§ Lord Hunt of Chesterton asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ What steps they are taking to improve the way that United Kingdom industry and research contribute to the future policies, investments and operations of government departments and agencies, especially those involving advanced technology.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)My Lords, the Government believe that, in order to get the best value for money, they must act as intelligent customers. The recently issued Innovation Report and the report of the Office of Government Commerce to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Increasing Competition and Long-Term Capacity Planning in the Government Market Place, put forward proposals on how government departments should procure goods and services in such a way as to encourage innovation and competitive advantage in their suppliers.
The proposals are being taken forward by the implementation plan of the OGC's report and by a cross-departmental ministerial group chaired by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
§ Lord Hunt of ChestertonMy Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Will the Government's 2 policies, which I support, now meet the concerns, expressed by this House's Science and Technology Select Committee and the CBI, that investment and future planning decisions that should involve high technology are being taken by government departments and agencies without considering at an early stage how UK industry and research could contribute? Would that not be the best way of encouraging the high-tech entrepreneurship advocated today by the Chancellor? Should not the job descriptions of most agency chief executives now include an explicit duty to collaborate with UK industry? I declare an interest as a former chief executive and director.
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleMy Lords, that is exactly what we are trying to achieve by encouraging government departments and agencies to act as intelligent customers. As we take forward that agenda, we will make certain that there is nothing in their job descriptions that inhibits either civil servants or chief executives of agencies doing so.
§ Lord St John of BletsoMy Lords, can the Minister elaborate on how successful the Office of Science and Technology has been in promoting knowledge transfer across the universities, research organisations and businesses throughout Britain?
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleMy Lords, in the past five years the Office of Science and Technology has undertaken much work in the area of knowledge transfer through three schemes: University Challenge, science enterprise centres and the Higher Education Innovation Fund. That has been a huge success. We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of spin-off companies and the number of patents and licences, which are of a higher order of magnitude—showing that there has been a real cultural change in our universities.
§ Baroness Sharp of GuildfordMy Lords, does the Minister not agree that departments can do that job 3 better if their budgets are increasing, rather than decreasing? Have not the R&D budgets of most government departments fallen dramatically over the past 20 years? In particular, would he comment on the budget of Defra, which, despite climate change and the many challenges facing the industry, has been falling extremely quickly?
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleMy Lords, it is clearly easier to do the job better when budgets are increasing rather than decreasing. That is true of many activities in life. In fact, the R&D budgets of government departments, having fallen sharply, are now, as a whole, flat or increasing. We wish to see that trend continuing, which is why we are putting so much emphasis on having properly costed science and innovation strategies for each government department.