§ 2.52 p.m.
§ Lord RodneyMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what efforts they are making to ensure that Britain maintains a leading role in the development of superconducting materials.
935§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, the DTI and the SERC have jointly established a national committee to co-ordinate support for industrial and academic research. A £16 million three-year programme supported jointly by the DTI and industry was announced in January 1988. That will stimulate collaborative industrial research on superconductivity, including work on materials. SERC is providing £5.3 million over six years for the research centre at Cambridge and £2 million per annum for other research grants.
§ Lord RodneyMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that encouraging reply. Will he confirm that there is an international consortium (in which the United States and the USSR are co-operating) looking into the research on high temperature ceramics? Can he say whether or not the United Kingdom is included in the consortium?
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, it is important in the field of high technology research that parallel and competing programmes are avoided as much as possible. International collaboration may be an appropriate way of sharing the costs and risks in some areas of that research. Proposed EC initiatives would complement the British domestic programme. As regards co-ordination between the United States and the USSR, that is not something in which the United Kingdom is involved.
Lord MorrisMy Lords, am I right in thinking that the noble Lord the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, together with his right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science, recently announced that an advanced semiconductor programme would form part of the LINK programme generally?
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, as soon as the superconductivity arena moves away from basic research and towards practical application, the time will be appropriate for the setting up of a specific LINK programme.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, the Minister has referred to considerable policy initiatives made by the Government. Perhaps I may remind him of the words of the noble Lord, Lord Young of Graffham——
§ Lord Williams of ElvelDoes the Minister remember the words of the noble Lord, Lord Young of Graffham, at Question Time last Friday—I refer to col. 856 of the Official Report—to the effect that the Government do not consider that they have to have a policy for each and every narrow sector in both the industrial and the commercial worlds? Will the noble Lord tell us by what criterion the Government decide whether or not they should have a policy?
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, in this particular field the SERC decided that the field of conductivity was of the highest possible priority. The SERC has announced that it will be assisting the six initiatives. Therefore, there are another five to go. I hope that 936 they will all be as successful as this initiative is at the moment, and also equally important.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, are we therefore to take it that the sector to which the noble Lord referred on Friday—the sector of oil exploration—does not maintain top priority in the eyes of the Government?
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, there are many important initiatives to which the Government have to attend. However, the Question refers to superconductivity. As regards oil exploration, I should be pleased to answer a specific Question if the noble Lord cares to put one down.
Lord Campbell of CroyMy Lords, perhaps the Minister will remind the noble Lord, Lord Williams, that on Friday his noble friend Lord Young of Graffham said that the policy was to create the atmosphere in which the industry could advance as well as possible.
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, my noble friend is quite right. That is why, in the field of superconductivity, there are at least two initiatives. One is on basic research and the other is for industry on practical research.
§ Baroness WhiteMy Lords, will the Minister agree that while the prospects for the future seem more encouraging, the Question is misleading in suggesting that we already hold a leading position in the field of superconductivity? I believe that we are trying to attain that position. However, to suggest that we have attainted it is surely misleading.
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, I should like to pay tribute to the excellent scientists involved in our programme. My information is that we are fulfilling a leading role in worldwide research, and that our programme is comparable, in absolute size, with national programmes in other European countries and compares very favourably on a per capita basis with programmes in the United States and Japan.
Lord MorrisMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that his answer to my first supplementary question is in conflict with what his noble friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said on Friday? I quote from col. 865 of the Official Report:
I recently announced, with Kenneth Baker, five LINK programmes on subjects ranging from advanced semi-conductors to eukaryotic genetics.The noble Lord suggested in his earlier answer that it was too early to apply a LINK programme to the subject. I am puzzled.
§ Lord BeaverbrookMy Lords, there are general aspects to LINK programmes, particularly between industry and education. That is something in which my noble friend is very interested. It may be appropriate to have a specific LINK programme as soon as possible on that subject.