\/p>\n

This collaboration is important because innovation is a shared endeavour. As we set out in our manifesto, we want Britain to be the best place in Europe to innovate and we will be setting out the support the government will be providing to help innovative businesses to flourish in a national innovation plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our R&D<\/abbr> tax credit<\/a> now supports 80% of all business investment in R&D<\/abbr>. In 2013 to 2014 over 18,000 companies used the schemes, claiming a total of \u00a31.75 billion. This is a 78% increase in the companies claiming tax credits and a 58% increase in funding provided against 2010 to 2011. <\/p>\n

Of course, government does not create innovation; it\u2019s the scientists and engineers, the designers and the entrepreneurs who make it happen. But government can be a catalyst. Currently, every \u00a31 of government spending on research leverages an estimated additional \u00a31.36 of private funding. And for every \u00a31 spent by the government on R&D<\/abbr>, private sector productivity rises by 20p per year in perpetuity.<\/p>\n

Getting the business environment right is key. The fiscal incentives we provide for research is the government\u2019s single biggest source of business R&D<\/abbr> support.<\/p>\n

But, as a country, we can\u2019t stand still. Our international competitors are continuing to innovate and develop new ways to support firms. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking carefully at what our partners in France, Finland and the Netherlands are doing, ensuring we have a range of financial instruments to support innovation.<\/p>\n

At the Spending Review, we committed to protect the funding we provide through Innovate UK<\/a> over this Parliament. This will include up to \u00a3165 million per year through new innovation finance products. With this funding our innovation offer will now span grants through to new financial instruments. These will support innovation and ensure the taxpayer can share in the success new ventures.<\/p>\n

Alongside the finance, we\u2019re providing the essential innovation infrastructure to help bring businesses and the research base closer together. We\u2019re not just protecting the Catapult network<\/a>, but expanding the programme to support growth in the high-tech sectors where Britain excels.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Chancellor announced<\/a> our first Catapult in Wales. This will focus on the compound semiconductors that will underpin the next-generation of advanced electronics.<\/p>\n

This joins 10 other Catapults that span the life sciences, satellite applications, energy, digital industries and high-value manufacturing. The Catapults will receive total public and private investment in excess of \u00a31.6 billion over their first 5 years of operation. This is shared infrastructure that businesses on their own simply could not afford – and yet another example of the way we are supporting collaboration across the research base.<\/p>\n

Science budget allocations<\/h2>\n

While we\u2019re building new infrastructure, we are also ensuring we get the best return on our investments.<\/p>\n

Sir Paul Nurse set out his plan<\/a> to bring together the 7 Research Councils under the banner of Research UK, and as the Chancellor confirmed in the Spending Review the government is now moving forward with these recommendations.<\/p>\n

Many of you will want to know that we\u2019re preserving what works well, and building a stronger base for the future. <\/p>\n

We have made clear our commitment to retaining the dual support system and the Haldane principle. These are vital characteristics of our research base. They protect curiosity-driven research that has underpinned so many serendipitous discoveries, and they ensure scientists are in the driving seat when it comes to assessing specific projects.<\/p>\n

But there is also an opportunity, as set out in the Nurse review:<\/p>\n