§ Mr. Masonasked the Prime Minister which Departments will come under the guidance of the Lord Privy Seal in his new rôle of Minister for Science; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterMy noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal and Minister for Science is responsible to Parliament for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Medical Research Council, the Agricultural Research Council, the Overseas Research Council and the Nature Conservancy, and is chairman of the five Privy Council Committees to which they report—the Committees for Scientific and Industrial Research. Medical Research, Agricultural Research, Overseas Research and Nature Conservancy. The Minister for Science will also exercise the Ministerial functions under the Atomic Energy Acts, and will exercise general supervision over the programme of space research at present being devised under the direction of the Steering Group presided over by Sir E. Bullard.
Other Ministers remain responsible for the scientific establishments within their own Departments. But the Minister for Science is responsible for broad questions of scientific policy outside the sphere of defence and is advised by the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy on general questions which relate to the whole field of civil science.